CT of the normal esophagus to define the normal air column and its extent and distribution

AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology
Dean E SchraufnagelGeorge T Kondos

Abstract

This study was designed to quantify and characterize the air-containing thoracic esophagus on CT to help diagnose diseases and facilitate correlation with lung diseases that may be associated with aspiration. The maximal air-containing esophageal lumina on each section of standard CT scans of 110 subjects were measured. These subjects came from a cohort of 10,132 self-reported healthy individuals who underwent CT for measurement of coronary artery calcium. Measurements were interpolated to account for variation in the length of the thoraces. Greater than 60% of the esophageal segments contained no air. On average the maximum air column was 10.5 (SD, 5.0) mm. Only 7.9% of the lumina were > 10 mm. Only 2% were > 15 mm, and only 0.2% were > 20 mm. The average number of lumina > 10 mm as a proportion of the entire esophageal length was 8% (14%). The average size at the carina was 2.6 (4.1) mm. In the upper 30% and from 61% to 75% down the length of the esophagus, < 5% of the lumina were > 10 mm. Less than 3% of subjects had air in the lowest two sections, indicating that the normal lower esophageal sphincter was closed. Esophageal air of > 10 mm should be considered abnormal in all segments except between the cardiac ventricles and...Continue Reading

References

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Nov 24, 2005·AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology·Alexander B SevrukovGeorge T Kondos

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Citations

Jan 27, 2012·BMC Medical Imaging·Alijavad MoosaviShadi Ghourchian
Jun 25, 2014·Clinical Radiology·M Y LicurseE M Barbosa
Dec 18, 2015·International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics·Joshua S NiedzielskiLaurence E Court
Apr 12, 2011·Thoracic Surgery Clinics·Paula A UgaldeCesar Araujo
Apr 7, 2010·The American Journal of Medicine·Joyce S LeeTalmadge E King
Dec 8, 2015·The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine·Daisuke TakekoshiDean E Schraufnagel
Sep 29, 2011·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·Eamonn M M QuigleyRichard M Gore
Jun 15, 2016·Annals of the American Thoracic Society·Michael Eberlein, Stephen C Mathai
Mar 18, 2017·Insights Into Imaging·Thomas MariniSusan K Hobbs
May 15, 2020·AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology·Cheng-Ming Luo, Yi-Chan Lee
Jan 10, 2020·Radiographics : a Review Publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc·Maria A ManningAngela D Levy
Oct 10, 2020·Insights Into Imaging·Venkat MasarapuHongju Son

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