Surgical diagnosis of bronchopulmonary disease in Nigerians: the role of mediastinal biopsy.

Surgical diagnostic procedures were done on 33 Nigerians (20 males and 13 females [mean age 47.0 years +/- 20.5 SD]) who presented with atypical noneffusive bronchopulmonary diseases between 1982 and 1988. Rigid bronchoscopy was done 16 times with or without mediastinal biopsy. Mediastinal biopsy was done through scalene, supraclavicular, or suprasternal approach or by anterior mediastinotomy on 23 occasions. Diagnostic yield and clinicopathologic concurrence for the 23 mediastinal biopsies were 91.3% and 95.6%, respectively. No deaths were associated with these biopsy procedures.