Clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in transthoracic biopsy of malignant anterior mediastinal masses

[Transthoracic CT-guided core biopsy of high pulmonary neoplasms using coaxial transport system in a day hospital of oncology center]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the feasibility of transthoracic CT-guided core biopsy of high pulmonary neoplasms using coaxial transport system in a day hospital; to analyze the effectiveness, nature and incidence of complications, as well as pain indicators in both groups.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Transthoracic CT-guided core biopsy of high pulmonary neoplasms using coaxial transport system in a day hospital was performed in 184 patients for histological verification between March 2017 and December 2022.

RESULTS

This method of transthoracic biopsies significantly (p<0.05) reduces post-manipulation complications by 63.2%, provides higher quality (by 9.4%) of specimens and increases procedure rate by 53.5% from 26.4 to 12.1 min.

Ultrasound in the Study of Thoracic Diseases: Innovative Aspects

Thoracic ultrasound (TU) has rapidly gained popularity over the past 10 years. This is in part because ultrasound equipment is available in many settings, more training programmes are educating trainees in this technique, and ultrasound can be done rapidly without exposure to radiation. The aim of this review is to present the most interesting and innovative aspects of the use of TU in the study of thoracic diseases. In pleural diseases, TU has been a real revolution. It helps to differentiate between different types of pleural effusions, guides the performance of pleural biopsies when necessary and is more cost-effective under these conditions, and assists in the decision to remove thoracic drainage after talc pleurodesis. With the advent of COVID19, the use of TU has increased for the study of lung involvement. Nowadays it helps in the diagnosis of pneumonias, tumours and interstitial diseases, and its use is becoming more and more widespread in the Pneumology ward. In recent years, TU guided biopsies have been shown to be highly cost-effective, with other advantages such as the absence of radiation and the possibility of being performed at bedside. The use of contrast in ultrasound to increase the cost-effectiveness of these biopsies is very promising. In the study of the mediastinum and peripheral pulmonary nodules, the introduction of echobronchoscopy has brought about a radical change. It is a fully established technique in the study of lung cancer patients. The introduction of elastography may help to further improve its cost-effectiveness. In critically-ill patients, diaphragmatic ultrasound helps in the assessment of withdrawal of mechanical ventilation, and is now an indispensable tool in the management of these patients. In neuromuscular patients, ultrasound is a good predictor of impaired lung function. Currently, in Neuromuscular Disease Units, TU is an indispensable tool. Ultrasound study of the intercostal musculature is also effective in the study of respiratory function, and is widely used in Respiratory Rehabilitation. In Intermediate Care Units, thoracic ultrasound is indispensable for patient management. In these units there are ultrasound protocols for the management of patients with acute dyspnoea that have proven to be very effective.

Efficacy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound-guided percutaneous core needle biopsy in anterior mediastinal masses

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous core needle biopsy (PCNB) using ultrasound (US)-guided and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)-guided procedures for anterior mediastinal masses (AMMs).

Methods

In total, 284 consecutive patients (166 men, 118 women; mean age, 43.0 ​± ​18.4 years) who underwent PCNB for AMMs were enrolled. Patients were divided into the US-guided group (n ​= ​133) and the CEUS-guided group (n ​= ​151). PCNB was performed using a core needle (16-gauge or 18-gauge). Internal necrosis, diagnostic yield, and diagnostic accuracy were compared between the two groups.

Results

The predominant final diagnosis of the cases in this study was thymoma (29.7%), lymphoma (20.5%), thymic carcinoma (13.3%), and germ cell tumour (13.3%), respectively. There was no significant difference in patient age, sex, number of percutaneous biopsies, or display rate of internal necrosis on conventional US between the two groups. The rate of internal necrosis of the lesions was significantly higher after contrast agent injection (72.2% vs. 41.7%; P ​< ​0.001). The CEUS-guided group had a higher diagnostic yield than the US-guided group (100% vs. 89.5%, P ​< ​0.001). There was no significant difference between the diagnostic accuracy of the CEUS-guided and US-guided groups (97.3% vs. 97.4%; P ​= ​1.000). None of the patients experienced adverse reactions or complications after US-guided or CEUS-guided PCNB.

Conclusions

CEUS-guided PCNB can improve the diagnostic yield by optimizing the biopsy procedure.

[Coaxial system with permanent infiltration anesthesia for ct-assisted transthoracic trepanobiopsy of lung tumors]

OBJECTIVE

To assess irradiation time, pain syndrome and safety of the proposed device and technique compared to conventional CT-assisted transthoracic biopsy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

CT-guided transthoracic trepanobiopsy of thoracic tumors was carried out in 296 patients between January 2017 and January 2020. There were 189 (63.8%) men and 107 (36.2%) women. Mean age of patients was 64.1±9.6 years (range 35-83). All patients were randomized into 2 groups by 148 people: group 1 - morphological verification via conventional CT-guided transthoracic trepanobiopsy, group 2 - morphological verification using a coaxial system and a specially developed CT-guided transthoracic trepanobiopsy.

RESULTS

Coaxial system with permanent anesthesia in CT-guided transthoracic manipulations reduces post-manipulation complications by 4-5%, get more qualitative morphological material (by 4%), reduces the time of procedure by 2 times and irradiation of patients by 27%, excludes irradiation of physicians and significantly reduces pain syndrome.

Effectiveness and Safety of Transthoracic Ultrasound in Guiding Percutaneous Needle Biopsy in the Lung and Comparison vs. CT Scan in Assessing Morphology of Subpleural Consolidations

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to conduct a prospective analysis on the diagnostic accuracy of transthoracic ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle biopsy (TUS-PNB) for the histological assessment of peripheral lung lesions and to assess the performance of transthoracic ultrasound (TUS) examination vs. chest CT (gold standard) in the differentiation between malignant and benign peripheral lung lesions. (2) Methods: A total of 961 consecutive patients with subpleural pulmonary lesions were enrolled. All the patients received a CT scan with contrast; 762 patients underwent TUS-PTNB for suspicion of malignancy, and the remaining 199 enrolled patients underwent only TUS examination as a part of routine follow-up for known non-malignant subpleural consolidations. (3) Results: Among the 762 TUS-guided biopsies, there were 627 (82.28%) malignant lesions, 82 (10.76%) benign lesions, and 53 (6.96%) indeterminate lesions. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 93.04%. The rates of pneumothorax not requiring chest-tube insertion and self-limited hemoptysis were 0.79 and 0.26%, respectively. Patients were divided into two groups based on the benign or malignant nature of the subpleural consolidations. On TUS, both malignant and benign lesions showed mostly irregular margins and a hypoechoic pattern, but no differences were assessed in terms of sonographic margins and pattern between the two groups. There was poor agreement between TUS and chest CT in assessing air bronchograms and necrotic areas. The only finding in the detection of which TUS showed superiority compared to chest-CT was pleural effusion. (4) Conclusions: TUS-PNB was confirmed to be an effective and safe diagnostic method for peripheral pulmonary consolidation, but their sonographic pattern did not allow to rule out a malignant nature. A pre-operative evaluation on CT images, combined with the possibility of performing additional immunohistochemical and cytological investigations and the experience of the medical staff, may improve the diagnostic yield of TUS-guided biopsies.

Transthoracic Ultrasound in Infectious Organizing Pneumonia: A Useful Guide for Percutaneous Needle Biopsy

In patients presenting with classical features of CAP (i.e., new peripheral pulmonary consolidations and symptoms including fever, cough, and dyspnea), a clinical response to the appropriate therapy occurs in few days. When clinical improvement has not occurred and chest imaging findings are unchanged or worse, a more aggressive approach is needed in order to exclude other non-infective lesions (including neoplasms). International guidelines do not currently recommend the use of transthoracic ultrasound (TUS) as an alternative to chest X-ray (CXR) or chest computed tomography (CT) scan for the diagnosis of CAP. However, a fundamental role for TUS has been established as a guide for percutaneous needle biopsy (US-PNB) in pleural and subpleural lesions. In this retrospective study, we included 36 consecutive patients whose final diagnosis, made by a US-guided percutaneous needle biopsy (US-PTNB), was infectious organizing pneumonia (OP). Infective etiology was confirmed by additional information from microbiological and cultural studies or with a clinical follow-up of 6–12 months after a second-line antibiotic therapy plus corticosteroids. All patients have been subjected to a chest CT and a systematic TUS examination before biopsy. This gave us the opportunity to explore TUS performance in assessing CT findings of infective OP. TUS sensitivity and specificity in detecting air bronchogram and necrotic areas were far lower than those of CT scan. Conversely, TUS showed superiority in the detection of pleural effusion. Although ultrasound findings did not allow the characterization of chronic subpleural lesions, TUS confirmed to be a valid diagnostic aid for guiding percutaneous needle biopsy of subpleural consolidations.

Image-Guided Biopsies and Interventions of Mediastinal Lesions

Optimal assessment of the mediastinal masses is performed by a combination of clinical, radiological and often histological assessments. Image-guided transthoracic biopsy of mediastinal lesions is a minimally invasive and reliable procedure to obtain tissue samples, establish a diagnosis and provide a treatment plan. Biopsy can be performed under Computed Tomography, MRI, or ultrasound guidance, using a fine needle aspiration or a core-needle. In this paper, we review the image-guided strategies and techniques for histologic sampling of mediastinal lesions, along with the related clinical scenarios and possible procedural complications. In addition, image-guided mediastinal drainage and mediastinal ablations will be briefly discussed.