What does CT results mean?

[Lauri8967]

Hi I am 41 yr old female smoker, with history of lung problems including life long asthma and also suffered a severe viral pneumonia which resulted in respitory failure and ARDS.  This was 10 years ago.  I had a chest Xray in Jan 08 which stated "diaphram flattened as consistent with COPD".  However, I just had a CT scan on chest/abd/pelvis due to pain on right side middle front and back.  Abdomen and pelvis normal, but chest stated the following:
**Subtle ground glass densities at both lung bases which may just be secondary to atelectasis.**  What does this mean?  And does this mean that I DONT have COPD?  Also, I also have lupus, and am currently on 20mg prednisone for past 4 months.  I would greatly appreciate any help you could give me before I meet with my doctor.
Thank you,
Lauri

[National Jewish Health]

While consistent with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), flattening of the diaphragms is not specific for COPD.  This can also be seen with sub-optimally controlled asthma.

Many conditions result in the non-specific pattern of ground-glass opacity but the most common causes include subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP), and non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP).

The CT interpretation is somewhat non-specific.  You should request that the CT scan be reviewed by a chest radiologist and ask specifically if it shows emphysema.  Then you should have pulmonary function tests (PFTs) performed to see if the results confirm COPD.  You may have to seek consultation with a pulmonary specialist to sort this out.