Hemorrhage following percutaneous lung biopsy.

Abstract

Of the three methods of lung biopsy currently in use, aspiration biopsy is the most innocuous; its most important complication is pneumothorax. The most significant complication of cutting and drill biopsies is bleeding, as illustrated by the cases reported. Attention is directed to the greatly increased systemic pulmonary vasculature in some chronic inflammatory and neoplastic lesions, which makes aspiration biopsy the preferable first approach to pulmonary lesions. A brief period of general anesthesia is advocated in patients whose cooperation is uncertain.