Needle Diagnosis of Pneumonitis

Twenty-five percutaneous needle aspiration biopsies were performed with fluoroscopic guidance in 21 patients with pulmonary infectious lesions. All patients were immunologically compromised due to immunosuppressive therapy or malignant disease. In none of the patients was the etiologic diagnosis of the pneumonitis established by routine methods, including transtracheal aspirates. In 16 patients the causative organism was recovered from the needle aspirations. No serious complications developed in these debilitated patients when an 18-gauge thin-walled needle was used. However, the use of a cutting needle (Franklin-Silverman) had an unacceptable complication rate in patients with thrombocytopenia.