Diagnostic Yield of Computed Tomography–Guided Percutaneous Lung Biopsy in Patients With Prior Nondiagnostic Transbronchial Biopsy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic yield of computed tomography (CT)-guided core needle biopsy (CNB) for initial transbronchial biopsy (TBB)-based nondiagnostic lung lesions. METHODS: From January 2014 to December 2017, 101 consecutive patients with initial TBB-based nondiagnostic lung lesions underwent CT-guided CNB. All procedures were performed with an 18G core needle by a chest radiologist with more than 5 years of experience. The CT-guided CNB was performed within 30 days after the initial TBB. In total, 90 and 11 central and peripheral lung lesions were observed, respectively. The mean ± SD diameter of these lesions was 58.8 ± 21.8 mm. The diagnostic yield of CT-guided CNB was assessed. RESULTS: Computed tomography-guided CNB provided a definite diagnosis for 63 (62.4%) of the 101 lesions. The 63 CNB-based lesion diagnoses included malignant (n = 57) and specific benign (n = 6) lesions. The remaining 38 CNB-based nondiagnostic lesions included nonspecific benign (n = 35) and suspected malignant (n = 3) lesions. The 38 CNB-based nondiagnostic lesions were confirmed by surgery (n = 5), repeat CNB (n = 5), or CT follow-up (n = 28). The mean ± SD follow-up was 9.9 ± 7.3 months. Based on the final diagnosis, 67 lesions were malignant and 34 lesions were benign. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CT-guided CNB were 89.6% (60/67), 100% (34/34), and 93.1% (94/101), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Computed tomography-guided CNB is a useful diagnostic modality for accurate diagnosis of lung lesions with inconclusive pathologic results after initial TBB.