Patients are at risk of a delayed diagnosis of lung disease because of an ongoing reliance on chest X-rays as a first-line method of investigation, a report from the UK has warned.
The Taskforce for Lung Health, a coalition of more than 40 organisations working to improve lung health, says around one in five people with lung cancer are getting diagnosed late because of ‘ineffective’ diagnostic tests, putting them at risk of worse treatment outcomes.
They note that current guidelines recommend that most patients presenting in primary care with respiratory symptoms such as chronic breathlessness, cough or persistent chest infection, should have a chest X-ray.
However, chest X-rays “have limitations in identifying serious lung conditions such as lung cancer, as not all abnormalities are visible on an X-ray image”, the Taskforce notes.
In fact, evidence suggests that as many as 90% of lung cancer cases are missed by X-ray imaging, while it is likely that a significant number of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are also failing to get a diagnosis with X-ray alone, “because of the low sensitivity of the imaging”, it says.
Consequently, experts are calling on the health services to promote the use of CT scanning in patients with suspected lung conditions and allow GPs to make referrals directly from primary care where necessary, because of the increased sensitivity and accuracy of CT scanning versus X-ray.
“This would give patients the best chance of early diagnosis, opening access to the best available treatments to manage their symptoms and cure or slow the progression of their disease,” the Taskforce noted.