[Surgical pulmonary biopsy in diffuse interstitial pneumopathies].

On the basis of 81 cases of surgical lung biopsy performed in the course of diffuse interstitial lung disease, the authors report the yield and the tolerance which they observed with this technique in comparison with data from the literature. Like other authors, they obtained an excellent histological yield, as only one case was uninterpretable in this present series. However, they emphasise the "final yield", which consists of a precise aetiological diagnosis, i.e. the exclusion of the diagnosis of diffuse interstitial fibrosis. The analysis of the tolerance of the procedure revealed a higher morbidity and mortality than those generally reported in the literature.