Association of computed tomography-derived pectoralis muscle area and density with disease severity and respiratory symptoms in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A case-control study

Computed tomography (CT) is commonly used and offers an additional viewpoint for evaluating extrapulmonary symptoms, disease severity, and muscle atrophy. This study assessed whether the pectoralis muscle area (PMA) and pectoralis muscle density (PMD) are lower in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than in healthy controls and elucidated their relationships with these variables.