Welch T J, Sheedy P F, Stephens D H, Johnson C M, Swensen S J
Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905.
Radiology. 1994 Nov;193(2):341-4. doi: 10.1148/radiology.193.2.7972740.
To evaluate the indications for and complications, accuracy, and techniques of percutaneous adrenal biopsy performed from 1982 through 1991 at the authors' institution.
Two hundred seventy-seven percutaneous adrenal biopsies were performed in 270 patients (175 male and 102 female patients, aged 31-84 years). Imaging studies and histories were reviewed, and each patient's case was followed up for at least 1 year after the biopsy. A patient was excluded from the study only if follow-up data could not be obtained.
The accuracy of percutaneous adrenal biopsy was 90% (249 of 277 biopsies). In the first 5 years of the study, the accuracy was 85% (87 of 102 biopsies); in the latter 5 years it was 93% (163 of 175 biopsies). The sensitivity was 81%, and the specificity was 99%. The positive predictive value was 99%, and the negative predictive value was 80%. The complication rate was 2.8%.
Percutaneous biopsy is a safe, accurate procedure for the diagnosis of pathologic conditions of the adrenal glands. The most common indication for a biopsy is the presence of an adrenal mass in a patient with lung cancer.
