[Safety analysis of CT-guided core needle lung biopsy].

Objective: To study the safety of CT-guided core needle lung biopsy.

Methods: 290 cases of core-needle lung biopsy dated from April 1996 to April 2001 were studied. Complications of core-needle lung biopsy and their incidence and relationship with puncture site, diameter of the needle and depth of the target lesion were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: Of the 290 cases, 69 cases of mild pneumothorax (23.8%), 11 (3.8%) medium pneumothorax, 46 (15.9%) pulmonary bleeding, 2 (0.7%)hemoptysis, 2 (0.7%) bleeding in the thoracic cavity were identified. Drainage was done in 3 cases of pneumothorax and emergency operation was needed in 1 case of thoracic cavity bleeding. The rest of the complications resolved spontaneously after several days of bed rest.

Conclusions: CT-guided biopsy is a reliable and relatively safe aggressive diagnostic method to get hologic diagnosis. Pneumothorax and pulmonary bleeding are the most common complications, which correlated with the depth of the target lesions in the lung and have no correlation with the lesion location.