Table 6.
Outcomes According to the Intensity of Received Lung Nodule Evaluation
| Outcome | Less Intense (n = 22) |
Guideline-Concordant (n = 65) |
More Intense (n = 26) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Patients | % (95% CI) | No. of Patients | % (95% CI) | No. of Patients | % (95% CI) | |
| Diagnostic outcomes | ||||||
| Benign nodule | 21 | 95 (77-100) | 34 | 52 (40-65) | 21 | 81 (61-93) |
| Infection | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 4 | 6.2 (1.7-15) | 0 | 0 (0-13) |
| Inflammatory | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 3 | 4.6 (0.96-13) | 4 | 15 (4.4-35) |
| Clinically benigna | 9 | 41 (21-64) | 23 | 35 (24-48) | 15 | 58 (37-77) |
| Presumed benignb | 12 | 55 (32-76) | 4 | 6.2 (1.7-15) | 2 | 7.7 (0.95-25) |
| NSCLC | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 27 | 42 (29-54) | 4 | 15 (4.4-35) |
| Stage I/II | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 14 | 22 (12-33) | 4 | 15 (4.4-35) |
| Stage III/IV | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 13 | 20 (11-32) | 0 | 0 (0-13) |
| SCLC | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 2 | 3.1 (3.7-11) | 0 | 0 (0-13) |
| Limited stage | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 1 | 1.5 (0.04-8.3) | 0 | 0 (0-13) |
| Extensive stage | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 1 | 1.5 (0.04-8.3) | 0 | 0 (0-13) |
| Metastatic disease from non-lung primary | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 2 | 3.1 (0.4-11) | 0 | 0 (0-13) |
| Not reported (%)c | 1 | 4.5 (0.1-23) | 0 | 0 (0-5.5) | 1 | 3.9 (0.1-20) |
| Patient outcomes | ||||||
| Unplanned hospitalization | 0 | 0 (0-15) | 1 | 1.6 (0.04-8.5) | 2 | 7.7 (1.7-28) |
| Three-year overall survival (% alive) | 20 | 91 (71-99) | 53 | 82 (70-90) | 24 | 92 (75-99) |
NSCLC = non-small cell lung cancer; SCLC = small cell lung cancer.
a
Patients with clinician documentation of a benign nodule due to clinical stability or pathologic confirmation of a benign diagnosis were categorized as “clinically benign.”
b
Patients with 3 years of follow-up and without documented clinical or pathologic evidence of malignancy were categorized as having a nodule that was “presumed benign.”
c
Final diagnosis not reported in medical record, and patient died of other causes within 3 years.