title: Prevalence of alterations in chest computerized tomography in patients with head and neck cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to assess the prevalence of abnormalities found by computed tomography (CT) of the chest in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
  
  
  METHODS
  we retrospectively analyzed chest CT exams of 209 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The CT findings were stratified as inflammatory / infectious, parenchymal, nodular uncharacteristic and nodular metastatic/tumoral.
  
  
  RESULTS
  alterations were diagnosed in 66.6% of patients. Of these, 25.3% represented emphysema; 18.8%, uncharacteristic micronodules; 12.9%, metastases; 11.9%, thoracic lymph node enlargements; and in 6.6% we detected active pulmonary tuberculosis or its sequelae, pneumonia or inflammatory / infectious signs and pleural thickening or effusion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the prevalence of exams with alterations and the considerable rate of detected metastases indicate that chest CT should be required for diagnostic and / or staging in cases of head and neck cancer.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Heliópolis, São Paulo.
authors.forename: Diógenes
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.affiliation: Hospital Heliópolis, São Paulo.
authors.forename: Otávio Alberto
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Curioni
authors.affiliation: Hospital Heliópolis, São Paulo.
authors.forename: Ricardo Pires de
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Hospital Heliópolis, São Paulo.
authors.forename: Débora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vianna
authors.affiliation: Hospital Heliópolis, São Paulo.
authors.forename: Luciano José
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: França
authors.affiliation: Hospital Heliópolis, São Paulo.
authors.forename: Luís Eduardo
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Sobreiro
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo.
authors.forename: Rogério Aparecido
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Dedivitis
authors.affiliation: Hospital Heliópolis, São Paulo.
authors.forename: Abrão
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rapoport
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015995:Prevalence; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed