Usefulness of surgical lung biopsies after cryobiopsies when pathological results are inconclusive or show a pattern suggestive of a nonspecific interstitial pneumonia

Benjamin Bondue,Benjamin Bondue,Vincent Heinen,Patrick Alexander,Thierry Pieters,Thierry Pieters,Antoine Froidure,Antoine Froidure,Dimitri Leduc,Dimitri Leduc,Olivier Taton,Olivier Taton,Florence Dome,Delphine Hoton,Delphine Hoton,Myriam Remmelink,Myriam Remmelink

doi:10.1186/s12931-020-01487-w

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough increasing data supports the use of transbronchial lung cryobiopsies (TBLCs) for the diagnosis of diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLDs), its role as an alternative to surgical lung biopsy (SLB) is still under debate. The aim of this study was to assess the benefit of additional SLBs performed in selected patients after TBLCs.MethodWe conducted a multicentric Belgian prospective trial in which SLBs were performed after TBLCs when the pathological diagnosis was uncertain or if a nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) pattern was observed hypothesizing that SLB could provide additional information and that a co-existent UIP pattern could be missed.ResultsEighty-one patients with TBLCs performed for a DPLD were included in the study between April 2015 and December 2019. A specific histological diagnosis was obtained in 52 patients (64%) whereas no pathological diagnosis following TBLCs was obtained in 13 patients (16%) and a pattern suggestive of a NSIP was observed in 16 patients (20%). Fourteen out of these 29 patients had SLBs after TBLCs. SLBs showed a UIP pattern in 11 (79%), a pattern suggestive of a hypersensitivity pneumonitis in two (14%) and a NSIP pattern in one patient (7%). Among the 16 patients with pathological NSIP following TBLCs, six underwent a SLBs showing a UIP in five and confirming a NSIP in one patient only. A retrospective pathological analysis of patients having both procedures showed a lower diagnostic confidence and agreement among pathologists for TBLCs compared to SLBs. Major factors underlying the added value of SLBs were the bigger size of the sample as well as the subpleural localization of the biopsies.ConclusionsTBLCs are useful in the setting of DPLDs with a good diagnostic yield. However, our study suggests that SLB provides critical additional information in case TBLCs are inconclusive or show a pattern suggestive of a NSIP, questioning the accuracy of TBLC to adequately identify this histological pattern.

Highlights

Diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLDs) are a heterogeneous group of diseases with a variable amount of fibrosis and inflammation
trans-bronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) appears to be safer than surgical lung biopsy (SLB), and its contribution to the diagnosis obtained via multidisciplinary discussion is comparable to that of SLB, the histological diagnostic yield is higher with SLB [11]
Preliminary results obtained on a limited number of patients were published in 2017 [9]. In this follow up study, we provide more evidence supporting the benefit of performing SLBs in these selected situations

Summary

Introduction

Diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLDs) are a heterogeneous group of diseases with a variable amount of fibrosis and inflammation. The whole diagnostic process should be performed and discussed within an experienced team during a multidisciplinary discussion (MDD) [1, 2]. Surgical lung biopsies (SLBs) are currently considered as the gold standard for this purpose as stated in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) guidelines [1]. Trans-bronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) is increasingly recognized as an alternative technique for the diagnosis of DPLDs [6, 8,9,10,11]. Increasing data supports the use of transbronchial lung cryobiopsies (TBLCs) for the diagnosis of diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLDs), its role as an alternative to surgical lung biopsy (SLB) is still under debate.

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