Diagnostic yield and complication rates of percutaneous transthoracic CT-guided coaxial needle biopsy in persistent pulmonary consolidation.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the diagnostic performance and complication rates of percutaneous transthoracic CT-guided coaxial core needle biopsy (PTCNB) in persistent consolidations and evaluate its safety in routine clinical practice.

METHODS

A total of 685 patients (404 males, 281 females) underwent PTCNB with coaxial core technique for persisted consolidation were reviewed in this study. According to histopathological and microbiological analysis, the results of biopsy specimens were categorized as follows: malignant, specific benign, non-specific benign and non-diagnostic. The final diagnosis was established through surgical resection or clinicoradiological follow-up for at least 12 months following biopsy. Diagnostic yield of PTCNB was defined as the percentage of the true diagnosis from biopsy as malignant and specific benign lesions.

RESULTS

With respect to the final diagnosis, 54 (54/685; 7.88%) cases were obtained by surgery and the remaining were by follow-up. The total accuracy, sensitivity, specificity of PTCNB for malignancy diagnosis was 94.45%, 84.87%, 100%, respectively. Diagnostic yield of PTCNB was 66.28%. Compared to lesions smaller than 3 cm, higher diagnostic yield (70.89%), lower complication incidence (38.22%) and shorter procedure time (8.78 min) were observed in lesions ≥ 3 cm group.

CONCLUSION

PTCNB in persistent consolidation is a safe and effective procedure, which provide relatively high diagnostic yield and acceptable complication, especially in size over 3 cm lesions.

CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT

CT-guided coaxial needle biopsy for pulmonary consolidation is a safe and effective procedure. The coaxial needle biopsy yielded high diagnostic rates and low complication rates (including pneumothorax and intrapulmonary hemorrhage), especially in larger lesions.