Investigation and management of the solitary pulmonary nodule

With the advent of multi-detector computed tomography, the identification of solitary pulmonary nodules is becoming ever more common. Although the prevalence of malignancy in a high risk population is only 1–1.5%, accurate identification of malignant nodules is essential to allow optimal treatment. In this article we review the most common causes of solitary pulmonary nodules and discuss diagnostic algorithms as well as some of the novel diagnostic imaging techniques in development.