Correspondence concerning patient adherence to lung CT screening reporting

Excerpt:

"We appreciate the insightful comments of Dr. Chen et al. regarding our article. They have raised several points that are worth discussing. We provide our detailed responses to each of their points in the subsequent texts.

First, this analysis would not be affected by the version of the Lung Computed Tomography Screening Reporting and Data System (Lung-RADS) used in each study. The focus of this systematic review and meta-analysis is on patient adherence to Lung-RADS–recommended screening intervals. Although we acknowledge that the change in Lung-RADS reporting of perifissural nodules and ground-glass nodules would affect the assignment of Lung-RADS score, it would not affect the recommended screening intervals associated with each Lung-RADS category. From Lung-RADS version 1.0 to version 1.1, the Lung-RADS–recommended screening intervals remain unchanged for each Lung-RADS category.

Second, we acknowledge that between-study heterogeneity in the rates of adherence is attributable to the varying lengths of follow-up in each individual study. In our analysis, we have attempted to account for the varying study periods of the included studies. We grouped adherence rates on the basis of their definitions. For a defined adherence, the patients need to complete an annual incidence screen or early follow-up examination within a specified time interval from the recommended date. For example..."

doi: doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2022.01.014 PMID: 35307109