Monal Patel

Rasmussen College

Professional Nursing 2

Instructor: Anita Massey

Course Project- Picot Question

Date 05/20/2021

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Introduction

Lung cancer screening is the lung scanning tests conducted to detect a disease in the

early stages. This ensures that if there is a disease seen, it is treated before symptoms manifest.

In the United States, it is not common to do frequent scanning to detect lung cancer. However,

doing periodic scanning will improve the survival rates of many patients in the future. People

who are above fifty years old and those who have been smoking for a long time need to have

lung scanning tests. This paper will cover the importance of having screening and how it can

improve the survival rates of cancer patients in the future.

Background

Lung cancers are the highest rate of cancer worldwide. It has killed a lot of people. In

most cases, when scanning is done, the disease is at a late stage. Hence, it is too late to cure the

patients. Several lung screening tests have to be conducted in due time to save many lives

(Makinson, Tron, Grabar, Milleron, Reynes, Le Moing, & Guiguet, 2020). The test that has

been proven as being most effective in detecting lung cancer in its early stages is a low-dose

CT (Computer Tomography) scan. An X-ray scan aided with a computer takes scanned pictures

of the lungs. The images produced have more content than regular x-ray scans. The radiologist

will analyze the scanned lung images and will determine if there are problems with the chest. If

small spots are detected, then the patient is healthy. If the area becomes more extensive in the

periodic scanning tests, the patient most likely has lung cancer.

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Possible integration of the evidence that you found in clinical practice.

When the low CT scan tests show that one has lung cancer, it is possible to determine

cancer progression. When one has cancer symptoms such as chest infections and coughs, the

patient is mainly in the late stages (Draucker, Rawl, Vode, & Carter, 2019). A patient who has

no symptoms may be in the early stages. Low CT scans detect lung cancer more efficiently

compared to standard chest X-ray tests. Hence screening using CT scans has a high probability

of saving lung cancer, infected patients. Several tests worldwide have shown that lung cancer

deaths have been minimized by over 20%. This is due to the use of CT scans in testing men for

cancer.

US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended low CT scanning tests for

men above fifty-five years old in 2013. Those who stopped smoking fifteen years ago or are

current smokers were also tested (Louise Henderson, Patricia Rivera, & Ethan Basch, 2021).

However, the USPSTF decided to update the recommendations. The new minimal year to be

tested would be fifty years. Additionally, the number of smoking years would be from thirty to

twenty. However, few patients who meet the criteria for scanning are being tested.

Methods to evaluate the effectiveness of implementation.

A study was conducted to determine why those who met the low CT scan test

requirements did not take the tests. Both qualitative and quantitative tests were carried out

(Black, 2018). First, the qualitative test involved asking the participants questions regarding

whether they had low CT scan tests during the last year. They were given a picture of CT scans

to provide valid answers. About forty CT scan eligible subjects participated in the study. They

filled questionnaires with their consent.

The qualitative study involved telephone calls to the people who were eligible for CT

scan tests. Three nurs