Abstract
PURPOSE: To determine if there is a subset of patients undergoing surgical biopsy for diffuse lung disease in whom accurate diagnosis can be made with computed tomography (CT) only. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two chest radiologists retrospectively reviewed the CT scans of 85 patients in whom surgical biopsy for diffuse lung disease was performed. Thin-section CT images were available in 58 (68%) of the 85 cases. By consensus, the radiologists listed the three most likely diagnoses in order of probability and rated their level of confidence in the first choice. RESULTS: Each of 85 patients with diffuse lung disease had one of 16 diseases. In 79 (93%) cases, the correct diagnosis was one of the three choices. In 54 (64%) cases, the correct diagnosis was the radiologists' first choice. A high level of confidence in the first choice was reached in 20 (24%) cases; all 20 cases were forms of chronic lung disease. In 18 (90%) of these 20 cases, the first choice was correct. CONCLUSION: In a subset of patients with diffuse lung disease who undergo surgical biopsy, accurate diagnosis can be made with CT findings only.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 229-234 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Radiology |
| Volume | 205 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1997 |
Keywords
- Computed tomography (CT), thin section
- Lung, bronchiolitis obliterans
- Lung, diseases
- Lung, fibrosis
- Lung, infection
- Lung, interstitial disease
- Lung, lymphoma/leukemia
- Pneumonitis, hypersensitivity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging