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Updated: May 16, 2026
Use of Electromagnetic Navigational Transthoracic Needle Aspiration (E-TTNA) for Sampling of Lung Nodules
Published on: May 23, 2015
Pilot feasibility study of transbronchial needle forceps: a new tool for obtaining histology samples from mediastinal
Stefano Gasparini1, Lina Zuccatosta, Michele Sediari
1Pulmonary Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Immunoallergic and Respiratory Diseases, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria "Ospedali Riuniti," Ancona, Italy.
Background:
Cutting transbronchial histology needles to obtain tissue cores from hilar/mediastinal lymph nodes or masses adjacent to the tracheobronchial tree are able to provide adequate histology tissue samples in only 38% to 78% of cases. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new instrument developed to obtain a fragment of a tissue for histologic diagnosis of enlarged subcarinal lymph nodes.
Methods:
The transbronchial needle forceps (TBNF) is a sampling instrument that combines the characteristics of a needle (beveled tip for penetrating through the bronchial wall) with that of a forceps (2 serrated jaws for grasping the biopsy). The external diameter of the needle forceps is 1.5 mm.
Results:
Fourteen patients (11 male, 3 female; mean age: 51 y) with subcarinal lymph node enlargement greater than 2 cm in short axis were included in this pilot study. TBNF provided tissue for histologic diagnosis in 8 patients (57.1%). In 4 patients (28.5%) TBNF could not be inserted through the bronchial wall. For patients in whom it was possible to insert the TBNF, a tissue core adequate for histologic examination was obtained in 9 (90%) and a diagnosis in 8 (80%) (non-small-cell lung cancer in 3, sarcoidosis in 2, small cell lung cancer in 1, tuberculosis in 1, and Hodgkin lymphoma in 1). No clinically significant procedure-related complications were encountered.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrates that, when insertion through the bronchial wall is possible, TBNF safely provides diagnostic histologic specimens of subcarinal lymphadenopathy in a large percentage of cases.
