Breath-hold after forced expiration before removal of the biopsy needle decreased the rate of pneumothorax in CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of a breath-hold after forced expiration on the rate of pneumothorax after computed tomography (CT)-guided transthoracic needle biopsy of pulmonary lesions.


METHODS
Between January 2008 and December 2011, percutaneous CT-guided lung biopsy was performed in 440 patients. Two hundred and twenty-one biopsies were performed without (control group) and two hundred and nineteen biopsies were performed with (study group) the study maneuver - a breath-hold after forced expiratory approach. Multivariate analysis was performed between groups for risk factors for pneumothorax, including patient demographics, lesion characteristics, and biopsy technique.


RESULTS
A reduced number of pneumothoraces (18 [8.2%] vs 35 [15.8%]; P=0.014) but no significant difference in rate of drainage catheter insertions (2 [0.9%] vs (4 [1.8%]; P=0.418) were noted in the study group as compared with the control group. By logistic regression analysis, three factors significantly and independently affected the risk for pneumothorax including lesion size (transverse and longitudinal diameter), distance from pleura and utilizing or avoiding the breath-hold after deep expiration maneuver.


CONCLUSIONS
Breath-holding after forced expiration before removal of the biopsy needle during the percutaneous CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy almost halved the rate of overall pneumothorax. Small lesion size (longitudinal diameter) and the distance from pleura were also predictors of pneumothorax in our study.
Subei People's Hospital of Jiangsu Province, Clinical Medical School of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225001, Jiangsu, China.
Lingfeng
L
Min
Xingxiang
X
Xu
Yong
Y
Song
Ben-Dov
BD
Issahar
Jingtao
J
Wu
Le
L
Zhang
Qian
Q
Huang
Mingxiang
M
Chen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D062485:Breath Holding; D015897:Comorbidity; D020878:Device Removal / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D045853:Exhalation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D061705:Image-Guided Biopsy / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015994:Incidence; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult