McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine

McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine
Interviews
Respirology
Chest x-ray in asymptomatic elderly smokers

Chest x-ray in asymptomatic elderly smokers

2018-01-16

Julian Dobranowski

Are there any potential benefits of performing and repeating chest x-rays in asymptomatic elderly smokers?

Julian Dobranowski: In the asymptomatic patients, whether they are young or old, there is no evidence to support the use of chest x-rays looking for disease, especially looking for lung cancers in a smoker. In fact, there is very strong evidence to support not using chest x-rays to rule out disease.

See also

Current treatment of COPD A lecture by Dr Jadwiga Wedzicha, from Imperial College London, UK, delivered at McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine in Kraków in May 2017.
Biologics in asthma–COPD overlap syndrome What is your opinion on the use of biologics in patients with asthma–chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap syndrome?
Monitoring cough in clinical practice How can we monitor cough in clinical practice? Is there a place for questionnaires or cough monitors outside specialist centers, maybe even in general practitioners’ offices?
Repeated CT scans in patients with no pulmonary nodules If a patient enters a screening program and the first computed tomography (CT) is negative, how often are CT scans usually repeated in those with no pulmonary nodules? Is it necessary to repeat the CT scan if the first screening was negative?
Pharmacological treatment in asymptomatic patients with COPD Should we start pharmacological treatment in asymptomatic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?
Current management of tuberculosis: key messages for clinical practice A lecture by Prof. Lori Whitehead, from McMaster University, Canada, delivered at McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine in Kraków in May 2016.
Chest x-ray positioning: Is PA projection alone sufficient? Should we always use a posteroanterior (PA) and lateral chest x-ray during the diagnostic workup of patients with respiratory signs and symptoms, or is the PA projection alone sufficient in some instances?
Interventions in unexplained chronic cough What evidence-based interventions, or interventions in general, can be offered to individuals with unexplained chronic cough?
Contraindications to the use of biologics in asthma Are there any common contraindications to the use of biologics in asthma?
Clinical situations necessitating the use of biologics in asthma Are there any clinical situations in which the use of biologics is necessary in patients with asthma?

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