OBJECTIVE: To analyze the role of computed tomography and bronchoscopy in the diagnosis of lung cancer, evaluating the effectiveness of these techniques in the presence of this disease. Parameters such as age, gender, smoking habits, histological types, staging and treatment were also analyzed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample of the present study included 70 patients assisted at the Department of Pneumology of Hospital Distrital da Figueira da Foz, Coimbra, Portugal, who were submitted to both diagnostic methods, namely, computed tomography and bronchoscopy, to confirm the presence or the absence of lung cancer. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients (23 men and 14 women) were diagnosed with lung cancer. Histologically 40.54% were adenocarcinoma, followed by squamous carcinoma (32.43% cases) and small-cell lung cancer (18.92%). Staging showed 6.70% stage IB disease, 23.30% stage IIIA and 36.70% stage IIIB, and 33.30% stage IV. Chemotherapy alone was the first treatment of choice for 75.7% of patients. Bronchoscopy sensitivity was 83.8%, specificity 81.8%, and accuracy 82.8%. Computed tomography sensitivity was 81.1%, specificity 63.6%, and accuracy 72.8%. CONCLUSION: Bronchoscopy results corroborated the relevance of the method in the diagnosis of lung cancer, considering its dependence on the anatomopathological study of tissue or cells obtained through different biopsy techniques. Computed tomography presented good sensitivity (81.1%), however the specificity of only 63.6% is related to the rate of false-positive results (36.4%).

Keywords: Lung cancer; Imaging diagnosis; Bronchoscopy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of primary and secondary displays of conventional radiography systems based on luminance measurements. The level of ambient lighting within the rooms was also measured. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Luminance measurements were performed with an Unfors Xi Light Detector in 23 primary and 22 secondary displays (six of them utilized in emergency departments) at five different institutions, and according to the method described on the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) TG18 report. The level of ambient lighting was measured with Delta Ohm HD 9221 lux meter. RESULTS: In general, both the primary and secondary the displays were compliant with the AAPM guidelines. As regards ambient lighting, the primary workstation rooms were slightly above the recommended levels. As far as The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) recommendations are concerned, the number of compliant displays corresponded to a minority, with no significant difference, though. CONCLUSION: Although most of the displays could not meet the strict RCR guidelines, in general, the results were satisfactory. The level of agreement between primary and secondary displays should be as high as possible in order to guarantee the image quality. Considering the key role played by diagnostic imaging systems, medical imaging displays must be regularly evaluated to assure that the quality of the imaging system is maintained.

Keywords: Quality control; Luminance; Illuminance.