[Computerized tomography-guided fine needle biopsy. Current perspectives in biopsy diagnosis]

253 cutting needle biopsies from 240 patients (151 men, 89 women; mean age 68 [23-84] years) were reviewed. The biopsies were taken under computed (CT) tomography guidance from various parts of the body (pancreas: n = 48, liver: n = 32, other upper abdominal organs: n = 5, mediastinum: n = 27, lung: n = 37, kidney: n = 13, adrenals: n = 8, retroperitoneum: n = 35, pelvis: n = 37, pleura: n = 4, chest wall: n = 6). The data were evaluated retrospectively. In 86% of cases meaningful clinical information was obtained in the form of a definite diagnosis (74%) or of a presumptive or differential diagnosis (12%). As a rule it was possible to assess the degree of malignancy and to ascertain the exact nature of the condition; the latter was true not only of malignant but also of benign lesions. In the majority of cases this had important implications. In just under 14% of all cases the target area was missed and no diagnosis could be made. To raise the chances of obtaining a representative biopsy multiple punctures were performed in 44% of the CT-guided biopsies. In 61 cases (24%) the diagnosis was checked against further tissue samples and in four cases the diagnosis based on needle biopsy material had to be revised. In all, only two complications were recorded; both were mild and did not require treatment. In terms of diagnostic value, CT-guided fine needle biopsies proved considerably superior to conventional cytological studies of fine needle aspiration material.