2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer (ePosters)-EP13.01-017. Assessing Variance Between Radiology versus Multidisciplinary Clinic Recommendations in the Pulmonary Nodule and Lung Screening Clinic

EP13.01-017. Assessing Variance Between Radiology versus Multidisciplinary Clinic Recommendations in the Pulmonary Nodule and Lung Screening Clinic

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A study was conducted to assess the variance in recommendations between the Radiology Department and the Pulmonary Nodule and Lung Screening Clinic (PNLSC) in a multidisciplinary setting. The PNLSC is a collaboration between various departments at the Massachusetts General Hospital, including the Cancer Center, Thoracic Imaging, Pulmonary Medicine, Radiation Oncology, and Thoracic Surgery. The study analyzed the benefits of having multiple providers assess each patient by comparing the recommendations from the PNLSC to the original recommendations from the Radiology Department.<br /><br />The patients referred to the PNLSC are adults who have pulmonary nodules incidentally found on CT scans or through low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening. They are evaluated by a multidisciplinary team, including a Medical Oncologist, Radiologist, Thoracic Surgeon, Radiation Oncologist, Pulmonologist, and Medical Oncology Nurse Practitioner. The providers assess the imaging scans and past medical history of each patient to recommend the best course of action.<br /><br />The data analysis showed that the multidisciplinary evaluation changed the recommendations for care for over half of the patients. This suggests that incorporating a multidisciplinary team approach, especially for patients with smoking histories, can potentially change the original radiology recommendations.<br /><br />Further analysis will be conducted to include all visits to the clinic and incorporate statistical controls for clustering. The study also found that smoking status was a significant predictor for discordance in recommendations, with current smokers being more likely to have a discordant multidisciplinary recommendation compared to the original radiology report.<br /><br />In conclusion, this study highlights the benefits of a multidisciplinary team approach in evaluating and recommending care for patients with pulmonary nodules. It suggests that incorporating clinical context and expertise from different specialties can lead to more individualized and potentially more appropriate recommendations.

Asset Subtitle

Inga T. Lennes

Meta Tag

Speaker Inga T. Lennes

Topic Pulmonology, Radiology, and Staging

Keywords

study

variance

recommendations

PNLSC

multidisciplinary team

CT scans

LDCT screening

smoking histories

radiology recommendations

clinical context