[Transbronchial needle aspiration as a diagnostic method of mediastinal adenopathy]

The aim of the study was to assess the diagnostic yield of transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) in mediastinal or hilar adenopathy in: sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and malignancy. Transbronchial needle aspiration was performed in 53 patients, preeceded by computed tomography (CT). In 22 patients (41,5%) TBNA enabled to diagnose 10 cases of sarcoidosis, 12 cases of neoplastic infiltrates of the lung. There were 31 cases undiagnosed by means of TBNA. In 24 patients the diagnosis was established by means of other methods like bronchoscopy with mucose biopsy (8 cases of sarcoidosis), transbronchial lung biopsy (4 cases of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, 2 cases of sarcoidosis), mediastinoscopy (3 cases of sarcoidosis and 2 cases of Hodgkin's disease), and videothoracoscopy (2 cases of sarcoidosis), transthoracic needle biopsy (1 case of squamous cell carcinoma) and lymph node biopsy (1 case of adenocarcinoma and 1 case of sarcoidosis). In the remaining 7 patients who were followed-up for a period of one year the diagnosis of sarcoidosis was confirmed by clinical, radiological and cytological (BAL) examinations. Transbronchial needle aspiration was shown to be efficient diagnostic method in mediastinal or hilar adenopathy in sarcoidosis and malignancy except lymphoma. Moreover in approximately 60% of cases this technique doesn't allow to establish a diagnosis and in turn implicates the necessity for further diagnostic procedures like mediastinoscopy, or transbronchial or thoracoscopic lung biopsy.