Training in and experience with endobronchial ultrasound.
BACKGROUND
Diagnosing mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy and staging lung cancer with endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) are on the rise, but uncertainty surrounds the optimal number of cases needed to achieve acceptable yields.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the threshold at which EBUS-TBNA reaches adequate yields among trainees and skilled bronchoscopists.


METHODS
We reviewed all EBUS-TBNAs performed at our medical center since implementing the use of EBUS (n = 222).


RESULTS
EBUS-TBNAs were performed in 222 patients (344 nodes). The percentage of adequate specimens sampled (diagnostic specimens or nodal tissue) rose from 66% in 2008 to 90% in 2012 (p < 0.01) and cancer yield improved from 34% in 2008 to 48% in 2012 (p < 0.01). Attending physicians who performed an average of more than 10 procedures per year had higher yields compared to those who performed fewer than 10 procedures per year (86 vs. 68%, p < 0.01). The yield of trainees also improved with every 10 procedures (79, 90 and 95%, p < 0.001) and that of attending physicians with experience (1-25 procedures: 78% yield, 26-50 procedures: 87% yield and 50+ procedures: 90% yield; p < 0.01). Among trainees, failure rates declined steadily.


CONCLUSIONS
EBUS-TBNA yield (malignant and benign) increases with increasing experience amongst experienced bronchoscopists and trainees as early as the first 20-25 procedures. Pulmonary trainees had a rapid decline in failure rates. These findings suggest that in an academic environment a minimum of 20-25 procedures is needed to achieve acceptable yields.
Department of Pulmonary/Critical Care, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston Salem, N.C., USA.
Christina R
CR
Bellinger
Arjun B
AB
Chatterjee
Norman
N
Adair
Tim
T
Houle
Irtaza
I
Khan
Edward
E
Haponik
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000368:Aged; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000193:education; D002983:Clinical Competence; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D061765:Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration / Q000379:methods*; D019160:Endosonography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D059032:Learning Curve; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015272:Pulmonary Medicine / Q000193:education*; D012189:Retrospective Studies