Critical care transesophageal endosonography and guided fine-needle aspiration for diagnosis and management of posterior mediastinitis.

Background: Acute mediastinitis is a serious complication; it occurs after esophageal perforation and thoracic surgery and is rarely due to infections. Clinical and computed tomographic scan signs may be nonspecific, especially in postoperative patients.

Design: We prospectively evaluated the value of transesophageal endosonography with guided fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis and identification of etiologic agents in critically ill patients with suspected posterior mediastinitis.

Role of transesophageal endosonography-guided fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis of lung cancer.

Study Objective: Bronchoscopic methods fail to diagnose lung cancer in up to 30% of patients. We studied the role of transesophageal endosonography (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA; EUS-FNA) in such patients.

Design: Prospective study.

[Endosonographically controlled fine needle aspiration cytology--indications and results in routine diagnosis].

Unlabelled: The usefulness and clinical utility of routine EUS-guided fine needle aspiration cytology (FNA) in the diagnosis of lesions adjacent to the upper gastrointestinal tract was prospectively studied.

Methods: EUS/FNA was performed in 122 patients for 125 lesions: Mediastinal lymph nodes (n = 56), pancreatic lesions (n = 45), paragastric masses (n = 12), submucosal tumors (n = 4) and small hepatic lesions (n = 2) were successfully punctured for cytological diagnosis.

Results: Adequate material was gained in 119 out of 125 punctures (95%).