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Diagnosis and Management of Acute Left-Sided Colonic Diverticulitis: A Clinical Guideline From the American College of Physicians

Author/s: 
Qaseem, A., Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta, I., Lin, J. S., Fitterman, N., Shamliyan, T., Wilt, T. J., Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians

Description: The American College of Physicians (ACP) developed this guideline to provide clinical recommendations on the diagnosis and management of acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis in adults. This guideline is based on current best available evidence about benefits and harms, taken in the context of costs and patient values and preferences.

Methods: The ACP Clinical Guidelines Committee (CGC) developed this guideline based on a systematic review on the use of computed tomography (CT) for the diagnosis of acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis and on management via hospitalization, antibiotic use, and interventional percutaneous abscess drainage. The systematic review evaluated outcomes that the CGC rated as critical or important. This guideline was developed using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology.

Target audience and patient population: The target audience is all clinicians, and the target patient population is adults with suspected or known acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis.

Keywords 
diagnosis Clinical Guideline American College of Physicians Acute Left-Sided Colonic Diverticulitis

Lung Cancer Screening with Low-Dose CT: a Meta-Analysis

Author/s: 
Hoffman, Richard M., Atallah, Rami P., Struble, Roger D., Badgett, Robert G

Background: Randomized controlled trials have evaluated the efficacy of low-dose CT (LDCT) lung cancer screening on lung cancer (LC) outcomes.

Objective: Meta-analyze LDCT lung cancer screening trials.

Methods: We identified studies by searching PubMed, Google Scholar, the Cochrane Registry, ClinicalTrials.gov , and reference lists from retrieved publications. We abstracted data on study design features, stage I LC diagnoses, LC and overall mortality, false positive results, harm from invasive diagnostic procedures, overdiagnosis, and significant incidental findings. We assessed study quality using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. We used random-effects models to calculate relative risks and assessed effect modulators with subgroup analyses and meta-regression.

Results: We identified 9 studies that enrolled 96,559 subjects. The risk of bias across studies was judged to be low. Overall, LDCT screening significantly increased the detection of stage I LC, RR = 2.93 (95% CI, 2.16-3.98), I2 = 19%, and reduced LC mortality, RR = 0.84 (95% CI, 0.75-0.93), I2 = 0%. The number needed to screen to prevent an LC death was 265. Women had a lower risk of LC death (RR = 0.69, 95% CI, 0.40-1.21) than men (RR = 0.86, 95% CI, 0.66-1.13), p value for interaction = 0.11. LDCT screening did not reduce overall mortality, RR = 0.96 (95% CI, 0.91-1.01), I2 = 0%. The pooled false positive rate was 8% (95% CI, 4-18); subjects with false positive results had < 1 in 1000 risk of major complications following invasive diagnostic procedures. The most valid estimates for overdiagnosis and significant incidental findings were 8.9% and 7.5%, respectively.

Discussion: LDCT screening significantly reduced LC mortality, though not overall mortality, with women appearing to benefit more than men. The estimated risks for false positive results, screening complications, overdiagnosis, and incidental findings were low. Long-term survival data were available only for North American and European studies limiting generalizability.

Keywords 
low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening lung neoplasms meta-analysis mortality

Incidental Pulmonary Nodules Detected on CT Images

Author/s: 
Anderson, Irsk J., Davis, Andrew M.

Summary of the Clinical Problem

An incidental lung nodule on CT scan can create uncertainty for clinicians and anxiety for patients and families, given that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Incidental lung nodules are not uncommon. A systematic review of CT screening lung cancer trials noted that a lung nodule was detected in up to 51% of study participants.1 More than 95% of detected nodules are benign and have a wide variety of causes, including infections, granulomatous disease, hamartomas, arteriovenous malformations, round atelectasis, and lymph nodes.

Keywords 
pulmonary nodules ct scan
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