CT-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy of pulmonary lesions under 15mm of diameter : Results on 68 consecutive patients

Background: Most reports on lung fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) demonstrate that the diagnostic accuracy tends to decrease with the size of the lesions, and that the frequency of complications increases as the size of lesions decreases. The aim of this prospective study was to describe the accuracy and incidence of complications related to FNAC of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) of 15mmor less in diameter. Moreover, we evaluated how this procedure during the initial evaluation of patients with SPN can reduce the number of unnecessary surgery. Conclusions: In our experience the diagnostic accuracy value was high. Subjecting patients with undiagnosed pulmonary lesions to FNAC during the initial evaluation significantly reduces the number of unnecessary surgical procedures.