title: [Combined use of thin-section CT and18F-FDG PET/CT for characterization of solitary pulmonary nodules].
abstract: To investigate whether fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) combined with thin-section CT improves the diagnostic performance for solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs).
  
  
  
  A total of 267 patients underwent examinations with18F-FDG PET/CT and thin-section CT for evaluating the SPNs with undetermined nature, which was further confirmed by pathological examination or clinical follow-up. The performance of two diagnostic criteria based on findings in PET/CT alone (Criterion 1) and in PET/CT combined with thin-section CT (Criterion 2) were compared.
  
  
  
  Thin-section CT provided greater diagnostic information for SPNs in 84.2% of the patients. Compared with Criterion 1, the diagnosis based on Criterion 2 significantly increased the diagnostic sensitivity (80.4% vs 91%, P<0.01) and accuracy (76.4% vs 87.2%, P<0.01) for lung cancer. The lesion size and the CT features including lobulation, air bronchogram, and feeding vessel, but not SUVmax, were all helpful for characterizing non-solid SPNs. Thin-section CT rectified diagnostic errors in 50% (20/40) of the cancerous lesions, which had been diagnosed as benign by PET due to their low metabolism. For non-solid SPNs, Criterion 2 showed a significantly higher diagnostic sensitivity than Criterion 1 (90.0% vs 40.0%, P=0.000) but their diagnostic specificity were comparable (75.2% vs 58.3%, P=0.667). For solid nodules, the use of thin-section CT resulted in no significant improvement in the diagnostic performance (P<0.05).
  
  
  
  The combination of PET/CT and thin-section CT creates a synergistic effect for the characterization of SPNs, especially non-solid nodules.
authors.affiliation: Nanfang PET Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.E-mail: 13268283980@163.com.
authors.forename: Yun-Yan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: You-Cai
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hu-Bing
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Quan-Shi
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yan-Jiang
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Wen-Lan
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hong-Sheng
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mohammed Shah Alam
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Mohammed Shah Alam
mesh_terms: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms; D000072078:Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18