CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic biopsy of the lung is a well-established method for diagnosis of pulmonary lesions yielding a diagnostic accuracy of 71%-95% (1-5), with pneumothorax being the most common complication varying between 17% and 26% (5-7). Currently coaxial technique is more commonly employed than the non-coaxial technique. The risk of pneumothorax may play a decisive role on this preference. Theoretically, fewer pleural passes means less risk of pneumothorax with the coaxial technique. However, introduction of relatively large bore needles are needed in the coaxial technique, which is a known risk factor for the development pneumothorax (8,9). To the best of our knowledge, there are only a few studies on CT-guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies with non-coaxial technique on large patient populations (10, 11).The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and safety of CT-guided transthoracic biopsy of pulmonary lesions with FNA using the non-coaxial technique.
Methods
PatientsThe institutional review board approved this retrospective study protocol and waived informed consent.CT images and biopsy records were retrospectively evaluated in 442 patients (346 males [78.3%] and 96 females [21.7%]; mean age, 64±10.8 years; range, 22-89 years) who underwent CT-guided transthoracic FNA of pulmonary lesions between July 2011 and June 2015. Bronchoscopy or transbronchial biopsies were nondiagnostic or not feasible in these patients.Exclusion criteria for the procedure were lesions <5 mm in maximum diameter, lesions suspected to be of vascular origin, uncorrectable coagulopathy (international normalized ratio ≥1.5, platelet count <50,000 K/UL), patients who were unable to maintain the appro-
I N T E R V E N T I O N A L R A D I O LO G Y O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E
PURPOSEWe aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and safety of computed tomography (CT)-guided biopsy of pulmonary lesions with fine needle aspiration (FNA) using non-coaxial technique.
METHODSWe analyzed 442 patients who underwent CT-guided lung biopsy with FNA and non-coaxial technique to determine the diagnostic outcomes, complication rates, and independent risk factors for diagnostic failure and pneumothorax.
RESULTSDiagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 97.6%, 97.3%, and 100%, respectively. Age and >35 mm lesion size were significant risk factors for diagnostic failure. The rates of pneumothorax and chest tube placement were 19% and 2.9%, respectively. Middle and lower lobe location, lesion to pleura distance >7.5 mm, and >45° needle trajectory angle were significant risk factors for pneumothorax.
CONCLUSIONCT-guided FNA of pulmonary lesions with non-coaxial technique is a safe and reliable method with a relatively low pneumothorax rate and an acceptably high diagnostic accuracy.