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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Author Spotlight: Optimizing Bovine Lung Decellularization for Organotypic Hydrogels
Published on: December 8, 2023
Cost-effectiveness of hydrogel plugs in CT-guided lung biopsies
S F Marco-Doménech1, P Fernández-García1, A Navarro-Ballester2
1Servicio de Radiología Diagnóstica y Terapéutica, Hospital General Universitario de Castellón, Castellón de la Plana, España; Unidad Predepartamental de Medicina, Universidad Jaume I (UJI), Castellón de la Plana, España.
Objective:
Using a hydrogel plug decreases the number of cases of pneumothorax and reduces the need for pleural drainage tubes in CT-guided lung biopsies. We aimed to analyze the cost-effectiveness of using hydrogel plugs.
Material And Methods:
We analyzed 171 lung biopsies divided into three groups: Group 1 (n=22): fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) without hydrogel plugs; Group 2 (n=89): FNAC with hydrogel plugs; and Group 3 (n=60): FNAC plus core-needle biopsy (CNB) with hydrogel plugs. We calculated the total costs (direct and indirect) in the three groups. We analyzed the percentage of correct diagnoses, the average and incremental rations, and the most cost-effective option.
Results:
Total costs: Group 1 = 1,261.28 + 52.65 = € 1,313.93; Group 2 = 1,201.36 + 67.25 = € 1,268.61; Group 3 = 1,220.22 + 47.20 = € 1,267.42. Percentage of correct diagnoses: Group 1 = 77.3%, Group 2 = 85.4%, and Group 3 = 95% (p = 0.04). Average cost-effectiveness ratio: Group 1 = 16.99; Group 2 = 14.85; and Group 3 = 13.34.
Conclusions:
Group 3 was the best option, with the lowest average cost-effectiveness ratio; therefore, the most cost-effective approach is to do FNAC and CNB using a dehydrated hydrogel plug at the end of the procedure.
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