This meta-analysis confirms that CNB is an excellent method in the assessment of salivary gland lesions and lymphadenopathies inclusive of malignant lymphoma, but it is not ideal for evaluating thyroid lesions.

NBI qualifies for rapid detection and delineation of suspicious lesions. Additionally, this noninvasive method is also beneficial in a variety of benign lesions.

Sonography and if necessary FNA should continue to be the investigation method of first choice for head and neck lesions. The main indication for CNB is after repeated failures of FNA to provide a diagnosis. It can also be performed in patients who are not surgical candidates or in those who refuse surgery.

Rapid identification of contaminated BCs (n = 126) resulted in a shorter duration of intravenous antimicrobial therapy (mean 4.8 versus 7.5 days, p 0.04). Rapid identification using MALDI-TOF directly from positive BCs did not impact on duration of intravenous antimicrobial therapy, but provided fast and reliable microbiological results and may improve treatment quality in the setting of an established ASP.

No abstract