Abstract
Answer A.
According to current National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance, patients with hoarseness persisting for more than 3 weeks should be referred urgently for a chest X-ray—particularly smokers aged older than 50 years and heavy drinkers.
If there is a positive finding, then the patient should be referred urgently to a team specializing in the management of lung cancer. If there is a negative finding, then the patient should be referred urgently to a team specializing in the management of head and neck cancer.
CG 27 Referral for Suspected Cancer.