Evaluation of Socioeconomic Disparities in Follow-Up Completion for Incidental Pulmonary Nodules.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between census tract-level measures of social vulnerability and residential segregation and incidental pulmonary nodule (IPN) follow-up.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients with IPNs ≥6 mm in size or multiple subsolid or ground-glass IPNs <6 mm (with nonoptional follow-up recommendations) diagnosed between January 1, 2018, and December 30, 2019, at a large urban tertiary center and followed for ≥2 years. Geographic sociodemographic context was characterized by the 2018 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and the index of concentration at the extremes (ICE), categorized in quartiles.