The diagnostic value of image guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration biopsy in equivocal mediastinal masses.

Background And Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of image guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy in equivocal mediastinal masses.

Patients: Sixty-six patients with an equivocal mediastinal mass who underwent FNA biopsy between 1993 and 2003 were eligible for final analysis. The cytological and definitive diagnosis of masses were grouped as primary 22 (33%)-30 (46%) and secondary (metastatic) neoplasms 18 (27%)-18 (27%) and nonneoplastic lesions 20 (30%)-18 (27%) respectively.

Results: The diagnostic accuracy (95% C.I.) of FNA biopsy for primary mediastinal neoplasms, secondary neoplasms and nonneoplastic lesions were found to be 93.3 (83.8-98.2)%, 100 (95.1-100)%, 93.3 (83.8-98.2)%, respectively.

Conclusion: Image guided percutaneous FNA biopsy is a safe and highly accurate diagnostic method for equivocal mediastinal masses.