Potential pitfall: Overlapping lung cancer and COVID-19 symptoms means that the message to patients about early diagnosis is negated by the messages necessary to control the COVID pandemic. Helpful hint: Consider the following action if a patient presents with...
Thursday 25th June 2020 Dr Ben Noble’s RCGP award-winning Cancer Maps is a popular interactive reference tool for GPs based on the NICE NG12 guideline; primarily, the tool is designed to be used during consultations to help clinicians assess possible cancer symptoms....
Potential pitfall: Overlapping lung cancer and COVID-19 symptoms means that the message to patients about early diagnosis is negated by the messages necessary to control the COVID pandemic. Helpful hint: Consider the following action if a patient presents with...
Potential pitfall: Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) is a medical emergency which can result in paralysis. Many patients living with cancer have pain; within primary care it can difficult to differentiate between significant pain which may be due to MSCC, and...
Potential pitfall:
There has been a significant reduction in suspected cancer referrals during the COVID-19 crisis. Yet, lung cancer is a major cause of premature death in the UK. Clinician’s must identify those at risk of lung cancer and investigate when appropriate, to ensure we do not miss opportunities for early diagnosis and curative treatment.
Helpful hint:
Consider this guidance when selecting patients for a chest X-ray or a suspected lung cancer referral during coronavirus, if a patient presents with a persistent cough > 3 weeks and:
NICE guidelines recommend offering an urgent chest X-ray (to be performed within 2 weeks) to assess for lung cancer in people aged 40 and over, who have ever smoked and present with a cough; or are aged 40 and over who present with a cough and another red flag symptom, or a persistent or recurrent chest infection. Refer using a suspected cancer pathway referral (for an appointment within 2 weeks) if they are aged 40 and over with unexplained haemoptysis, or their chest X-ray suggests lung cancer.
References:
Dr Matthew Evison, Consultant Chest Physician and Clinical Lead, Director of the Lung Pathway Board and clinical lead for the CURE project for Greater Manchester
Kennedy et al. Lung cancer stage-shift following a symptom awareness campaign. Thorax. 2018 Dec;73(12):1128-1136
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