Lung biopsy with the high speed drill in a developing country.

The results of high speed air drill lung biopsy during 38 months in Addis Ababa is reported. Even though the diagnostic yield was only 49%, trephine lung biopsy has a place in the investigation of diffuse and accessible localised lesions of the lung. It has proved to be a relatively safe and simple procedure. Nineteen male and 20 female patients were studied and in addition eight postmortem specimens of lung tissue were included. The chest radiograph showed diffuse pulmonary infiltrates in 42 and localised in six, with diagnostic biopsy specimens in 20 and five respectively. Biopsy of the inferior lung in the lateral decubitus position in patients with diffuse lung lesions has yielded larger specimens than has routine biopsy performed in the sitting position. Since the only patient who developed appreciable haemoptysis was the single patient with chronic cor pulmonale, caution should be exercised in such cases. A chest radiograph is indicated after biopsy only when the clinical condition of the patient warrants it.