Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration Increases the Yield of Transbronchial Lung Biopsy for the Evaluation of Peribronchial Lesions

Background： Due to absence of visible endobronchial target, the diagnostic yield of flexible bronchoscopy for peribronchial lesions has been unsatisfactory. Convex probe endobronchial ultrasound （CP-EBUS） has allowed for performing real-time transbronchial needle aspiration （TBNA） of enlarged hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes and therefore could also be used as a means of diagnosing proximal peribronchial lesions. Methods： We retrospectively analyzed the results related to 72 patients who underwent CP-EBUS for peribronchial lesions without endobronchial involvement and adjacent to three-grade bronchi based on chest computed tomography （CT） scan. We recorded the images during EBUS as well as the diagnostic results of TBNA and conventional-transbronchial lung biopsy/brush （C-TBLB/b）, and final diagnoses were based on pathologic analysis and follow-up. Results： In all cases, the mass was able to be identified using EBUS in 97.2% patients （70/72） who were performed with EBUS-TBNA ＋ C-TBLB/b. Sixty-six patients had a final diagnosis, 80.0% patients （56/70） had malignancies, and 14.3% patients （10/70） had benign disease. In malignancies, the diagnostic yield of C-TBLB/b was 57.1% （32/56） and in EBUS-TBNA was 85.7% （48/56）, whereas pathologic diagnosis reached 94.6% when EBUS-TBNA was combined with C-TBLB/b. C-TBLB/b ＋ EBUS-TBNA also exhibited stronger potency of histolytic diagnosis for malignancies than either EBUS-TBNA or C-TBLB/b alone. Furthermore, there are data supporting the value of EBUS-TBNA for the diagnosis of benign lung disease. Conclusion： The combined endoscopic approach with EBUS-TBNA and C-TBLB/b is an accurate and effective method for the evaluation of peribronchial lesions, with better results than using each technique alone.

First 30 endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspirations： a single institution＇s early experience

Background A new technique developed in 2002, aspiration （EBUS-TBNA）, has been one of the most real time endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle important tools in lymph nodes （LNs） staging before lung cancer surgery. EBUS-TBNA was introduced into China in 2008. Methods Between June 2009 and October 2009, 30 patients with mediastinal/hilar lymphadenopathy and thoracic masses previously detected with CT scan underwent EBUS-TBNA without rapid onsite cytological examination. Results From 30 patients, 33 samples were obtained from LNs and seven samples from intrapulmonary lesions. Twenty out of the 23 lung cancer diagnoses were clarified through the procedure, with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy being 87%, 100%, 100%, 70% and 90%, respectively. All three false negative cases were found in the first five procedures. Additionally, among the 33 LNs examined, three specimens that had no lymphocytes were also found within the first five procedures. There were no major complications, and the procedures were uneventful. Conclusions EBUS-TBNA seems a safe and effective technique in making diagnosis for mediastinal/hilar LNs and intrapulmonary masses. For pulmonologists experienced in bronchoscopy, the sensitivity of the procedure for diagnosing lung cancer should be no less than 90% after the initial five procedures.