Thoracoscopic lung biopsy. Experimental and clinical preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Thoracic Surgery
• Minimally Invasive Procedures

Background:

• Surgical lung biopsy is invasive and carries risks.
• Diagnostic challenges persist for certain lung and pleural diseases.
• Transbronchial biopsy may not yield sufficient tissue samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate thoracoscopic lung biopsy (TLB) as a less invasive alternative to surgical biopsy.
• To determine the diagnostic yield and safety of TLB.
• To compare TLB efficacy with traditional methods for lung disease diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• TLB performed under mild general anesthesia using a telescope and 5 mm biopsy forceps.
• Tested initially on 14 dogs (22 biopsies), followed by 75 human subjects (77 biopsies).
• Included patients with pleural diseases and undiagnosed lung conditions unresponsive to prior investigations.

Main Results:

• High rate of adequate tissue samples obtained: 95% in experimental and 96% in clinical series.
• Overall diagnostic sensitivity of 92.3%, with 70% for peripheral lesions and 100% for diffuse lung diseases.
• Mean drainage period of 3.4 days; complications included localized pneumothoraces and transient blood-streaked sputum.

Conclusions:

• TLB is a highly sensitive and safe diagnostic tool for lung diseases when other methods fail.
• It offers comparable sensitivity to surgical biopsy with significantly lower morbidity and no mortality.
• TLB represents an effective minimally invasive option for obtaining lung tissue samples.