Dr. Hammond is a clinical assistant professor in the department of pharmacology, and Dr. Meena is an assistant professor in the department of internal medicine, both at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Dr. Meena also is a physician at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock.
Author disclosures
The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the U.S. Government, or any of its agencies. This article may discuss unlabeled or investigational use of certain drugs. Please review complete prescribing information for specific drugs or drug combinations—including indications, contraindications, warnings, and adverse effects—before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients.
Results could have been skewed by the study’s unusually large number of patients with malignant disease. Had the study been conducted with a larger population (patients at primary care offices), accuracy and agreement might have been lower.
This study answered its 2 questions. Although it is universally accepted that pulmonologists can review patients’ scans, to the authors’ knowledge this is the first study that asked, “Are pulmonologists as good as radiologists in reading CT scans?” The answer is yes. Also asked was, “Do pulmonologists’ and radiologists’ diagnoses predict the final path?” The reviewers’ were very accurate except in the case of benign neoplasms.
Experienced pulmonologists and radiologists are consistent in accurately diagnosing malignant lung nodules and lung masses noted on CT scans.
