[The chronology and diagnostic round of patients operated on for bronchopulmonary cancer].

UNLABELLED

37 patients with certified diagnosis, operated for lung cancer (LC) in The Central Military Hospital Bucharest, during six months period (October 1st 1996-June 1st 1997). It was a retrospective study on the patients medical files. Sex distribution, postsurgical staging and histological type were studied. We calculated the following delays: 1. Between the first medical examination and the first suspicion (chest X-ray): 6 +/- 3 days; 2. Between the first medical examination and first hospital admission: 14 +/- 11 days; 3. Between the first hospital admission and the first admission in surgical units: 43 +/- 23 days; 4. Between the first admission in surgical units and surgery: 59 +/- 26 days; 5. The delay until bronchoscopy: 23 +/- 16 days; 6. The delay until the CT examination: 26 +/- 16 days; 7. Between the first medical examination and the surgery: 78 +/- 30 days. These delays were correlated with the specialty profile of the services which referred the patients: pulmonology, internal medicine, oncology or primary services.

CONCLUSION

1. Most patients come from pulmonology units (22 out of 37 patients); 2. There are significant delays until bronchoscopy and CT scan, the availability of these services is still limited; 3. The primary care medical network is still inefficient in early diagnosis of LC; 4. The overcrowding of thoracic surgery unit (scheduling for surgical intervention). All of these are arguments for developing more efficient and faster circuits of LC diagnosis, especially for high risk patients.