Chest
Clinical InvestigationsSARCOIDOSISThe Value of Flexible Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in the Diagnosis of Stage I Sarcoidosis
Section snippets
Study Design
To assess the diagnostic yield of TBNA in the setting of stage I sarcoidosis, we retrospectively reviewed the records of the bronchoscopic procedures performed between January 1997 and December 2002 in the evaluation of hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy without pulmonary abnormalities, as detected by chest radiographs. All procedures were performed at a single institution (Unit of Thoracic Endoscopy, Maggiore Hospital, Bologna).
Bronchoscopic Procedures
After chest CT and physical examination, all patients
Results
Of the 55 patients enrolled in the study, 23 patients were pathologically proven to have diseases other than sarcoidosis, namely metastatic cancer (n = 10), lymphoproliferative disorder (n = 10), mycobacterial infection (n = 2), and lymphadenopathy in the setting of heart failure (n = 1).14 TBNA proved diagnostic in 8 of 10 cases of metastatic cancer (80%; 95% CI, 44 to 97%), in 6 of 10 cases of lymphoproliferative disorder (60%; 95% CI, 22 to 88%), and in the 3 cases of nonneoplastic disease.
Discussion
In the last 2 decades, a growing amount of data have appeared in the literature suggesting that TBNA is a safe, effective, and cost-saving method in the diagnosis and mediastinal staging of lung cancer.1315161718 Far less information is available on the role of TBNA in the setting of sarcoidosis, and the technique is not even mentioned as a diagnostic tool in the recently published American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society/World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous
References (21)
Sarcoidosis
Mayo Clin Proc
(1995)Flexible transbronchial needle aspiration biopsy for histologic specimens
Chest
(1985)- et al.
The role of fiberscopic transbronchial needle aspiration in the staging of N2 disease due to non-small cell lung cancer
Ann Thorac Surg
(2002) - et al.
The role of transcarinal needle aspira-tion in the staging of bronchogenic carcinoma
Chest
(1984) - et al.
Hemomediastinum after transbronchial needle aspiration [letter]
Chest
(1986) Statement on sarcoidosis
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
(1999)- et al.
Transbronchial lung biopsy in sarcoidosis: an approach to determine the optimal number of biopsies
Am Rev Respir Dis
(1980) - et al.
Probability of a positive transbronchial lung biopsy result in sarcoidosis
Arch Intern Med
(1979) - et al.
Transbronchial lung biopsy through the fiberoptic fiberscope in diagnosis of sarcoidosis
BMJ
(1980) - et al.
Transbronchial needle aspiration in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis
Chest
(1984)