Abstract
Background
Transbronchial lung biopsy with radial endobronchial ultrasound (rEBUS-TBB) and Computed tomography (CT) scan-guided transthoracic biopsy (CT-TTB) are commonly used to investigate peripheral lung nodules but high-quality data are still not clear about the diagnostic and safety profile comparison of these two modalities.
Method
We included all randomized controlled trials (RCT) comparing rEBUS-TBB with a flexible bronchoscope and CT-TTB for solitary lung nodules. Two reviewers extracted data independently on diagnostic performance and complication rates.
Results
170 studies were screened, 4 RCT with a total of 325 patients were included. CT-TTB had a higher diagnostic yield than rEBUS-TBB (83.45% vs 68.82%, risk difference − 0.15, 95% CI, [− 0.24, − 0.05]), especially for lesion size 1–2 cm (83% vs 50%, risk difference − 0.33, 95% CI, [− 0.51, − 0.14]). For malignant diseases, rEBUS-TBB had a diagnostic yield of 75.75% vs 87.7% of CT-TTB. rEBUS-TBB had a significant better safety profile with lower risks of pneumothorax (2.87% vs 21.43%, OR = 0.12, 95% CI [0.05–0.32]) and combined outcomes of hospital admission, hemorrhage, and pneumothorax (8.62% vs 31.81%, OR 0.21, 95% CI, [0.11–0.40]). Factors increasing diagnostic yield of rEBUS were lesion size and localization of the probe but not the distance to the chest wall and hilum.
Conclusion
CT-TTB had a higher diagnostic yield than rEBUS-TBB in diagnosing peripheral lung nodules, particularly for lesions from 1 to 2 cm. However, rEBUS-TBB was significantly safer with five to eight times less risk of pneumothorax and composite complications of hospital admission, hemorrhage, and pneumothorax. The results of this study only apply to flexible bronchoscopy with radial ebus without navigational technologies. More data are needed for a comparison between CT-TTB with rEBUS-TBB combined with advanced navigational modalities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rahib L, Wehner MR, Matrisian LM, Nead KT (2021) Estimated projection of US cancer incidence and death to 2040. JAMA Netw Open 4(4):e214708–e214708
T. National Lung Screening Trial Research, Aberle DR, Adams AM, Berg CD, Black WC, Clapp JD, Fagerstrom RM, Gareen IF, Gatsonis C, Marcus PM, Sicks JD (2011) Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening. N Engl J Med 365(5):395–409
Ost D, Fein AM, Feinsilver SH (2003) Clinical practice The solitary pulmonary nodule. N Engl J Med 348(25):2535–2542
MacMahon H, Naidich DP, Goo JM, Lee KS, Leung ANC, Mayo JR, Mehta AC, Ohno Y, Powell CA, Prokop M, Rubin GD, Schaefer-Prokop CM, Travis WD, Schil PEV, Bankier AA (2017) Guidelines for management of incidental pulmonary nodules detected on CT images: from the fleischner society 2017. Radiology 284(1):228–243
Manhire A, Charig M, Clelland C, Gleeson F, Miller R, Moss H, Pointon K, Richardson C, Sawicka E (2003) Guidelines for radiologically guided lung biopsy. Thorax 58(11):920–36
Heerink WJ, de Bock GH, de Jonge GJ, Groen HJ, Vliegenthart R, Oudkerk M (2017) Complication rates of CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy: meta-analysis. Eur Radiol 27(1):138–148
Yang W, Sun W, Li Q, Yao Y, Lv T, Zeng J, Liang W, Zhou X, Song Y (2015) Diagnostic accuracy of CT-guided transthoracic needle biopsy for solitary pulmonary nodules. PLoS ONE 10(6):e0131373
Han Y, Kim HJ, Kong KA, Kim SJ, Lee SH, Ryu YJ, Lee JH, Kim Y, Shim SS, Chang JH (2018) Diagnosis of small pulmonary lesions by transbronchial lung biopsy with radial endobronchial ultrasound and virtual bronchoscopic navigation versus CT-guided transthoracic needle biopsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 13(1):e0191590
Gupta A, Suri JC, Bhattacharya D, Sen MK, Chakrabarti S, Singh A, Adhikari T (2018) Comparison of diagnostic yield and safety profile of radial endobronchial ultrasound-guided bronchoscopic lung biopsy with computed tomography-guided percutaneous needle biopsy in evaluation of peripheral pulmonary lesions: a randomized controlled trial. Lung India 35(1):9–15
Wang W, Yu L, Wang Y, Zhang Q, Chi C, Zhan P, Xu C (2018) Radial EBUS versus CT-guided needle biopsy for evaluation of solitary pulmonary nodules. Oncotarget 9(19):15122–15131
Fielding DI, Chia C, Nguyen P, Bashirzadeh F, Hundloe J, Brown IG, Steinke K (2012) Prospective randomised trial of endobronchial ultrasound-guide sheath versus computed tomography-guided percutaneous core biopsies for peripheral lung lesions. Intern Med J 42(8):894–900
Steinfort DP, Vincent J, Heinze S, Antippa P, Irving LB (2011) Comparative effectiveness of radial probe endobronchial ultrasound versus CT-guided needle biopsy for evaluation of peripheral pulmonary lesions: a randomized pragmatic trial. Respir Med 105(11):1704–1711
Folch EE, Pritchett MA, Nead MA, Bowling MR, Murgu SD, Krimsky WS, Murillo BA, LeMense GP, Minnich DJ, Bansal S, Ellis BQ, Mahajan AK, Gildea TR, Bechara RI, Sztejman E, Flandes J, Rickman OB, Benzaquen S, Hogarth DK, Linden PA, Wahidi MM, Mattingley JS, Hood KL, Lin H, Wolvers JJ, Khandhar SJ, Investigators NS (2019) Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy for peripheral pulmonary lesions: one-year results of the prospective multicenter NAVIGATE Study. J Thorac Oncol 14(3):445–458
Kalchiem-Dekel O, Connolly JG, Lin IH, Husta BC, Adusumilli PS, Beattie JA, Buonocore DJ, Dycoco J, Fuentes P, Jones DR, Lee RP, Park BJ, Rocco G, Chawla M, Bott MJ (2022) Shape-sensing robotic-assisted bronchoscopy in the diagnosis of pulmonary parenchymal lesions. Chest 161(2):572–582
Agrawal A, Hogarth DK, Murgu S (2020) Robotic bronchoscopy for pulmonary lesions: a review of existing technologies and clinical data. J Thorac Dis 12(6):3279–3286
Gex G, Pralong JA, Combescure C, Seijo L, Rochat T, Soccal PM (2014) Diagnostic yield and safety of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy for lung nodules: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Respiration 87(2):165–176
Oki M, Saka H, Ando M, Asano F, Kurimoto N, Morita K, Kitagawa C, Kogure Y, Miyazawa T (2015) Ultrathin bronchoscopy with multimodal devices for peripheral pulmonary lesions. A randomized trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 192(4):468–476
Funding
There is no funding for this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conception and design: A.T.N.H and S.P. Administrative support: S.P, R.L, and M.C. Provision of study materials or patients: not applicable. Collection and assembly of data: A.T.N.H, R.G, and S.P. Data analysis and interpretation: A.T.N.H and S.P. Manuscript writing: all authors. Final approval of manuscript: all authors.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Conflict of interest
The authors have no financial or non-financial conflicts of interest to disclose.
Ethical Approval
This is a review study. There is no ethical approval required.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Ho, A.T.N., Gorthi, R., Lee, R. et al. Solitary Lung Nodule: CT-Guided Transthoracic Biopsy vs Transbronchial Biopsy With Endobronchial Ultrasound and Flexible Bronchoscope, a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Lung 201, 85–93 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-023-00596-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-023-00596-9