ObjectiveTo explore the application value of CT-guided microcoil localization in pulmonary nodule (diameter≤15 mm) surgery.MethodsThe clinical data of 175 patients with pulmonary nodules who underwent single utility port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from August 2018 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether CT-guided coil localization was performed before operation, they were divided into a locating group and a non-locating group. There were 84 patients (34 males, 50 females, aged 57.8±8.8 years) in the locating group and 91 patients (46 males, 45 females, aged 57.6±10.8 years) in the non-locating group. The localization success rate, localization time, incidence of complications, surgical and postoperative conditions were analyzed between the two groups.ResultsAll 84 patients in the locating group were successfully located, and localization time was 19.0±3.6 minutes. Among them, 19 (22.6%) patients had a small pneumothorax, 4 (4.8%) pulmonary hemorrhage and 2 (2.4%) coil shift; 6 (7.1%) patients had mild pain, 3 (3.6%) moderate pain and 1 (1.2%) severe pain. Sex (P=0.181), age (P=0.673), nodule location (P=0.167), nature of lesion (P=0.244), rate of conversion to thoracotomy (P=0.414), rate of disposable resection of nodules (P=0.251) and postoperative hospital stay (P=0.207) were similar between the two groups. There were significant differences in nodule size (P<0.001), nature of nodule (P<0.001), the shortest distance from nodule to pleura (P<0.001), operation time (P<0.001), lung volume by wedge resection (P=0.031), number of staplers (P<0.001) and total hospitalization costs (P<0.001) between the two groups.ConclusionCT-guided microcoil localization has the characteristics of high success rate, and is simple, practicable, effective, safe and minimally invasive. Preoperative CT-guided microcoil localization has important clinical application value for small pulmonary nodules, especially those with small size, deep location and less solid components. It can effectively shorten the operation time, reduce surgical trauma and lower hospitalization costs, which is a preoperative localization technique worthy of popularization.
Objective To analyze the benign-malignant outcomes of pulmonary nodules in surgical patients and their influencing factors, and provide evidence and ideas for optimizing and improving the integrated management model of pulmonary nodules. Methods From October to December 2023, a convenience sampling method was used to select patients who underwent lung surgery at West China Hospital, Sichuan University between July 2022 and June 2023 for this study. The malignancy rate of postoperative pathological results of pulmonary nodules and its influencing factors were analyzed using univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression. Results A total of 4600 surgical patients with pulmonary nodules were included, with a malignancy rate of 88.65% (4078/4600) and a benign rate of 11.35% (522/4600). Univariate analysis showed significant differences in malignancy rates among different genders, ages, methods of pulmonary nodule detection, and smoking histories (P<0.05); however, no significant difference was found regarding place of birth or family history of lung cancer (P>0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that females [odds ratio (OR)=1.533, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.271, 1.850)], older age groups [61-75 vs. ≤30 years: OR=1.640, 95%CI (1.021, 2.634); >75 vs. ≤30 years: OR=2.690, 95%CI (1.062, 6.814)], and pulmonary nodules detected during physical examinations [OR=1.286, 95%CI (1.064, 1.554)] were high-risk factors for malignancy, with statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusion In the integrated management of pulmonary nodules, it is crucial not to overlook females or older patients, as they may be more significant influencing factors than smoking; furthermore, lung examinations are effective means of early detection of malignant lung tumors and are worth promoting and popularizing.
Objective To develop an innovative recognition algorithm that aids physicians in the identification of pulmonary nodules. MethodsPatients with pulmonary nodules who underwent thoracoscopic surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School in December 2023, were enrolled in the study. Chest surface exploration data were collected at a rate of 60 frames per second and a resolution of 1 920×1 080. Frame images were saved at regular intervals for subsequent block processing. An algorithm database for lung nodule recognition was developed using the collected data. ResultsA total of 16 patients were enrolled, including 9 males and 7 females, with an average age of (54.9±14.9) years. In the optimized multi-topology convolutional network model, the test results demonstrated an accuracy rate of 94.39% for recognition tasks. Furthermore, the integration of micro-variation amplification technology into the convolutional network model enhanced the accuracy of lung nodule identification to 96.90%. A comprehensive evaluation of the performance of these two models yielded an overall recognition accuracy of 95.59%. Based on these findings, we conclude that the proposed network model is well-suited for the task of lung nodule recognition, with the convolutional network incorporating micro-variation amplification technology exhibiting superior accuracy. Conclusion Compared to traditional methods, our proposed technique significantly enhances the accuracy of lung nodule identification and localization, aiding surgeons in locating lung nodules during thoracoscopic surgery.
ObjectiveTo elucidate the relationship between clinical characteristics and pathology findings of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN). MethodsA retrospective cohort study was carried out on 231 SPN patients pathologically confirmed between January 2009 and December 2013 in Nanjing General Hospital of Fuzhou Military Command and Fuzhou Second Hospital. Using pathological results as reference standard, the sex, age, smoking history, smoking amount, quit smoking history, and extrapulmonary malignant tumor history were compared between the SPN patients with different pathological type. ResultsFemale and age were positively correlated with the probability of malignancy in SPN with correlation coefficients as 1.090 and 0.063 respectively. Extrapulmonary malignant tumor history, smoking history, smoking amount, quit smoking history did not show significant relationship. Gender was a factor that affects pathological types of SPN. Female patients were in higher risk than male patients to have precancerous lesions, pulmonary aspergillosis, pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma, adenocarcinoma. Male patients had higher risk suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, pulmonary cryptococcosis, squamous cell carcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, inflammatory pseudotumor and metastases. Distribution of SPN pathologic types in each age group was similar. Most patients who had precancerous lesions, pulmonary hamartoma, pulmonary aspergillosis, pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma, adenocarcinoma and inflammatory pseudotumor were not smokers. ConclusionsGender and age are valuable in distinguishing benign SPN from malignant SPN. Pathologic types of SPN are related to patients' gender and smoking history.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely used in all walks of life, including healthcare, and has shown great application value in the auxiliary diagnosis of pulmonary nodules in the medical field. In the face of a large amount of lung imaging data, clinicians use AI tools to identify lesions more quickly and accurately, improving work efficiency, but there are still many problems in this field, such as the high false positive rate of recognition, and the difficulty in identifying special types of nodules. Researchers and clinicians are actively developing and using AI tools to promote their continuous evolution and make them better serve human health. This article reviews the clinical application and research progress of AI-assisted diagnosis of pulmonary nodules.
ObjectiveTo explore the safety and feasibility of 3D precise localization based on anatomical markers in the treatment of pulmonary nodules during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).MethodsFrom June 2019 to April 2015, 27 patients with pulmonary nodules underwent VATS in our Hospital were collected in the study, including 3 males and 24 females aged 51.8±13.7 years. The surgical data were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed, such as localization time, localization accuracy rate, pathological results, complication rate and postoperative hospital stay.ResultsA total of 28 pulmonary nodules were localized via this method. All patients received surgery successfully. No mortality or major morbidity occurred. The general mean localization time was 17.6±5.8 min, with an accuracy of 96.4%. The mean diameter of pulmonary nodules was 14.0±8.0 mm with a mean distance from visceral pleura of 6.5±5.4 mm. There was no localization related complication. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 6.7±4.3 d. The routine pathological result showed that 78.6% of the pulmonary nodules were adenocarcinoma.Conclusion3D precise localization based on anatomical markers in the treatment of pulmonary nodules during thoracoscopic surgery is accurate, safe, effective, economical and practical, and it is easy to master with a short learning curve.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical feasibility and safety of CT-guided percutaneous microwave ablation for peripheral solitary pulmonary nodules.MethodsThe imaging and clinical data of 33 patients with pulmonary nodule less than 3 cm in diameter treated by CT-guided microwave ablation treatment (PMAT) in our hospital from July 2018 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 21 males and 12 females aged 38-90 (67.6±13.4) years. Among them, 26 patients were confirmed with lung cancer by biopsy and 7 patients were clinically considered as partial malignant lesions. The average diameter of 33 nodules was 0.6-3.0 (1.8±0.6) cm. The 3- and 6-month follow-up CT was performed to evaluate the therapy method by comparing the diameter and enhancement degree of lesions with 1-month CT manifestation. Short-term treatment analysis including complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) was calculated according to the WHO modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumor (mRECIST) for short-term efficacy evaluation. Eventually the result of response rate (RR) was calculated. Progression-free survival was obtained by Kaplan–Meier analysis.ResultsCT-guided percutaneous microwave ablation was successfully conducted in all patients. Three patients suffered slight pneumothorax. There were 18 (54.5%) patients who achieved CR, 9 (27.3%) patients PR, 4 (12.1%) patients SD and 2 (6.1%) patients PD. The short-term follow-up effective rate was 81.8%. Logistic analysis demonstrated that primary and metastatic pulmonary nodules had no difference in progression-free time (log-rank P=0.624).ConclusionPMAT is of high success rate for the treatment of solitary pulmonary nodules without severe complications, which can be used as an effective alternative treatment for nonsurgical candidates.
A method was proposed to detect pulmonary nodules in low-dose computed tomography (CT) images by two-dimensional convolutional neural network under the condition of fine image preprocessing. Firstly, CT image preprocessing was carried out by image clipping, normalization and other algorithms. Then the positive samples were expanded to balance the number of positive and negative samples in convolutional neural network. Finally, the model with the best performance was obtained by training two-dimensional convolutional neural network and constantly optimizing network parameters. The model was evaluated in Lung Nodule Analysis 2016(LUNA16) dataset by means of five-fold cross validation, and each group's average model experiment results were obtained with the final accuracy of 92.3%, sensitivity of 92.1% and specificity of 92.6%.Compared with other existing automatic detection and classification methods for pulmonary nodules, all indexes were improved. Subsequently, the model perturbation experiment was carried out on this basis. The experimental results showed that the model is stable and has certain anti-interference ability, which could effectively identify pulmonary nodules and provide auxiliary diagnostic advice for early screening of lung cancer.
Increasing peripheral pulmonary nodules are detected given the growing adoption of chest CT screening for lung cancer. The invention of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscope provides a new diagnosis and treatment method for pulmonary nodules, which has been demonstrated to be feasible and safe, and the technique of microwave ablation through bronchus is gradually maturing. The one-stop diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary nodules can be completed by the combination of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy and microwave ablation, which will help achieve local treatment through the natural cavity without trace.