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New CT scan indicates changes: Can radiologist reports be different?
Lung Health | Last Active: Sep 22, 2021 | Replies (19)Comment receiving replies
I just had my appointment with pulmonoligist and he looked and said on the 2nd Ct scan the radiologist used the first scan and resized the nodule and then compared it to my second one. So based on that he said the subsolid portion grew less than a millimeter but the overall groundglass portion grew from 2.2 to 2.4 cm. The first radiologist measured the whole nodule at 18mm not 2.2. That’s a big difference. Very confusing. Also said there was no abnormal upper lymph nodes shown in partial imaging. But the pretrachael lymph node on the second scan showed as 8.8 on the short axis. Very concerning. These scans were done ar different facilities and the first one was for a calcium CT scan and second for lung scan.
Replies to "I just had my appointment with pulmonoligist and he looked and said on the 2nd Ct..."
@akfishinmom1- Hello, it's nice to meet you. I am a lung cancer survivor and the Mentor for the lung cancer group. I have run into this problem and I have to say that it shouldn't be a problem. I am treated at the second top hospital in the US and my Lung Surgeon and Oncologist now wait until after the radiologist's report to make a finding and send me the actual report. No matter how clear the CT scan is, radiologists are trained to see and measure everything little thing that they are looking for that no matter how minuscule they are. Even if doctors sometimes brag that they are great at reading CT scans, unless they are in front of the screen and are trained to read scans they aren't as good as radiologists.
My Oncologist actually goes to the radiologist who reads my scans and looks at his screen and discusses things with him/her!
Scans also depend on the size of the slice (tissue slice that is captured) that the machine is programmed for at your hospital. The thickness of the tissue represented in each image slice can vary depending on the CT machine used, but usually ranges from 1-10 millimeters.
https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/computed-tomography-ct
If I were you, I would ask for an explanation of the differences in measurements. Also, the ground glass area can be made up of different types of tissues. Your specialist should explain this to you in a manner that you fully understand.
Computed tomography machines are set at different levels in different hospitals, and you had two different types of tests. Also, Lymph nodes can be swollen and not a danger. I have a couple of them.
I don't blame you for being confused. Is your specialist open to explaining things to you?
DEPENDS ON COMPETENCY OF PHYSICIAN. I have been a hospital CEO for 40 years
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It can be so confusing. Thank goodness medical specialists are trained to interpret the differences in reporting that can happen between facilities and order new tests when necessary. I'm sorry to hear that a pretracheal lymph node is showing evidence of concern. What is the next step? Will it be biopsied or further tested?