[Transparietal puncture aspiration biopsy of the lung and mediastinum]

The contribution of fine needle transparietal aspiration biopsy for the diagnosis of diseases of thoracic organs is generally accepted. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the contribution of this method to the diagnosis of processes in the lung and mediastinum.

Transparietal fine needle aspiration biopsy was performed in 115 patients, 75 men and 40 women, mean age 59 +/- 10.7 years in men and 58.4 +/- 10.3 years in women. The site of insertion and position of the needle were checked by skiascopy. The assembled material was evaluated cytologically under a light microscope. Malignant tumours were classified according to WHO recommendations. The greatest diagnostic yield of the method was in a group of 73 patients with clinical suspicion of a malignant process; this suspicion was confirmed by cytological examination in 50 patients, i.e. in 68.5% of the patients. In 7 of 15 patients with suspected tuberculosis cytological evidence of epithelioid and Langerhans cells supported the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis; from four punctures of mediastinal formations confirmed a malignant tumour in half of them. In a relatively large group of patients with inflammatory processes the cytological finding did not prove useful for establishment of the diagnosis. Complications of this examination in the whole group were recorded in 18 patients (15.6%). The most frequent complication was the development of pneumothorax (18 patients, 15.6%) which however, only in 2 patients required exsufflation. In three patients after the procedure minimal haemoptysis developed.

Complications, although fairly frequent (15.6%), are not serious.