Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (Miami, Fla.)
-
Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis (Miami) · Jul 2019
Identifying Smoking-Related Disease on Lung Cancer Screening CT Scans: Increasing the Value.
Lung cancer screening (LCS) via chest computed tomography (CT) scans can save lives by identifying early-stage tumors. However, most smokers die of comorbid smoking-related diseases. LCS scans contain information about smoking-related conditions that is not currently systematically assessed. Identifying these common comorbid diseases on CT could increase the value of screening with minimal impact on LCS programs. We determined the prevalence of 3 comorbid diseases from LCS eligible scans and quantified related adverse outcomes. ⋯ Expanded analysis of LCS CT scans identified individuals with evidence of previously undiagnosed cardiovascular disease, emphysema or osteoporosis that corresponded with adverse events. LCS CT scans can potentially facilitate diagnoses of these smoking-related diseases and provide an opportunity for treatment or prevention.