Prevalence and variables associated with solitary pulmonary nodules in a routine clinic-based population: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) in chest radiology studies and patient’s features associated with malignancy in a non-high-risk clinical population.MethodsPatients ≥35 years were referred for thoracic imaging in two hospitals (2010-2011). Eight radiologists determined the presence and characteristics of SPN. Selected variables were collected from radiological register and medical records. Observer agreement in the diagnosis of SPN was assessed.Results25,529 patients were included: 23,102 (90.5 %) underwent chest radiograph and 2,497 (9.5 %) a CT. The prevalence of SPN was 2.1 % (95 % CI 1.9 – 2.3) in radiographs and 17.0 % (95 % CI 15.5 – 18.5) in CT. In patients undergoing chest radiograph, detection of SPN with an irregular border was more frequent among smokers. In patients who had a CT, larger SPNs appeared to be associated with 60 years of age or over, diagnosis of a respiratory illness, or male gender. In addition, an irregular border was also more common among men.ConclusionsThe prevalence of SPNs detected by both radiograph and CT was lower than that shown in screening studies. Patient characteristics such as age, sex, respiratory disease, or smoking habit were associated with nodule characteristics that are known to be related with malignancy.Key Points• There is a lower SPN prevalence in the clinical population than in screening studies.• SPN prevalence is associated with some patient characteristics: sex, age, imaging test.• Nodule characteristics related to malignancy were associated with some patient characteristics.

Thoracic malignancies and pulmonary nodules in patients under evaluation for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI): Incidence, follow up and possible impact on treatment decision

“…SPN of at least 5 mm size were found in 18% in the initial study collective. This ratio corresponds well to other published studies, which reported incidence rates ranging from 3.5% to 28% [9,[34][35][36][37][38][39].…”

Lung cancer risk and cancer-specific mortality in subjects undergoing routine imaging test when stratified with and without identified lung nodule on imaging study

“…The baseline data were previously published [8] and show the prevalence of an SPN in the 25,529 consecutive patients included. Here we present the follow-up of 893 patients with SPN and of 15,185 patients without SPN (Fig.…”

“…Our group performed a multicentre cohort study in which we showed in the baseline data [8] the prevalence and associated characteristics of SPN in a general clinical population undergoing chest imaging (chest radiograph and CT). According to these results, the prevalence of SPN was lower than seen in previous screening studies [9]; hence, the probability of cancer and the variables associated in this population could also be different.…”

Using Clinical Risk Models for Lung Nodule Classification

“…An indeterminate pulmonary nodule is a pulmonary lesion < 3cm found radiographically that does not have a tissue diagnosis. 15 They are found in 17-51% of chest CT scans and a conservative extrapolation suggests that at least 2 million indeterminate nodules are found annually 15,16 with a 1-12% chance of malignancy. 17 These symptomatic or incidentally discovered lung nodules represent a significant existing diagnostic burden.…”