Clinical value of ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy of pulmonary lesions

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applica-bility of ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy for the diagnosis and differentiation of various pulmonary lesions in a Chinese population. A total of 338 pulmonary lesions were biopsied with 18-gauge cutting needles, guided by ultrasound, and sent for histopathological analy-sis. The ultrasonographic characteristics of these lesions, procedure complications, and histopathological diagnoses were analyzed. Suffi-cient specimen for histopathologic analysis was obtained in 95.64% (351/367), and mild complications occurred in 2.72% (10/367) of the patients. Accurate diagnosis was obtained in 94.03% (315/335) of the patients; 16 were lost to follow-up. Using the combination of shape and echogenicity to distinguish benign vs malignant lesions, diagnos-tic sensitivity and specificity were 57.39 and 95.65%, respectively. No significant difference was found between malignant and benign lesions in blood flow signals. Ultrasound-guided core biopsy is valuable for the diagnosis, management, and prognosis of unknown pulmonary lesions. Shape and echogenicity on ultrasonography correlate well with histo-pathology and provide useful information for distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions. On the contrary, color Doppler is of little value for this purpose.