Role of General Anesthesia and Rapid On-site Evaluation in the Diagnosis of Lung Cancer with EBUS-TBNA

Abstract

Lung cancer is a common malignant tumor of respiratory system. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a valuable tool for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. EBUS-TBNA is predominantly performed under local anesthesia or conscious sedation. However, the diagnostic performance of EBUS-TBNA under general anesthesia and in conjunction with rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) remains uncertain. This study aims to investigate the value of general anesthesia and ROSE in the diagnosis of lung cancer with EBUS-TBNA. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 164 patients treated in the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from January 2018 to December 2022. All patients were preoperatively suspected of lung cancer and underwent EBUS-TBNA. Based on whether they received general anesthesia and ROSE, the patients were divided into three groups: local anesthesia group (LA group)(n=54), general anesthesia group (GA group)(n=67) and general anesthesia with ROSE group (GA-ROSE group)(n=43). The puncture characteristics and diagnostic differences were analyzed among the groups. The number of lymph node puncture needles in the LA group was higher than in GA-ROSE group (P<0.01). The overall diagnostic rates of EBUS-TBNA for the three groups were 87.04%, 89.55% and 90.70%, respectively, with malignant tumor diagnostic rates of 88.24%, 88.89% and 94.74%. No statistically significant differences were observed among the three groups (P>0.05). There were no instances of severe complications or adverse anesthesia reactions in any of the groups. Compared to the combination of local anesthesia with intravenous analgesia and sedation, the implementation of EBUS-TBNA under general anesthesia, with or without ROSE, achieves equally accurate results, and general anesthesia combined with ROSE can reduce in the number of lymph node puncture needles.