Utilization and Safety of Percutaneous Lung Biopsy: A 10-Year Nationwide Population-Based Study

Percutaneous lung biopsy is a technique used for sampling peripherally located lung masses and has been gaining in popularity. However, its exact utilization is unknown, and its safety has not been well studied. The current study aimed to assess the trend of utilization and study the safety of this procedure. Using the National Health Insurance Research Database, we retrospectively determined the total number of procedures that were performed on subjects older than 20 years between 2001 and 2010. We also estimated the rates of major complications, such as pneumothorax, requiring intercostal drainage. A total of 630 percutaneous biopsies were performed in 2001, while 3814 were performed in 2010, representing a 6.1-fold increase. The compound annual growth rate was 22.1%. The number of hospitals that performed the procedure increased from 55 to 99. Pneumothorax requiring drainage occurred in 1.5% of the procedures. The factors associated with a higher complication rate included male gender, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rural hospital, and low-volume hospital. Percutaneous lung biopsies are a relatively safe procedure, and their performance has been rapidly increasing. The number of procedures performed by a hospital was associated with the complication rate.