Risk for Complications After Transthoracic Needle Lung Biopsy
Authors: Steven Leong
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2011)

Letters6 December 2011Risk for Complications After Transthoracic Needle Lung BiopsySteven Leong, MBBSSteven Leong, MBBSFrom The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Australia 4032.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-155-11-201112060-00023 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:I read with interest the important findings by Wiener and colleagues (1) that highlight the 15% (95% CI, 14% to 16%) risk for pneumothorax as a complication of transthoracic needle biopsy for pulmonary nodules. We agree that the need is increasing for clinicians to consider this procedure for evaluation of pulmonary nodules, which are frequently identified in this era of modern imaging intentionally through screening studies and unintentionally through computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography (2) and CT coronary angiography (3).This high-quality study provides a reliable estimate of population-level risk. However, as with all good clinical decisions, ...References1. Wiener RS, Schwartz LM, Woloshin S, Welch HG. Population-based risk for complications after transthoracic needle lung biopsy of a pulmonary nodule: an analysis of discharge records. Ann Intern Med. 2011;155:137-44. [PMID: 21810706] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Foley PW, Hamaad A, El-Gendi H, Leyva F. Incidental cardiac findings on computed tomography imaging of the thorax. BMC Res Notes. 2010;3:326. [PMID: 21126380] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. George A, Movahed A. Recognition of noncardiac findings on cardiac computed tomography examination. Rev Cardiovasc Med. 2010;11:84-91. [PMID: 21126380] MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Kazerooni EA, Lim FT, Mikhail A, Martinez FJ. Risk of pneumothorax in CT-guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy of the lung. Radiology. 1996;198:371-5. [PMID: 8596834] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Cox JE, Chiles C, McManus CM, Aquino SL, Choplin RH. Transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy: variables that affect risk of pneumothorax. Radiology. 1999;212:165-8. [PMID: 10405737] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Steinfort DP, Khor YH, Manser RL, Irving LB. Radial probe endobronchial ultrasound for the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Respir J. 2011;37:902-10. [PMID: 20693253] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Australia 4032.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPopulation-Based Risk for Complications After Transthoracic Needle Lung Biopsy of a Pulmonary Nodule: An Analysis of Discharge Records Renda Soylemez Wiener , Lisa M. Schwartz , Steven Woloshin , and H. Gilbert Welch Risk for Complications After Transthoracic Needle Lung Biopsy Renda Soylemez Wiener and H. Gilbert Welch Metrics 6 December 2011Volume 155, Issue 11Page: 795-796KeywordsAngiographyBiopsyComputed axial tomographyConflicts of interestDecision makingEmphysemaLesionsLungsPulmonary imagingUltrasound imaging ePublished: 6 December 2011 Issue Published: 6 December 2011 CopyrightCopyright © 2011 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...