CT-guided biopsy of lung nodules with pleural contact: Comparison of two puncture routes

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively compare two puncture routes (transpleural vs. transpulmonary) for computed tomography (CT) fluoroscopy-guided cutting needle biopsy of lung nodules with pleural contact. Patients and methods: A total of 102 patients (72 men; mean age, 71.1 ± 9.5 [SD] years) were included and 102 biopsies of 102 lung nodules (mean size, 16.7 ± 5.9 [SD] mm; range, 6.0–29.4 mm; mean length of pleural contact, 10.1 ± 4.2 [SD] mm; range, 2.8–19.6 mm) were analyzed. All procedures were classified as biopsies via the direct transpleural route or the transpulmonary route. The patient-, lesion-, and biopsy-related variables, diagnostic yields, and incidence of complications were compared between the two routes. Results: Biopsy was performed via the direct transpleural route (n = 59; 57.8%) and transpulmonary route (n = 43; 42.2%). In the transpulmonary route group, the mean distance of the intrapulmonary pathway was 17.7 ± 9.4 [SD] mm (range: 4.1–47.6 mm; P < 0.001) and the introducer needle trajectory angle of < 45° was significantly observed (8.5% [5/59] vs. 60.5% [26/43]; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in diagnostic accuracy between the direct transpleural and transpulmonary routes (93.2% [55/59] vs. 90.7% [39/43]; P = 0.718). The frequencies of all complications (64.4% [38/59] vs. 97.7% [42/43]; P < 0.001), pneumothorax (33.9% [20/59] vs. 65.1% [28/43]; P = 0.003), pneumothorax with chest tube placement (3.4% [2/59] vs. 18.6% [8/43]; P = 0.016), and pulmonary hemorrhage (47.5% [28/59] vs. 76.7% [33/43]; P = 0.004) were significantly lower in the direct transpleural group. Conclusion: Direct transpleural route is recommended for CT fluoroscopy-guided biopsy of lung nodules with pleural contact because it is safer and yields similar diagnostic accuracy than transpulmonary route.