Journal of Inflammation Research (Jun 2021)

Solitary Pulmonary Inflammatory Nodule: CT Features and Pathological Findings

  • Xiao YD,
  • Lv FJ,
  • Li WJ,
  • Fu BJ,
  • Lin RY,
  • Chu ZG

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 2741 – 2751

Abstract

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Yun-Dan Xiao,* Fa-Jin Lv,* Wang-Jia Li, Bin-Jie Fu, Rui-Yu Lin, Zhi-Gang Chu Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zhi-Gang ChuDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 1# Youyi Road, Yuanjiagang, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 18723032809Fax +86 23 68811487Email [email protected]: Solitary pulmonary inflammatory nodules (SPINs) are frequently misdiagnosed as malignancy. We aimed to investigate CT features and pathological findings of SPINs for improving diagnosis strategies.Patients and Methods: In this retrospective study, 225 and 310 consecutive patients with confirmed SPINs and lung cancerous nodules were enrolled from January 2013 to December 2020. Nodules were classified into different types based on the key CT features: I, homogeneous and well-defined nodules with smooth (Ia), coarse (Ib), or spiculated margins (Ic); II, nodules with blurred boundaries, peripheral patches, or both; III, nodules exhibiting heterogeneous density; and IV, polygonal nodules. The pathological findings of SPINs were simultaneously studied and summarized.Results: Among the 225 SPINs, type I (Ia, Ib, and Ic), II, III, and IV were 137 (60.9%) (47 [20.9%], 33 [14.7%], and 57 [25.3%]), 62 (27.6%), 12 (5.3%) and 14 (6.2%), respectively. Correspondingly, those in 310 cancerous nodules were 275 (88.7%) (119 [38.4%], 70 [22.6%], and 86 [27.7%]), 20 (6.5%), 15 (4.8%), and 0, respectively. Compared with lung cancers, type I nodules were less common but type II and IV nodules were more common in SPINs (each P < 0.0001). Though the frequencies of subtype I (P = 0.095) and type III (P = 0.796) nodules were similar between two groups, their specific CT features were significantly different. The main pathological findings of each type of SPINs were most extensively identical (82.2 – 100%).Conclusion: Between cancerous nodules and SPINs, differences in overall or specific CT features exist. The type II and IV nodules are highly indicative of SPINs, and each type of SPINs have almost similar pathological findings.Keywords: solitary pulmonary nodule, tomography, X-ray computed, inflammation, CT-pathology correlation

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