Bronchoscopy/Endobronchial ultrasound

Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) has emerged as a new diagnostic tool that allows the bronchoscopist to see beyond the airway. The radial probe EBUS was first introduced to evaluate the airway structure, which has been shown to be useful for identifying the extent of tumor invasion in the central airway. The newest development is the convex EBUS-TBNA scope with a curvilinear electronic transducer on the tip of a flexible videoscope. Linear EBUS allows a real-time EBUS-guided TBNA. Although the main indication for EBUS-TBNA is lymph node staging, it can also be used for diagnosis of intrapulmonary tumors, of unknown hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy, and of mediastinal tumors. To date, there are no reports of complications related to EBUS-guided TBNA. It is a novel approach that has a good diagnostic yield with excellent potential in assisting safe and accurate diagnostic interventional bronchoscopy. The aim of this review is to highlight the current status of the EBUS-TBNA technique and to discuss the future direction of EBUS.