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Author Spotlight: Expanding Interventional Pulmonology Research with Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopy
Published on: July 19, 2024
A Single US Center Experience of Transbronchial Lung Cryobiopsy for Diagnosing Interstitial Lung Disease With a
Thitiwat Sriprasart1, Alejandro Aragaki, Robert Baughman
1*Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand †Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Cincinnati Medical Center ‡Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Perinatal Institute, Division of Pulmonary Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
Background:
Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) has been used to establish the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in recent years. The technique and diagnostic yield vary among institutions. We report a new 2-scope technique and the results of TBLC in our institution.
Methods:
This is a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent TBLC for evaluation of ILD. Bronchoscopy with TBLC was performed by a board-certified interventional pulmonologist with a 2-scope technique under general anesthesia.
Results:
A total of 74 patients underwent TBLC with a 2-scope technique. Their mean age was 54±14 years. The mean tissue surface area was 63.54±6.76 mm. The average anesthesia time was 80.66 minutes. The diagnostic yield was 87.84%. The most common diagnosis was sarcoidosis pneumothorax, which occurred in 5 cases (7%). There was 1 case with bronchoscopic-related respiratory failure associated with significant bleeding. Death occurred in 3 cases (4%), which is comparable to recent mortality data for "elective" surgical lung biopsy for ILD (1.7% to 4.2%).
Conclusion:
TBLC with a 2-scope technique could be an alternative method for diagnosing various types of ILD in patients unfit for surgical lung biopsy. Further prospective studies should clarify its role in the diagnostic armamentarium for undiagnosed ILDs.
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