The impact of antibiotic use on the management of pulmonary ground glass nodules: A retrospective cohort study

<bold>Background and objective:</bold> The antibiotics use in the management of Ground glass nodules (GGNs) remains controversial. Here, we evaluated a group of GGNs with the aim of determining whether antibiotic use is associated with the probability of surgical resection and lung cancer diagnosis. <bold>Methods:</bold> We conducted a single-centre retrospective cohort study, focusing on patients with GGNs between August 10th, 2018 and July 22nd, 2022. The primary outcome was surgical resection and diagnosed as lung cancer. Characteristics were compared between antibiotics group and control group. Differences in surgical resection, lung cancer diagnosis, and subsequent growth were analyzed using propensity score matching. <bold>Results:</bold> We identified 2609 patients with GGNs. After exclusions and propensity score matching, a total of 368 patients were included, with 184 receiving antibiotics and 184 not receiving antibiotics. The median follow-up duration was 42.0 months. A tendency towards surgical resection was observed with the administration of antibiotics, which was not significant (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.69). There was no evidence indicating a reduction in lung cancer diagnosis and growth. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> This study reveals that antibiotic use for pulmonary GGNs is not recommended. However, the findings are constrained by the small sample size and a short follow-up period. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA3344/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>