Low-dose helical chest CT in asbestos-exposed workers in the Veneto Region: preliminary results

To evaluate the preliminary results of low-dose helical chest CT in a group of individuals with an occupational exposure to asbestos.

Between October 2000 and May 2004, 1,512 asymptomatic subjects, selected by Occupational Health physicians of the Veneto Region among those with a significant exposure to asbestos, underwent low-dose helical chest CT without contrast media administration. According to their features, all pulmonary nodules identified underwent pathology, further CT evaluation or follow-up with low-dose CT.

Apart from benign pleural findings (in 40% of subjects), 590 pulmonary nodules were identified. Eleven nodules underwent pathologic examination, which detected 5 malignant lesions, and 51 were evaluated with other CT techniques, in all cases demonstrating benign features. In follow-up low-dose CT scans, performed in the remaining 528 nodules, a minimal increase in size occurred in 4 cases only.

Screening for clinically relevant pulmonary lesions in asymptomatic people with occupational exposure to asbestos may be useful if rigorous enrollment criteria are adopted. The management of abnormal findings is cost-effective if it is based on the morphological features of each finding.