CT-guided biopsy of small liver lesions: visibility, artifacts, and corresponding diagnostic accuracy

Our study aimed to determine the visibility of small liver lesions during CT-guided biopsy and to assess the influence of lesion visibility on biopsy results.

Fifty patients underwent CT-guided core biopsy of small focal liver lesions (maximum diameter, 3 cm); 38 biopsies were performed using noncontrast CT, and the remaining 12 were contrast-enhanced. Visibility of all lesions was graded on a 4-point-scale (0 = not visible, 1 = poorly visible, 2 = sufficiently visible, 3 = excellently visible) before and during biopsy (with the needle placed adjacent to and within the target lesion).

Forty-three biopsies (86%) yielded diagnostic results, and seven biopsies were false-negative. In noncontrast biopsies, the rate of insufficiently visualized lesions (grades 0-1) increased significantly during the procedure, from 10.5% to 44.7%, due to needle artifacts. This resulted in more (17.6%) false-negative biopsy results compared to lesions with good visualization (4.8%), although this difference lacks statistical significance. Visualization impairment appeared more often with an intercostal or subcostal vs. an epigastric access and with a subcapsular vs. a central lesion location, respectively. With contrast-enhanced biopsy the visibility of hepatic lesions was only temporarily improved, with a risk of complete obscuration in the late phase.

In conclusion, visibility of small liver lesions diminished significantly during CT-guided biopsy due to needle artifacts, with a fourfold increased rate of insufficiently visualized lesions and of false-negative histological results. Contrast enhancement did not reveal better results.