Solitary pulmonary nodules: detection, characterization, and guidance for further diagnostic workup and treatment

AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2007 Jan;188(1):57-68. doi: 10.2214/AJR.05.2131.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of our study is to improve radiologists' understanding of the clinical issues involved in making a diagnosis and to guide further diagnostic workup and treatment of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs).

Conclusion: Information on the morphologic and hemodynamic characteristics of SPNs provided by dynamic helical CT, with high specificity and reasonably high accuracy, can be used for initial assessment. PET/CT is more sensitive at detecting malignancy than dynamic helical CT, and all malignant nodules may be potentially diagnosed as malignant by both techniques. Therefore, PET/CT may be selectively performed to characterize SPNs that show indeterminate results at dynamic helical CT.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diagnostic Imaging / methods*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Lung Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians'
  • Risk Assessment / methods*
  • Risk Factors
  • Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / diagnosis*
  • Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / therapy*