Preliminary Investigation and Imaging Analysis of Early Lung Cancer Screening Among Petroleum Workers in North China.

BACKGROUND: The detection rate of lung nodules has increased significantly among petroleum workers in North China since the low-dose CT (LDCT) screening has been widely carried out. What's more, the number of confirmed early lung cancers is increasing continuously. Therefore, a great deal of concern for the high risk of lung cancer has been shown among petroleum workers. PURPOSE: To improve the screening efficiency and maximize the benefits of the subjects, the current situation of LDCT lung cancer screening should be understood and the imaging characteristics of early lung cancer should be analyzed for petroleum workers in North China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Firstly, the dynamic changes of LDCT early lung cancer screening for petroleum workers in North China were analyzed in recent years. Then, the survey data of 3121 petroleum workers was compared with that of 1868 non-petroleum workers, which was analyzed. Finally, 91 patients (129 nodular lung cancer) confirmed by pathology were retrospectively analyzed, and the data of which was compared with the clinical features obtained from survey data above. The imaging characteristics and related factors of different subtypes of lung adenocarcinoma were discussed and analyzed. RESULTS: Lung nodules were found in 810 cases (25.95%) out of 3121 petroleum workers; and the surgery was chosen by 42 patients, 38 of whom were confirmed as lung cancer. Compared with the data of screened petroleum workers, there were more older people and more females as well as a higher proportion of people with family malignancy history, and a lower proportion of smoking people in 91 patients with lung cancer. As the pathological grade of tumor nodules increased, the volume and diameter of nodules gradually increased, and the mean density, maximum density and standard deviation of density also increased (p < 0.001). The volume and diameter of nodules were positively correlated with ages (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The occurrence of lung adenocarcinoma is closely related to the family history of malignant tumors, and the constituent ratio of young women without a history of smoking increased significantly. At the same time, the quantitative information obtained by using CT images has important value in predicting its pathological subtypes.

Correlation of computed tomography angiography parameters and shock index to assess the transportation risk in aortic dissection patients.

BACKGROUND: Aortic dissection (AD) is a serious, life-threatening disease. It is currently crucial for AD patients to be transferred to a specialised hospital in a safe and timely manner. For this reason, the search for clinical and imaging changes related to transportation risk is becoming increasingly important. PURPOSE: The transportation risks of AD patients were assessed by studying the correlation between computed tomography angiography (CTA) parameters and shock index. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six cases of AD confirmed with 64-slice volumetric CT (VCT) (18 cases of Stanford type A and 18 cases of type B) were divided into a high-risk group (14 cases, six Stanford type A and eight type B) and a low-risk group (22 cases, 12 Stanford type A and 10 type B) according to the modified Early Warning Score. The shock index (ratio of heart rate to systolic blood pressure) and measured CTA parameters were compared between the high-risk group and the low-risk group, and the correlation between the measured CTA parameters and shock index was analysed. RESULTS: The shock index and ratio of false/true lumen were compared between Stanford type A and type B, and no statistically significant differences were found. The shock index and ratio of false/true lumen were compared between the high-risk group and low-risk group, revealing a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Moreover, a significant linear correlation was found between the ratio of false/true lumen and the shock index (r = 0.691; p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The higher the shock index and the ratio of false/true lumen are, the greater the transportation risk for AD patients. The shock index and the ratio of false/true lumen proved to be essential clinical and radiological indices for assessing the transportation risk of AD patients.