Computed tomography assisted transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy: 5 years experience

Aims: Transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy (TTNAB) is used to diagnose thoracic lesions and has a wide range of indications and few contraindications. The aims of this study were to assess the diagnostic value and complication rate of computed tomography-guided TTNAB for malignant diseases, to identify factors that influence diagnostic value and complication rate, and to compare our practices to those described in the literature. Methods: A retrospective, observational, and cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the complication incidence and diagnostic value of the TTNAB. In Our study, 208 patients who underwent computed tomography-guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy at our hospital by pulmonologists between July 2007 and February 2013 were analyzed. In addition to descriptive statistical methods the Pearson Chi-Square test was used to compare quantitative data when evaluating the study's data. The significance level of the results was accepted as p<0.05 with a 95% confidence interval. Results: The ages of the patients ranged from 33 to 88 years and the 179 of them were male. The procedure's outcomes and rates of complications were documented. To evaluate the diagnostic value, we analyzed the clinical and radiologic follow-up results of 136 patients whose data were available. The rate of malignant diagnoses was 72.1%, while the rate of benign diagnoses was 4.4%. For malignant lung tumors, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of the procedure were calculated to be 80%, 93%, 99%, 37%, and 82%, respectively. The only observed complication was pneumothorax, which occurred in 8 of 208 patients (3.8%). Diagnostic value and complication rate were unaffected by lesion size and needle thickness. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, computed tomography-guided TTNAB procedures in the diagnosis of malignant thoracic lesions have good diagnostic accuracy and low complication rates, which is consistent with litreture.