Meta-analysis of the diagnostic yield and safety of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy for lung nodules.

Objective: This meta-analysis is to evaluate the overall diagnostic yield and accuracy of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB)-based targeted biopsies in detecting peripheral lesions.

Methods: A systematic search in PubMed was performed using "electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy" crossed with "peripheral lesions" and "lung nodules". Test performance characteristics with the use of forest plots, summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROCs) and bivariate random effects were summarized using Meta-Disc software. Adverse events and complications were recorded if reported.

Results: A total of 17 studies (1,106 patients with peripheral lung lesions) were included in this analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratios (PLRs), negative likelihood ratios (NLRs), and diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) of ENB was 82%, 100%, 19.36, 0.23, and 97.62, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for the SROC was 0.9786. No procedure-related complication was found.

Conclusions: ENB is an effective and safe procedure in diagnosing peripheral lung lesions.