Abstract
Introduction and Aims: Thymoma is a rare but the commonest primary malignancy of the anterior mediastinum (35%), with an annual incidence around 3 per million population (Girard et al. Annals of Oncology 2015; 26:v40-55). Standard first line imaging is CT thorax with contrast. During the Covid-19 era more CTs were performed. We evaluated whether this affected the diagnosis and management of thymomas in a UK district general hospital.
Methods: We included CT scan reports from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021 with the terms ‘thymoma’, ‘thymic’ and ‘thymus’ (n=171). Non-diagnoses and existing diagnoses of thymomas were excluded. Data was collected on patient demographics, presenting symptoms, scan circumstances, size of mass, further investigations and staging.
Results: We identified 21 potential diagnoses of thymoma, ages ranging from 14 to 89 years. Half were male and 71% Caucasian. Commonest presenting symptoms were shortness of breath and cough (33%). 3 scans were performed as part of Covid management. 7 patients underwent a biopsy, of whom 4 had histology-confirmed thymoma (Table 1).
Discussion: Results highlight that despite frequent mentions of mediastinal abnormalities in CT reports, few are investigated. Only 57% of those biopsied were diagnosed with thymoma, likely representing underdiagnosis. In addition, the increased number of CTs performed during the Covid pandemic did not result in more diagnoses of thymoma.
Footnotes
Cite this article as Eur Respir J 2022; 60: Suppl. 66, 2112.
This article was presented at the 2022 ERS International Congress, in session “-”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
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