A Study on Diagnostic Yield and Complications of Computed Tomography-guided Percutaneous Transthoracic Needle Biopsy in Pulmonary Lesions

A BSTRACT Background: A solitary pulmonary nodule is defined as a single discrete pulmonary opacity of size 3 cm or less in diameter that is surrounded by normal lung tissue that is not associated with adenopathy or atelectasis. Nodule is a focal, rounded opacity of varying size, which can be well or ill-defined, up to 3 cm in diameter. Micronodule is the term used to describe a discrete, small, focal, rounded opacity with a diameter <3 mm. Technological advances in computed tomography (CT) and improved vigilance have increased the detection of indeterminate pulmonary nodules. These pulmonary nodules are detected not only at an increased rate but also at a smaller size. Various approaches including analytic techniques as well as newer technologies have been developed to estimate the likelihood of malignancy in a given pulmonary nodule. Materials and Methods: This study is aimed to evaluate the diagnostic yield of CT-guided transthoracic needle biopsy (TTNB) and also to evaluate the complications associated with CT-guided TTNB. This is a 1-year hospital-based prospective observational study done between November 2015 and November 2016. The patients with undiagnosed demonstrable radiological pulmonary lesion who presented to The Department of Pulmonary medicine included for this study. Total sample size or patients involved in this study was 53 ( n = 53). Results: The diagnostic yield, in this study was 88.7%. Out of 53 patients undergoing CT-guided percutaneous TTNB, 8 patients (15%) had complications. The complications which occurred were pneumothorax and hemorrhage; no patient developed air embolism, cardiac tamponade, or other complications was noted. Conclusion: CT-guided percutaneous TTNB is an excellent method for obtaining the tissue diagnosis of undiagnosed demonstrable radiological pulmonary lesion with high diagnostic yield and minimal complications.