Accuracy Of Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration Research Articles

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration for diagnosing thoracic lesions: a retrospective cohort study.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a minimally invasive technique for biopsy of lung, peri-pulmonary tissue and lymph nodes under real-time ultrasound-guided biopsy. It is used in the diagnosis and/or staging of benign and malignant pulmonary and non-pulmonary diseases. Our study is based on a large sample size, in a diversified population which provides a representative real-world cohort for analysis. Patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA procedure between September 2019 and August 2022 were included in this retrospective study. For cases diagnosed as benign and unclassified lesions by EBUS-TBNA, the final diagnosis was determined by further invasive surgery or a combination of therapy and clinical follow-up for at least 6 months. A total of 618 patients were included in the study, including 182 females (29.4%) and 436 males (70.6%). The mean age of all patients was 61.9 ± 10.5 years. These patients were successfully punctured by EBUS-TBNA to obtain pathological results. The pathological diagnosis results of EBUS-TBNA were compared with the final clinical diagnosis results as follows: 133 cases (21.5%) of benign lesions and 485 cases (78.5%) of malignant lesions were finally diagnosed. Among them, the pathological diagnosis was obtained by EBUS-TBNA in 546 patients (88.3%) (464 malignant lesions and 82 benign conditions), while EBUS-TBNA was unable to define diagnosis in 72 patients (11.6%). 20/72 non-diagnostic EBUS-TBNA were true negative. The overall diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA were 91.3%, 100%, 100%, 27.8%, and 91.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 89.1-93.6%], respectively. In this study, only one case had active bleeding without serious complications during the EBUS-TBNA procedure. Given its low invasiveness, high diagnostic accuracy, and safety, EBUS-TBNA is worth promoting in thoracic lesions.

Accuracy of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in HIV-infected patients with thoracic lymphadenopathy in a tuberculosis low-burden area

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is an innovative technique to explore hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. We aimed to assess its diagnostic accuracy in HIV-infected patients in a tuberculosis low-burden area. A retrospective review was performed of all HIV-infected patients with thoracic lymphadenopathy referred for EBUS-TBNA between January 2012 and January 2019 in 3 Northern French Hospitals. A total of 15 patients was included during the study period. Our patients were predominantly male (80%), with a mean age of 50 ± 11 years. Six patients (43%) had a CD4 cells count of less than 200/mm3. Eleven patients (73%) were receiving antiretroviral therapy, and 7 (47%) reached undetectable viral load. Adequate lymphnode sampling was accomplished in all patients. No serious complications were reported. EBUS-TBNA led to a definitive diagnosis in 12 out of 15 patients (80%). It identified 4 neoplasia, 3 atypical mycobacterial diseases, 2 tuberculosis, 1 Castleman disease, 1 sarcoidosis, and 1 professional dustiness. In 3 cases, sampling revealed normal lymphoid tissue. Active surveillance confirmed the suspected diagnosis of HIV adenitis with regression of lymphadenopathy on antiretroviral therapy in 2 cases. In one case of negative sampling, thoracoscopy led to the diagnosis of tuberculosis. In our cohort, accuracy of EBUS-TBNA was 92%. EBUS-TBNA appeared to be a safe and accurate tool in the investigation of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in HIV-infected patients in settings of tuberculosis low-prevalence. It can avoid more invasive procedures such as mediastinoscopy.

Excellence in non-small cell lung cancer staging by endobronchial-TBNA: Comparison with PET-CT and surgery

Objective: To determine the correlation and/or discrepancies between positron emission tomography (PET-CT) findings, endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) and surgery in the staging of non-small cell lung carcinoma.Material and methods: Data were evaluated retrospectively from a prospective interventional endoscopy database. Positive results with EBUS-TBNA was the first end point and all cytology negatives were confirmed with mediastinoscopy/surgery.Results: Four hundred and eighty three patients were included and 1017 lymph nodes (LNs) were sampled in the study. One hundred and twenty eight LNs were excluded (positive with EBUS-TBNA). Four hundred and sixty five LN (52.3%) were found benign with EBUS-TBNA; however, only 15 of these were confirmed to be malignant by surgery (1.7%). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA were 96.5, 100, 100, 96.7 and 98.3%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and diagnostic accuracy of PET-CT for maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) 2.5 were 90.1, 29.2, 55.3, 75.4, 59.2%, respectively. A cut-off SUVmax of 5.2 was detected with 74.8% sensitivity, 84% specificity, 82.0% PPV, 77.5% NPV and 79.5% accuracy (area under the curve (AUC) of 0.818, 95% CI 0.791–0.843, p<.001).Conclusion: EBUS is a reliable, repeatable and safe technique with a high diagnostic accuracy and should be performed quickly to avoid superfluous time loss in the staging of lung cancer.AbbreviationsPET-CTF-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission computed tomographyNSCLCNon-small cell lung cancerEBUS-TBNAEndobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspirationSUVmaxMaximum standardized uptake valueLNsLymph nodesTTF-1Thyroid transcription factor-1H&EHematoxylin and eosin; Med: MediastinoscopyVATSVideo associated thoracic surgeryAUCArea under curveOROdds ratioCIConfidence intervals

Utility of Rapid On-Site Cytologic Evaluation during Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in Malignant and Nonmalignant Disease

Background: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is an accurate procedure to sample mediastinal tissue. Rapid on-site cytologic evaluation (ROSE) has been advocated to improve the performance of this procedure, but its benefit remains controversial. Our objective is to assess the utility of ROSE for EBUS-TBNA diagnostic accuracy among unselected patients. Methods: We prospectively collected data from all consecutive EBUS-TBNA procedures performed between 2008 and 2014. ROSE was introduced since 2011 in our daily practice. The accuracy of EBUS-TBNA with and without ROSE was compared in a univariate and multivariate model accounting for confounding factors. The impact of ROSE was then analyzed according to the etiology and size of the lesions. Results: Among 348 EBUS-TBNA procedures analyzed, 213 were performed with ROSE. The overall accuracy tended to be better with ROSE than without (90.6 vs. 84.4%; p = 0.082). After adjustment in a multivariate model, the benefit of ROSE still did not reach statistical significance (adjusted odds ratio 1.86; 95% confidence interval 0.79–4.41). Similar results were obtained in subgroups of patients with malignant disease or sarcoidosis. The size of the lesion did not influence the impact of ROSE on accuracy. Conclusions: ROSE was associated with a moderate increase in the accuracy of EBUS-TBNA, but the difference was not statistically significant. The same effect of ROSE was observed in malignant and nonmalignant lesions and this effect was not influenced by the lesion’s size.

Color-Doppler sonography patterns in endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph-nodes.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is commonly used for the pathological diagnosis in patients with mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Even though the accuracy of EBUS-TBNA is considered high, several authors have tried to outline characteristic ultrasound criteria for malignant mediastinal lymph-node identification to maximize this accuracy. Recently, a color-Doppler patterns classification has been proposed by Nakajima to target suspected mediastinal lymph-nodes. The aim of this study was to assess such classification. Clinical, sonographic and pathological data of patients with suspected malignant mediastinal lymph-nodes on computed tomography (CT) and/or on positron emission tomography (PET) were prospectively recorded. On the basis of color-Doppler patterns, mediastinal lymph-nodes were classified in four grades and the bronchial-artery inflow sign was noted according to the Nakajima classification. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predicted value (NPV) and accuracy were calculated using standard definitions. Seventy-five patients were enrolled in this prospective study, median age 66 years; 85% of patients had primary lung cancer and 15% had extra-thoracic malignancy. EBUS-TBNA was performed in 87 lymph-nodes (rate 1.16 per patient); 6 lymph-nodes had inadequate samples and were excluded from the analysis; 64 nodes were confirmed as malignant and 17 nodes as benign. Color-Doppler patterns classification was as follow: grade 0-I, 14 lymph-nodes; grade II-III, 67 lymph-nodes; bronchial-artery inflow sign, 8 lymph-nodes. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and diagnostic accuracy of the classification were 0.93, 0.64, 0.84, 0.6 and 0.81 respectively. The color-Doppler sonography is a fast, reproducible and effective tool that could help in targeting suspected malignant lymph-nodes during EBUS-TBNA. The current study validates the efficacy of the color-Doppler patterns classification proposed by Nakajima.

The diagnostic accuracy of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenitis

Background/aim: Mediastinal lymph nodes are the second most commonly affected lymph nodes in tuberculous lymphadenitis. It is often difficult to diagnose tuberculosis in patients with lymphadenopathy without parenchymal lesions. The aim of this study was to describe the diagnostic utility of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in patients with isolated mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenitis (MTLA). Materials and methods: This study included 527 patients who had undergone EBUS-TBNA between December 2012 and December 2014. Patients with the final diagnosis of MTLA were evaluated. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA were calculated.Results: The prevalence of MTLA in all patients who had undergone EBUS-TBNA for mediastinal lymphadenopathy of unknown etiology was 5.2% (28/527). EBUS-TBNA was diagnostic in 21/28 (75%) patients, and the remaining 7 patients required additional procedures for confirmation of diagnosis. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of combined cytopathological and microbiological examinations of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of MTLA were 87.5%, 98.5%, 91.4%, 98%, and 94.4%, respectively. There were no major complications.Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA is a safe and effective procedure for the diagnosis of MTLA. When microbiological and cytopathological examinations of samples are combined, EBUS-TBNA demonstrates good diagnostic accuracy and NPV for the diagnosis of MTLA.

Value of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in diagnosis of the mediastinal enlarged lymph nodes

Objective: To investigate the value of the endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in diagnosing mediastinal enlarged lymph nodes. Methods: A total of 210 patients with mediastinal enlarged lymph nodes from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from 2014 July to 2015 October were enrolled for EBUS-TBNA. Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) imaging features, including lymph node short diameter, the ratio of longitudinal to transverse diameter, the blood flow and morphology destroy, in benign and malignant lymph nodes were evaluated separately and their relationships with the rate of malignant lymph nodes were also analyzed. The significant variables according to single factor analysis were brought into the Logistic multivariate analysis, which investigated the risk factors of malignant lymph nodes. The best cut-off point of the short diameter of lymph nodes was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of malignant lymph nodes were analyzed by the standard calculation formula. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy rate of EBUS-TBNA diagnosing lung cancer and other tumor with mediastinal lymph node metastasis were 91.2%, 100%, 93.8%. The rates of malignant in lymph node with short diameter ≥1.0 cm, ratio of longitudinal to transverse diameter<1.5, blood flow distribution Ⅱ-Ⅲ, morphology destroy by the EBUS measurement were higher than those in the lymph node with short diameter<1.0 cm, ratio of longitudinal to transverse diameter ≥ 1.5, the blood flow distribution 0-Ⅰ, without morphology destroy (79.8%, 77.8%, 84.7%, 76.7% vs 37.7%, 44.6%, 42.9%, 42.9%), and the four factors were independent risk factors for malignant lymph nodes (all P<0.001). The ROC curve indicated the optimal cut-off point of short diameter was 8.2 mm. The accuracy of diagnosis by the combination of the above 4 ultrasound features, those were the lymph node short diameter not less than 1 cm, the ratio of longitudinal to transverse diameter less than 1.5, the blood flow distribution Ⅱ-Ⅲ and morphology destroy, was higher than those of the single factor (89.3% vs 74.7%, 67.9%, 67.8%, 67.5%) (all P<0.001). Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA has satisfying value in diagnosing malignant mediastinal enlarged lymph nodes.

The Utility of Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in Patients with Small-cell Lung Cancer.

Objective Most small-cell lung cancers (SCLCs) are located within the central aspect of the chest and manifest as a mediastinal or hilar lymphadenopathy. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) makes it possible to perform mediastinal and hilar nodal examinations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of SCLC. Methods The diagnostic performances of EBUS-TBNA and/or transesophageal bronchoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA-B/E) were calculated using the standard definitions. Patients The study consisted of a retrospective review of the medical records for all patients with histologically proven SCLC who previously underwent EBUS-TBNA and/or EUS-FNA-B/E from May 2009 to September 2014. Results The analysis was based on 161 patients and 299 aspirated specimens. The patient group included 144 males (89%); the median age was 66 years. EBUS-TBNA and/or EUS-FNA-B/E were performed in 239 mediastinal nodes, 39 hilar/interlobar nodes, and 21 lung parenchymal lesions. The median short diameter of the biopsied lesions was 17 mm. The overall sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA and/or EUS-FNA-B/E on a per-person basis were 97.4%, 100%, 60%, 100%, and 97.5%, respectively. The corresponding values on a per-lesion basis were 91.8%, 100%, 73.0%, 100%, and 93.3%, respectively. There were no serious complications related to EBUS-TBNA. Conclusion In our series of patients with SCLC, EBUS-TBNA had an excellent diagnostic yield in the evaluation of mediastinal, hilar and lung parenchymal lesions. Thus, EBUS-TBNA could be a useful and safe diagnostic method with which to evaluate patients with SCLC.

Comparison of conventional and ultrasound-guided needle biopsy techniques in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis: a randomized trial.

Endoscopic biopsy techniques are useful in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. There is a need for randomized trials to establish where these procedures fit in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic yield of conventional transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) with endobronchial ultrasound-guided TBNA (EBUS-TBNA) and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in stages I and II of pulmonary sarcoidosis. Patients suspected of sarcoidosis were randomized to undergo TBNA or EBUS-TBNA or EUS-FNA. Patients with negative TBNA and EBUS-TBNA results underwent EUS-FNA and those with negative EUS-FNA results—EBUS-TBNA. If both tests were negative, patients in stage I were scheduled for mediastinoscopy (MS) and those in stage II—for transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB). In 100 patients, 34 TBNA, 30 EBUS-TBNA, and 36 EUS-FNA procedures were performed at baseline. TBNA was positive in 20 patients (58.8%); EBUS-TBNA, in 23 (76.7%); and EUS-FNA, in 31 patients (86.1%). In patients with negative biopsy results, the second procedure was performed. The results of EUS-FNA were positive in 9 patients and of EBUS-TBNA—in none. Of 17 patients with negative results of both procedures, MS was performed in 6 patients and was positive in 2. In the remaining 11 patients, sarcoidosis was confirmed by TBLB. Sensitivity and accuracy of TBNA compared with EBUS-TBNA and EUS-FNA were 62.5% and 64.7%, 79.3% and 80%, and 88.6% and 88.9%, respectively. Sensitivity and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA were higher (P = 0.139) and of EUS-FNA were significantly higher compared with TBNA (P = 0.012). In stages I and II of pulmonary sarcoidosis, endoscopic ultrasound is a reasonable approach but EUS-FNA seems to be the method of choice.

Diagnosis and Subtyping of De Novo and Relapsed Mediastinal Lymphomas by Endobronchial Ultrasound Needle Aspiration

The current management of lymphoma requires accurate diagnosis and subtyping of de novo lymphoma and of relapsed or refractory lymphoma in known cases. The role of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in the clinical management of lymphomas is unclear. To investigate the use of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of de novo and relapsed mediastinal lymphomas. A total of 2,256 consecutive patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA in a tertiary center between February 2008 and April 2013 were prospectively evaluated. The diagnostic accuracy and clinical use of EBUS-TBNA in 100 cases of de novo or suspected relapsed mediastinal lymphoma was investigated by comparing EBUS-TBNA diagnosis with the final diagnosis. De novo mediastinal lymphoma was correctly diagnosed by EBUS-TBNA in 45 (88%) of 51 and relapsed lymphoma in 15 (100%) of 15 lymphoma cases. EBUS-TBNA accurately established a diagnosis other than lymphoma in 32 (97%) of 33 patients with suspected lymphoma relapse. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of mediastinal lymphoma were 89%, 97%, 98%, 83%, and 91%, respectively. Sensitivity of EBUS-TBNA in subtyping lymphomas into high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma, low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma was 90%, 100%, and 79%, respectively. EBUS-TBNA diagnosis was adequate for clinical management in 84 (84%) of 100 cases. Multimodality evaluation of EBUS-TBNA can be successful in the diagnosis of de novo mediastinal lymphomas and is ideally suited in distinguishing lymphoma relapse from alternative pathologies; it is least sensitive in subtyping Hodgkin lymphoma.

Application of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in the Management of Mediastinal and Hilar Lymphadenopathy Without Intrapulmonary Mass: Experience from the Largest Cancer Center of Southern China

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is useful for lung cancer diagnosis and lymph node staging. The purpose of this study was to investigate EBUS-TBNA for managing mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathies without intrapulmonary masses. We retrospectively reviewed our EBUS-TBNA database that was obtained between August 2010 and October 2012. Mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathies of unknown origin and in the absence of known pulmonary malignancies were included. Final diagnoses were determined by EBUS-TBNA, surgery, and/or clinical follow-up for at least 6 months. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values were determined using standard statistical methods. We identified 128 patients with mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathies and without intrapulmonary masses. EBUS-TBNA was successfully performed to obtain samples from 161 lymph nodes and mediastinal masses. EBUS-TBNA was diagnostic for 119 of 128 patients (93.0%) for all disease categories. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and overall accuracy of EBUS-TBNA were 89.8, 100, 100, 81.6, and 93.0%, respectively. The procedures were uneventful and there were no severe complications. EBUS-TBNA is a safe, minimally invasive approach for diagnosing mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathies without intrapulmonary masses. It obviates the need for more invasive procedures for tissue sampling of the mediastinum and hilum.

The reasons of false negative results of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in the diagnosis of intrapulmonary and mediastinal malignancy.

Although the sensitivity can reach 99%, endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has a significantly high false negative rate for diagnosis and staging of thoracic malignancy. We performed this retrospective study to investigate the causes of false negative results and to improve the efficacy and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA. We reviewed all patients suspected of intrapulmonary or mediastinal malignancy who undertook EBUS-TBNA between July 2009 and August 2012 in Chinese PLA general hospital. We retrieved the pathological results of EBUS-TBNA and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and follow-up data. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated. 185 patients were included in this study. Diagnosis of malignancy was established on 172 patients by EBUS-TBNA, and 8 patients with negative EBUS-TBNA result gained their final diagnosis of malignancy via VATS. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and accuracy for diagnosis of malignancy for EBUS-TBNA were 96%, 100%, 33% and 96% respectively. Inadequacy of the EBUS-TBNA specimens, internal necrosis in the lymph nodes and rare cancer types contributed to the false negative EBUS-TBNA results. VATS is obligatory to explain the negative results of EBUS-TBNA in patients suspected of malignancy.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in the diagnosis of non-lymph node thoracic lesions

AIMS:Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has shown excellent diagnostic capabilities for mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy. However, its value in thoracic non-lymph node lesions is less clear. This study was designed to assess the value of EBUS-TBNA in distinguishing malignant from benign thoracic non-lymph node lesions.METHODS:From October 2009 to August 2011, 552 patients underwent EBUS-TBNA under local anesthesia and with conscious sedation. We retrospectively reviewed 81 of these patients who had tracheobronchial wall-adjacent intrapulmonary or isolated mediastinal non-lymph node lesions. On-site cytological evaluation was not used. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to distinguish the origin or type of malignancy when necessary.RESULTS:EBUS-TBNA was performed in 68 tracheobronchial wall-adjacent intrapulmonary and 13 isolated mediastinal non-lymph node lesions. Of the 81 patients, 77 (95.1%, 60 malignancies and 17 benignancies) were diagnosed through EBUS-TBNA, including 57 primary lung cancers, 2 mediastinal tumors, 1 pulmonary metastatic adenocarcinoma, 7 inflammation, 5 tuberculosis, 3 mediastinal cysts, 1 esophageal schwannoma, and 1 focal fibrosis. There were four false-negative cases (4.9%). Of the 60 malignancies, there were 9 (15.0%) which originally had no definite histologic origin or type. Thus, IHC was performed, with 7 (77.8%) being subsequently confirmed. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA in distinguishing malignant from benign lesions were 93.4% (60/64), 100% (17/17), 100% (60/60), 81.0% (17/21), and 95.1% (77/81), respectively.CONCLUSION:EBUS-TBNA is a safe procedure with a high sensitivity for distinguishing malignant from benign thoracic non-lymph node lesions within the reach of EBUS-TBNA, with IHC usually providing a more definitive diagnosis.

Utility of endobronchial ultrasound–guided mediastinal lymph node biopsy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer

Invasive mediastinal biopsy is often necessary in the evaluation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and mediastinoscopy has long been considered the reference standard. However, the emergence of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has resulted in controversy regarding it represents a suitable replacement for mediastinoscopy. We chose to determine the utility of EBUS-TBNA in evaluating the mediastinum in patients with NSCLC. The present study was a retrospective review of a prospective database of consecutive patients with NSCLC who underwent EBUS-TBNA for mediastinal evaluation from 2009 to 2011. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA are reported. Also reported are the size of the lymph nodes biopsied and the number of instances in which EBUS-TBNA obviated the need for cervical mediastinoscopy. A total of 73 patients had a total of 140 mediastinal stations biopsied using EBUS-TBNA. Of the 73 patients, 30 had benign findings and underwent surgical resection, 1 of whom was found to have stage N2 disease. Of the remaining patients, 42 had a positive result and 1 had nondiagnostic biopsy findings for which malignancy was confirmed by mediastinoscopy. Mediastinoscopy would have changed the tumor stage and treatment planning in only 2 (2.7%) of the 73 patients. Overall, EBUS-TBNA had a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 100%, a negative predictive value of 94%, and an accuracy of 97%. EBUS-TBNA might be a feasible option for most patients with NSCLC for whom histologic assessment of the mediastinum is necessary. The rates of nondiagnostic and false-negative biopsy findings using EBUS-TBNA were low, small subcentimeter nodes could be routinely biopsied, and most patients with a radiographically positive mediastinum had their disease pathologically confirmed.

Efficacy of Convex Probe Endobronchial Ultrasound (CP-EBUS) Assisted Transbronchial Needle Aspiration for Mediastinal Staging in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Cases with Mediastinal Lymphadenopathy

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a sampling method for the patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that have enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes that are detected with computed tomography (CT). We aimed to investigate the value of EBUS-TBNA in sampling enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes in the patient with NSCLC. From January 2007 to May 2009, patients were diagnosed NSCLC with CT scans showing enlarged lymph nodes (node >1 cm) or a positron emission tomography (PET/CT) finding of the mediastinum underwent EBUS-TBNA. EBUS-TBNA was successfully performed in all 52 patients (mean age, 52 years; 45 men) from 93 mediastinal lymph nodes. EBUS detected lymph node metastasis in 40 patients (77%). 12 patients (23%) with negative lymph node samples were underwent mediastinoscopy. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA in the detection of mediastinal metastasis were 95 %, 100%, 100%, 83%, and 96%, respectively. EBUS-TBNA was uneventful, and there were no complications. EBUS-TBNA is an effective, safe and minimally invasive procedure following PET/CT or CT scanning in the mediastinal staging of potentially operable NSCLC.

Application of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration Following Integrated PET/CT in Mediastinal Staging of Potentially Operable Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

The role of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) following integrated PET/CT scanning in mediastinal staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been assessed. We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic values of PET/CT scanning and EBUS-TBNA for mediastinal staging in 117 patients with potentially operable NSCLC with accessible mediastinal lymph nodes (diameter range, 5 to 20 mm) by EBUS-TBNA. Subgroup analysis according to histologic type was performed. Of 30 cases of mediastinal metastasis, 27 were confirmed by EBUS-TBNA and 3 were confirmed by surgery. EBUS-TBNA results confirmed all cases with true-positive PET/CT scan findings and six of nine cases with false-negative PET/CT scan findings. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA in the detection of mediastinal metastasis were 90.0%, 100%, 100%, 96.7%, and 97.4%, respectively. For PET/CT scans, the values were 70.0%, 59.8%, 37.5%, 85.2%, and 62.4%, respectively (p = 0.052; p < 0.001; p < 0.001; p = 0.011; p < 0.001, respectively). In adenocarcinoma (n = 55), EBUS-TBNA detected four of six cases with false-negative PET/CT scan findings, and the NPV was higher for EBUS-TBNA than for PET/CT scans (94.6% vs 77.8%, respectively; p = 0.044). In squamous cell carcinoma (n = 53), the NPV of EBUS-TBNA and PET/CT scans were similarly high (97.9% vs 96.3%, respectively; p = 0.689). EBUS-TBNA was an effective invasive method following PET/CT scanning in the mediastinal staging of potentially operable NSCLC. In mediastinal PET/CT scan-positive cases, EBUS-TBNA was an excellent tool for detecting mediastinal metastasis. Even in mediastinal PET/CT scan-negative cases, EBUS-TBNA can be useful for confirming mediastinal metastases, especially in adenocarcinoma.