Is conventional transbronchial lung biopsy out: The evaluation of clinical value in diffuse parenchymal lung disease

Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) is a relatively safe technique routinely employed by pulmonologists for the diagnosis of diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD). Cryobiopsy is associated with higher diagnostic yield and a favorable risk/benefit ratio. Nevertheless, TBLB remains the representative method for definite diagnosis in developing countries.

This study aimed to evaluate whether the results obtained from TBLB had clinical value to pulmonologists in the management of DPLD.

We performed a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent conventional TBLB for the diagnosis of DPLD from May 1, 2017, to April 30, 2019, at the Beijing Chao-yang Hospital, Capital Medical University. The clinical value of TBLB was defined as leading to a specific histopathological diagnosis or being consistent with the clinical and radiological data.

Seven hundred and forty-three patients with suspected DPLD were recruited. Conventional TBLB was considered clinically valuable in 439 procedures (59.1%), including 360 cases provided with definitive histopathological diagnoses, and 79 cases that were consistent with the working diagnoses. Among the 439 cases of clinically valuable TBLBs, 88 (20.0%), 37, 77 (10.7%), and 61 (13.9%) cases were diagnosed as connective tissue disease-related interstitial lung disease, definite histopathological diagnoses, malignancies, and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, respectively.

Conventional TBLB served as a key determinant or provided supplementary information in the final diagnosis of non-infectious DPLDs. TBLB decision-making should therefore be based on clinical and radiological data.