ABSTRACT
AIM: The early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer are important for the prognosis of patients with lung cancer. This study was undertaken to investigate patient and doctor delays in the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC and the factors affecting these delays. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1016 patients, including 926 (91.1%) males and 90 (8.9%) females with a mean age of 61.5±10.1 years, were enrolled prospectively in this study between May 2010 and May 2011 from 17 sites in various Turkish provinces. RESULTS: The patient delay was found to be 49.9±96.9 days, doctor delay was found to be 87.7±99.6 days, and total delay was found to be 131.3±135.2 days. The referral delay was found to be 61.6±127.2 days, diagnostic delay was found to be 20.4±44.5 days, and treatment delay was found to be 24.4±54.9 days. When the major factors responsible for these delays were examined, patient delay was found to be more frequent in workers, while referral delay was found to be more frequent in patients living in villages (p<0.05). We determined that referral delay, doctor delay, and total delay increased as the number of doctors who were consulted by patients increased (p<0.05). Additionally, we determined that diagnostic and treatment delays were more frequent at the early tumour stages in NSCLC patients (p<0.05). DISCUSSION: The extended length of patient delay underscores the necessity of educating people about lung cancer. To decrease doctor delay, education is a crucial first step. Additionally, to further reduce the diagnostic and treatment delays of chest specialists, multidisciplinary management and algorithms must be used regularly.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/diagnosis , Delayed Diagnosis/adverse effects , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Physicians , Time Factors , TurkeyABSTRACT
A 56-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a complaint of massive hemoptysis. Bronchoscopy revealed a tumor obstructed the orifice of the right lower lobe bronchus. The diagnosis of endobronchial schwannoma was made by broncho-fibroscopic biopsy. Schwannomas are benign tumors which originate from schwann cells. They rarely occur in the trachea or bronchus. On the other hand symptoms in pulmonary schwannoma are usually mild. Massive hemoptysis is extremely rare. We report a case of endobronchial schwannoma complicated by massive hemoptysis.
Subject(s)
Bronchial Neoplasms/complications , Hemoptysis/etiology , Neurilemmoma/complications , Bronchial Neoplasms/diagnosis , Bronchoscopy , Hemoptysis/diagnosis , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neurilemmoma/diagnosisABSTRACT
We aimed to investigate the computed tomography (CT) findings of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) caused by environmental asbestos exposure. We retrospectively reviewed CT scans of 66 patients, which were performed before any invasive procedure was done. Pleural effusion (80.3%), pleural thickening (77.2%), volume contraction (37.9%), involvement of mediastinal pleura (31.8%) and interlobar fissure (28.8%) were the most common CT findings of MPM. Although none of these findings are pathognomonic for MPM, they may provide valuable clues for the differential diagnosis, at least in patients with a history of asbestos exposure.
