Thoracic ultrasonography and pulmonary function tests in assessing lung function in acromegaly: a prospective matched case-control study

Acromegaly is a rare disease characterized by elevated levels of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), leading to changes in various organ systems. However, the effects of this disease on pulmonary function are often overlooked. Early detection of pleural thickness and pulmonary function changes could offer significant clinical value. This study aimed to assess the role of thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) and pulmonary function tests in evaluating functional lung changes in patients with acromegaly and to explore the potential of ultrasonographic pleural assessment in predicting pulmonary involvement. This prospective single-center study, conducted at Gazi University Hospital between April and September 2022, included 34 patients with acromegaly and 34 healthy controls. Total lung capacity, residual volume, and forced vital capacity were significantly higher in patients with acromegaly compared to the control group (p=0.004, p=0.004, and p=0.005, respectively), while maximal inspiratory pressure and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) were significantly lower (p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Additionally, pleural thickness was higher in the acromegaly group (p<0.001). In the acromegaly group, MEP was negatively correlated with GH (r=-0.398, p=0.033), and pleural thickness was positively correlated with IGF-1 upper limit of normal (r=0.349, p=0.047). In conclusion, our study suggests that TUS combined with pulmonary function tests may help detect subtle thoracic changes in patients with acromegaly. This is the first study to evaluate TUS in these patients, and further research is needed to validate our findings.