does size predict calcification?
STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the likelihood of lung nodule calcification can be predicted from nodule size as measured on a chest radiograph (CXR). DESIGN: Retrospective review of CXRs of patients with lung nodules < or =1 cm in size detected on CT scanning. CT images were used to identify calcifications and to provide spatial localization for readers to visualize nodules on a CXR and to measure their size. A subset of these nodules then was reexamined by different readers who did not view the CT scans SETTING: Two university hospitals (Albuquerque, NM; Dallas, TX) and a US Air Force/Veterans Administration medical center (Albuquerque, NM). PATIENTS: Two hundred thirty-six nodules in 185 patients RESULTS: One half of the nodules (118) seen on CT scans could not be located on CXR, of which 8 (7%) were calcified. The prevalence of calcifications in the other 118 nodules visualized on CXRs was much higher (71 of 118 nodules [60%]; p<0.005). Among the nodules visualized on CXRs,
