Pulmonary metastases in children: are we operating unnecessarily?

OBJECTIVE

to determine, in pediatric patients with malignant neoplasms, the characteristics of pulmonary nodules identified on computed tomography, as well as the possibility of differentiating benign lesions from metastases.

METHODS

we conducted a retrospective study of patients submitted to pulmonary resections of nodules diagnosed as metastases in a period of seven years. We compared computed tomography and surgery findings, as well as results of anatomopathological examinations.

RESULTS

we studied nine patients submitted to 11 surgical interventions. Among the studied variables, only nodule size greater than 12.5mm proved to be statistically significant to predict malignancy.

CONCLUSION

among the tomographic characteristics of pulmonary nodules in children with malignant neoplasms, only the size of the lesion was a predictor of malignancy.