Computed tomography-guided percutaneous biopsy of subcentimeter lung noduless

To assess the diagnostic success rate and complications of computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous biopsy in pulmonary nodules < 10 mm in diameter.

This was a retrospective, single-center study involving the review of medical records, images, and chest CT reports related to 115 patients who underwent percutaneous CT-guided biopsy of < 10 mm pulmonary nodules between July 2015 and January 2019.

Nodule diameter on the longest axis ranged from 4 mm to 9 mm, with a mean size of 7.7 mm. The mean age of the patients at the time of the procedure was 61 years, and 54.7% were women. Of the 115 nodules evaluated, 77 (67.0%) were solid and 55 (47.8%) were located in the lower lobes. The mean distance traversed by the needle in the lung parenchyma was 20 mm (range, 0-70 mm), and, in most cases, the biopsy was not performed with the patient in the biopsy-side-down lateral position. The diagnostic success rate was 93.0%. The most common complications were alveolar hemorrhage (in 36.5% of cases) and pneumothorax (in 24.3%).

The data suggest that CT-guided percutaneous biopsy of < 10 mm pulmonary nodules has a high diagnostic success rate and an acceptable rate of complications.