• Christy J W Ledford, Breanna L Gawrys, Jessica L Wall, Patrick D Saas, and Dean A Seehusen.
• From the Department of Family Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD (CJWL); the National Capital Consortium Family Medicine Residency Program, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Fort Belvoir, VA (BLG, JLW, PDS); and the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Augusta, GA (DAS). christian.ledford@usuhs.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2016 Jan 1; 29 (1): 152-5.

IntroductionIn December 2013 the US Preventive Services Task Force issued a recommendation for lung cancer screening with annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). As screening guidelines emerge and change, this creates an environment for studying the translation of these guidelines into practice. This study assessed how these guidelines were implemented in a community hospital setting and the resulting radiologic findings.MethodsThis observational study examined the radiologic outcomes of LDCT lung cancer screening guidelines and the resulting notification.ResultsDuring the first year after publication of the guidelines, 94 screening LDCT scans were ordered. Of these, 21 (22.3%) did not meet the criteria outlined by the US Preventive Services Task Force. Among the 72 cases that did met published criteria, 65.3% of scans detected nodules, and among the remaining 35.6%, half had another clinically significant finding.DiscussionThis study shows that new lung cancer screening guidelines, as implemented at a community hospital, resulted in radiologic findings that required follow-up in more than half of patients. Clinicians must be aware of these potential incidental findings when talking to patients about the decision to order screenings.© Copyright 2016 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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