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Role of CT in assessing pleural malignancy prior to thoracoscopy

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Submitted by

Mark Ferguson

Source

Source Name: Thorax

Source URL: http://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2014/07/30/thoraxjnl-2014-206054?papetoc

Author(s)

R J Hallifax, M Haris, J P Corcoran, S Leyakathalikhan, E Brown, D Srikantharaja, A Manuel, F V Gleeson, M Munavvar, N M Rahman

Using a retrospective analysis of pts undergoing VATS for suspected pleural malignancy, the authors assessed the utility of CT in diagnosing pleural malignancy. Of 370 pts studied, 211 had a pleural malignancy diagnosis established by biopsy. The sensitivity of CT for detecting malignancy was 68%, and the negative predictive value was 65%. CT alone is not highly effective in determining which patients should have invasive pleural biopsies.