Percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy: special considerations and techniques used in lung transplant recipients

Lung transplant recipients are among the patients most likely eventually to undergo diagnostic lung biopsy. Unfortunately, these patients are at particularly high risk for experiencing intra- and periprocedural complications. Percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (TNB) has over time emerged as an increasingly safe and reliable method of obtaining lung tissue for diagnosis. This article gives an overview of TNB including its indications, the imaging modalities currently used for guidance, and the special techniques utilized in performing the procedure and minimizing complications with an emphasis placed upon the special case of TNB performed in lung transplant recipients.