Prevalence of incidental pulmonary findings and early follow-up results in patients undergoing dual-source 64-slice computed tomography coronary angiography.

BACKGROUND

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the incidence of pulmonary abnormalities and document early follow-up results in subjects undergoing multislice computed tomography coronary angiography for the assessment of coronary artery disease.

METHODS

In this retrospective analysis, 1206 patients including 701 men (58.1%) with a mean age of 58.75 (SD, 11.4) years were involved in the study who underwent coronary multislice computed tomography imaging with a 64-slice dual-source scanner. Pulmonary abnormalities were reported as nodules, pulmonary mass, emphysema, bullae, atelectasia, bronchiectasia, pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis, and other findings.

RESULTS

In total, 186 pulmonary abnormalities were detected in 171 patients (14.1%). Of those, 90 (48.4%) were pulmonary nodules, and 30 (16.1%) were emphysema. Also, we report 3 cases of lung cancer, and 1 case of breast cancer. Early follow-up results revealed stable pulmonary findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Multislice computed tomography can give important clues including diseases regarding the pulmonary system. It is essential for the reporting practitioner to review the entire scan for pulmonary pathological findings.