TY - JOUR T1 - Transthoracic ultrasound (USG) guided biopsy of lung lesions: Experience from a tertiary care centre in India JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 42 IS - Suppl 57 SP - P2319 AU - Debajyoti Bhattacharyya AU - A. Arora Y1 - 2013/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P2319.abstract N2 - Introduction: Transthoracic USG guided tru-cut biopsy of peripheral lung lesions is a less commonly performed but easily available test in resource constrained countries.Aims and objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of transthoracic ultrasound guided biopsy of peripheral lung lesions.Methods: This is a retrospective study of all patients with peripheral lung lesions who underwent tru-cut lung biopsy under USG guidance between January 2008 and December 2012 in a tertiary care hospital. Post-procedure, the patients were observed for any complication, and a chest x-ray was performed after one hour to look for any pneumothorax.Results: 62 patients (42 males and 20 females) underwent the procedure. Mean age of patients was 49.2 years (range: 24-76 years). Mean tumour sizes were 71.2 ±28.4 mm. Histopathologic examination of the biopsy specimen revealed the diagnosis in 57 (91.9%) cases: malignancy in 44 (77.2%) cases, benign tumour in 2 (3.5%), granuloma in 8 (14.0%), and organizing pneumonia in 3 (5.3%) cases. Amongst the malignancy cases, lung cancer was detected in 40 cases, and there were 4 other malignant cases. Adenocarcinoma was found to be the commonest lung cancer – 16 (40.0%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma – 14 (35.0%), small cell carcinoma – 7 (17.5%), and poorly differentiated carcinoma in 3 (7.5%) cases. Complications included: pneumothorax - 6 (two patients required tube thoracostomy), mild haemoptysis - 3, and subcutaneous emphysema in one patient.Conclusions: Transthoracic USG guided tru-cut lung biopsy is an effective and safe procedure in diagnosing peripheral lung lesions abutting the chest wall. ER -