Factors that influence physician decision making for indeterminate pulmonary nodules.
BACKGROUND
Pulmonologists frequently encounter indeterminate pulmonary nodules in practice, but it is unclear what clinical factors they rely on to guide the diagnostic evaluation.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the current approach to the management of indeterminate pulmonary nodules and to determine the extent to which the addition of a hypothetical diagnostic blood test will influence clinical decision making.


METHODS
Selected pulmonologists practicing in the United States were invited to participate in a conjoint exercise based on 20 randomly generated cases of varying age, smoking history, and nodule size. Some cases included the result of a hypothetical blood test. Each respondent chose from among three diagnostic options for a patient: noninvasive monitoring (i.e., serial CT or positron emission tomography scan), a minor procedure (i.e., biopsy or bronchoscopy), or a major procedure (i.e., video-assisted thorascopic surgery or thoracotomy). Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the impact of the three risk factors and the diagnostic blood test on decision making.


RESULTS
Four hundred nineteen physicians participated (response rate, 10%). One hundred fifty-three physician surveys met predetermined criteria and were analyzed (4% of all invitees). A diagnostic procedure was recommended for 23% of 6-mm nodules, versus 54, 66, 77, and 84% of nodules 10, 14, 18, and 22 mm, respectively (P < 0.001). Older age limited recommendations for invasive testing: 54% of 80-year-olds versus 61, 64, 63, and 61% of patients 71, 62, 53, and 44 years of age, respectively (P < 0.001). In multivariate analyses, nodule size, smoking history, age, and the blood test each influenced decision making (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The pulmonologists who participated in this survey were more likely to proceed with invasive testing, instead of observation or additional imaging, as the size of the nodule increased. The use of a hypothetical blood test resulted in significant alterations in the decision to pursue invasive testing.
1 Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Anil
A
Vachani
Nichole T
NT
Tanner
Jyoti
J
Aggarwal
Charles
C
Mathews
Paul
P
Kearney
Kenneth C
KC
Fang
Gerard
G
Silvestri
Gregory B
GB
Diette
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003657:Decision Making; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055613:Multiple Pulmonary Nodules / Q000175:diagnosis*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
decision making; lung neoplasms; solitary pulmonary nodule