Solitary Pulmonary Nodule +Atelectasis

[lulu1000]

I have had a ct scan w/o contrast of my chest which showed an SPN. I had previously had a bad couch with quite a bit of difficulty breathing and had a chest x-ray which showed
" new areas of plate atelectasis at the lingula w/o definite consolidating infiltrates. Borderline cardiomyopathy.
A later CT scan showed small nodular opacity at the left base which is most likely inflammatory. Follow up ct 12 months to document stabilty"
My question is" What does this mean in simple terms and should I just ignore it? I'm still coughing up a lot of stuff and my doctor said " I don't know whats causing your cough. I'll see you in two months. HUH? What should I do?

[National Jewish Health]

The solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) may or may not be related to your productive cough.  The suggestion that it is "...most likely inflammatory" is likely based on characteristics of the nodule (size, shape, etc) but you should ask your doctor or ask him to ask the radiologist, with how much certainty was that interpretation made.  Such interpretation by the radiologist also takes into account your age and smoking history.  Lesions smaller than 2.5 centimeter, about 1 inch, in diameter are usually benign.  You should also ask if the atelectasis and the nodule were deemed to be related or unrelated.

Given these abnormal findings and the persistence of your productive cough, you should not wait 2 months.  Either your present doctor or another doctor, preferably a lung specialist, called a pulmonologist, should make an earnest attempt now, to diagnose the cause and initiate treatment for your cough.

The recommendation of a repeat CT in 12 months is standard procedure for a nodule that is deemed highly likely to be benign, "just in case."