title: Transbronchial needle aspiration biopsy in the diagnosis of pulmonary neoplasms.
abstract: To evaluate the usefulness of transbronchial needle aspiration biopsy (TBNAB) in the primary diagnosis of lung cancer, we undertook a prospective study of this technique, assessing specimens from 124 patients over a 3-yr period. Cytologic and/or histologic material obtained by an alternate technique was available for 105 (84.7%) of the patients. The diagnostic sensitivity of TBNAB was comparable with that of other bronchoscopic techniques; with the addition of TBNAB, the overall sensitivity of bronchoscopy was increased from 54% to 72% (P less than 0.001). Because of its usefulness for diagnosis of submucosal tumors and its safety, we conclude that TBNAB is a useful addition to current methods for the diagnosis of suspicious pulmonary lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Lankenau Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19151.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhagat
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Pearlman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Figueroa
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kannan
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Kline
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies