Investigation and analysis of the incidence of pulmonary nodules in ocean-going seafarers

Abstract

Objective To screen the incidence of pulmonary nodules among ocean-going seafarers by chest low-dose computed tomography (LDCT), so as to provide solid evidence for proper medical support of seafarers. Methods Nine hundred and seventy-two fishermen from a large fishing company who underwent physical examination in the Medical Examination Center of Yantaishan Hospital from December 2015 to December 2017 were selected as research subjects. In accordance with the range of fishing operation and the number of working days at sea, they were divided into the ocean-going operation group (n=479) and offshore operation group (n=493). At the same time, 1 057 examinees who underwent physical check at the Center were designated as the healthy control group. LDCT plain scanning was used to identify the detection rate of pulmonary nodules in the 2 groups. Then, high resolution CT was used to identify the incidence of malignant trend nodules in the positive pulmonary nodules. Results The smoking indexes of the ocean-going operation group and the offshore working group were significantly higher than those of the healthy control group, and statistical significance could be found when comparisons were made between them (P<0.01). Total detection rates and the number of nodules larger than 8mm in the ocean-going and offshore operation groups were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group (P<0.01). Total detection rate and the number of nodules larger than 8mm in the ocean-going operation group were obviously higher than those of the offshore operation group, and statistical significance could also be noted when comparisons were made between them (P<0.05). The incidence of positive nodules and malignant trend nodules in the ocean-going and offshore operation groups was significantly higher than that in the healthy control group, also with statistical significance (P<0.01). The incidence of positive nodules and malignant trend nodules in the total population of the ocean-going operation group was significantly higher than that in the offshore operation group (P<0.05), also with statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusion The incidence of pulmonary nodules in ocean-going and offshore seafarers was obviously higher than that in the normal population, and the incidence of pulmonary nodules in ocean-going seafarers was higher than that in offshore seafarers. This might be related to the adverse environment and working conditions of ocean-going seafarers, for whom corresponding preventive and medical support measures should be taken for the maintenance of health. Key words: Ocean-going seafarer; Pulmonary nodule; Low dose spiral CT; Lung cancer