Safety and diagnostic accuracy of percutaneous ultrasound-guided biopsy of the spleen: a multicenter study.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the safety and accuracy of ultrasound-guided (USG) percutaneous needle biopsy of the spleen.


METHODS
Sixty-two USG needle biopsies performed in 52 patients were retrospectively analyzed: there were 53 biopsies of local lesions and 9 biopsies of diffuse lesions. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was performed in 37 cases and core-needle biopsy (CNB) in 25 cases. The complications and diagnostic accuracy of the 2 types of biopsy were compared.


RESULTS
Two patients (3.8%) had postprocedural hemorrhage after CNB; one was minor, and the other severe, requiring splenectomy. No bleeding occurred with FNA. The diagnostic accuracy was similar with FNA (86.5%) and CNB (92%), whereas in patients with lymphoma, accuracy of FNA (80%) tended to be lower than that of CNB (100%), although the difference was not statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
USG needle biopsy is safe and effective for diagnosing both focal and diffuse splenic lesions. The risk of bleeding may be lower with FNA than with CNB.
Gómez-Rubio
Mariano
M
Gastroenterology Department, Getafe University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
López-Cano
Antonio
A
Rendón
Paloma
P
Muñoz-Benvenuty
Agustín
A
Macías
Manuel
M
Garre
Carmen
C
Segura-Cabral
Jose María
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013154:Spleen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D013158:Splenic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography; D055815:Young Adult