BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic value of thin bronchoscopy lung biopsy for peripheral pulmonary lesions under non-real-time guidance of radial ultrasound (RP-EBUS).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used a retrospective analysis of ultrasound images of 165 patients with peripheral pulmonary disease admitted to Suzhou Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from February 2016 to December 2018 who were given RP-EBUS examination. Ultrasound images were obtained for all patients. There were 76 patients treated using traditional positioning method as the control group; 89 patients were treated by probe combined with bronchoscopy positioning method as the research group where the biopsy of the lesion along the path of the ultrasound probe was taken. The positive rate of the 2 methods was observed, and the factors affecting the quality of ultra-thin bronchoscopy under RP-EBUS non-real-time guidance were analyzed.

RESULTS: The detection rate of the study group was 77.64%, which was significantly higher than that in control group, which was 63.16% (χ²=5.238, P<0.05). The number of biopsies in the study group was 6±1.25, which was significantly lower than that of the control group which was 9±1.87 (t=4.116, P<0.05). The diagnostic positive rate of the RP-EBUS probe was significantly higher than that of the RP-EBUS probe (χ²=5.081, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic positive rate of RP-EBUS non-real-time guided subtotal bronchoscopy lung biopsy for peripheral lung disease using probe combined with bronchoscopy positioning method was higher than the traditional positioning method, and the number of biopsies in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group, which was related to the size, location, whether the probe was wrapped, or the characteristics of the ultrasound image.

Keywords: Alagille Syndrome, Bronchoscopy, Diagnostic Test Approval, Aged, 80 and over, Biopsy, Endosonography, Lung Diseases