Efficacy and Safety of Ultrasound-guided Percutaneous Transthoracic Needle Biopsy for Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions: Comparison Between 16-gauge and 18-gauge Core Biopsy Needle- a Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Abstract

Background: Definitive diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs) depends upon histologic proof obtained via pleural biopsy. Ultrasound-guided sampling is now standard practice. How to determine a suitable needle size and sampling times to improve efficacy and safety remained challenging. This study aimed to compare the efficacy for histology diagnosis and the resulting complications between 16-gauge and 18-gauge core biopsy needle in ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic biopsy for PPLs.Materials and Methods:1169 patients (767 men, 402 women; mean age, 59.4±13.2 years) who received biopsy for PPLs between September2011 and February 2019 were included. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to adjust the baseline differences, and the rate of successful specimen assessment and complications were compared between 16-gauge (249 patients) and 18-gauge (920 patients) group. The number of pleural surfaces crossed (NOPSC) was defined as the times visceral pleural surface was transgressed. Stratified analysis was made based on NOPSC.Results: The overall success rate was 92.0% (1076/1169). The overall complication rate was 9.6%, including pneumothorax, hemorrhage and vasovagal reaction, which occurred in 2.5% (29/1169), 6.6% (77/1169), and 0.5% (6/1169) of patients, respectively. When NOPSC was one, the success rate and complication rate in 16-gauge group were comparable to that of 18-gauge group (both P>0.05). When NOPSC was two, the success rate in 16-gauge group was significantly higher than that of 18-gauge group (P=0.017), while the complication rate was comparable (P>0.05). When NOPSC was more than two, the rate of vasovagal reaction was significantly higher in 16-gauge group than that of 18-gauge group (P=0.012).Conclusion: Higher success rate could be achieved using 16-gauge than 18-gauge core biopsy needle in ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy for PPLs when NOPSC was two. However, the rate of vasovagal reaction would be increased by using 16-gauge needle when NOPSC was more than two.