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The Bovine Lung in Biomedical Research: Visually Guided Bronchoscopy, Intrabronchial Inoculation and In Vivo Sampling Techniques
Published on: July 3, 2014
Drill biopsy in the diagnosis of lung lesions
P Shatapathy1, R C Sahoo, K M Rao
1Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
Abstract:
A high speed pneumatic drill was used to perform 190 percutaneous transthoracic biopsies in 161 patients. The resultant cores of tissue provided a definite diagnosis in 146 patients, giving a success rate of 90.7%. Complications occurred in 58 patients, subcutaneous emphysema being the most common, though only seven patients required active treatment, giving a rate of 3.7% for important complications. One patient died within 24 hours of the biopsy procedure owing to asphyxia resulting from aspiration of the contents of an acutely dilated stomach. Our experience clearly establishes that the drill biopsy as used by us is simple and safe and can be carried out in an outpatient department, yielding better overall results than any other procedure for closed biopsy of the lung currently practised.
Insights
Percutaneous transthoracic biopsy using a high-speed pneumatic drill achieved a 90.7% diagnostic success rate. This minimally invasive lung biopsy technique proved safe and effective for outpatient procedures.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonology
- Thoracic Surgery
- Medical Devices
Background:
- Percutaneous transthoracic biopsy is a common diagnostic procedure for lung lesions.
- Traditional methods have varying success and complication rates.
- A need exists for safe, efficient, and accurate closed lung biopsy techniques.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a high-speed pneumatic drill for percutaneous transthoracic lung biopsy.
- To determine the diagnostic yield and complication rate of this specific biopsy method.
- To compare the drill biopsy technique with other existing closed biopsy procedures.
Main Methods:
- A high-speed pneumatic drill was utilized for percutaneous transthoracic biopsies.
- 190 procedures were performed on 161 patients.
- Tissue cores were analyzed for diagnostic yield.
Main Results:
- A definite diagnosis was achieved in 146 out of 161 patients, yielding a success rate of 90.7%.
- Complications occurred in 58 patients, with subcutaneous emphysema being most frequent.
- Only 3.7% of patients required active treatment for complications; one death occurred due to aspiration.
Conclusions:
- High-speed pneumatic drill biopsy is a simple, safe, and highly effective method for diagnosing lung conditions.
- The procedure can be safely performed in an outpatient setting.
- This technique offers superior results compared to other currently practiced closed lung biopsy methods.

