Abstract
A retrospective study was designed to compare the diagnostic yield of US-guided (FNAB) fine needle aspiration biopsy ( N = 92) from clearly defined hepatic lesions with diameters of 2 cm or larger, when one, two or three needle passes were performed. No significant diagnostic loss was detected when the number of needle passes was reduced from three to two (Sensitivity = 0.985, Specificity = 1.0, Pos. predictive value ( PPV) = 1.0, Neg. predictive value (NPV) = 0.81). However, an unacceptable diagnostic loss was seen when only one needle pass was evaluated (Sensitivity = 0.81, Specificity = 1.0, PPV = 1.0, NPV = 0.69). We conclude that two needle passes can be recommended as a standard procedure for US-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy from hepatic lesions larger than 2 cm in diameter provided the procedure is performed routinely.
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