Effect of needle gauge and lobe laterality on parenchymal liver biopsy outcome: a retrospective analysis

Incidence of Complications from Percutaneous Biopsy in Chronic Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Approaches to liver biopsy have changed over the past decade in patients with chronic liver disease.

AIMS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the incidence of all complications and technical failure associated with percutaneous liver biopsy.

METHODS

We systematically searched PubMed and the Cochrane Library for cohort studies reporting on complications resulting from liver biopsy published between 2010 and 2020. Studies on participants of any age and sex, who underwent any percutaneous biopsy for non-focal liver disease, were selected. All events except mild pain, minor hematoma, vasovagal episodes, fever and fistula were defined as major complications. Random-effect model meta-analyses with and without covariates were performed, to examine the effect of publication year, patient characteristics, outcome collection, and biopsy type on incidences.

RESULTS

We identified 30 studies reporting on complications resulting from percutaneous liver biopsy procedures (n = 64,356). Incidence of major complications was 2.44% (95% CI 0.85, 6.75), with mortality at 0.01% (95% CI 0.00, 0.11), hospitalization at 0.65% (95% CI 0.38, 1.11), major bleeding at 0.48% (95% CI 0.22, 1.06), and moderate/severe pain at 0.34% (95% CI 0.08, 1.37). Minor complications at 9.53% (95% CI 3.68, 22.5) were mainly pain at 12.9% (95% CI 5.34, 27.9). Technical failure was high at 0.91% (95% CI 0.27, 3.00). Decreasing patient age significantly increased incidence of hospitalization and major bleeding (P < 0.0001). Hospitalization incidence also significantly increased with disease severity.

CONCLUSIONS

Incidence of major (2.4%) and minor (9.5%) complications, and technical failure (0.91%) in percutaneous liver biopsies continues.

Guidelines on the use of liver biopsy in clinical practice from the British Society of Gastroenterology, the Royal College of Radiologists and the Royal College of Pathology

Liver biopsy is required when clinically important information about the diagnosis, prognosis or management of a patient cannot be obtained by safer means, or for research purposes. There are several approaches to liver biopsy but predominantly percutaneous or transvenous approaches are used. A wide choice of needles is available and the approach and type of needle used will depend on the clinical state of the patient and local expertise but, for non-lesional biopsies, a 16-gauge needle is recommended. Many patients with liver disease will have abnormal laboratory coagulation tests or receive anticoagulation or antiplatelet medication. A greater understanding of the changes in haemostasis in liver disease allows for a more rational, evidence-based approach to peri-biopsy management. Overall, liver biopsy is safe but there is a small morbidity and a very small mortality so patients must be fully counselled. The specimen must be of sufficient size for histopathological interpretation. Communication with the histopathologist, with access to relevant clinical information and the results of other investigations, is essential for the generation of a clinically useful report.

Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Liver Biopsy: A Review on Obtaining Adequate Specimens

This literature review was conducted to evaluate liver biopsy adequacy, including total core length (TCL), number of portal tracts (PT), fragmentation, and complication rates, as a function of needle type and gauge. A systematic electronic search was performed in the Web of Science and Google Scholar databases, according to the PRISMA statement. Eligible data, describing in vivo percutaneous ultrasound-guided human liver biopsy quality outcomes, were compared to adequacy criteria of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD, TCL ≥ 20 mm, PT ≥ 11). An adequate mean number of PTs was found in 83% of biopsy needles assessed between 2012 and 2019, compared to 0% between 1998 and 2004. For TCL, this was 44% and 33%, respectively. Increasing the needle diameter enhanced TCL (result in 50% of included studies) and PT count (100%), and reduced fragmentation rates (75%), whereas no effect on pain or complications was found (83%). In total, five needle types achieved adequate PT counts, using 16 G (3×), 17 G (1×), or 18 G (1×) needles. Adequacy was reached using either a core needle biopsy (CNB, 3×) approach with one pass, or a fine needle aspiration (FNA, 2×) approach with two passes. The recommendations for biopsy adequacy can be met using 16/17 G FNA or 16/18 G CNB needles. Currently, many publications still present substandard liver biopsy quality outcomes. Although minimizing biopsy invasiveness is desirable, a decreased diameter or number of passes is ill-judged when reliability of biopsy outcomes is at stake.

Complications After Percutaneous Ultrasound-Guided Liver Biopsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of a Population of More Than 12,000 Patients From 51 Cohort Studies

OBJECTIVES

Percutaneous liver biopsy (LB) has been considered the reference standard in distinguishing the degree of liver disease, but there has been no definitive systematic review to assess complication rates or potential risk factors for them.

METHODS

In this study, we searched the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus databases for studies appraising complication rates after percutaneous ultrasound (US)-guided LB published until October 11, 2018. The safety and efficacy of US-guided LB were estimated according to major and minor complications. Subgroups including the biopsy style, needle styles, mean number of needle insertions, study period, and specific complication items were analyzed.

RESULTS

Among 12,481 patients from 51 studies, pooled results showed a low rate (0; 95% confidence interval, 0-0) of major and minor complications. The subgroup analysis indicated that US-guided LB had a low major complication rate of 0 (0-0) for both fine-needle aspiration and core biopsy, with rates of 0.016 (0-0.032) for 14-gauge, 0.010 (0.003-0.017) for 15-gauge, 0.002 (-0.001-0.005) for 20-gauge, and 0 (0-0) for 16-, 17-, 18-, 21-, and 22-gauge needles, and low minor complication rates of 0 (0-0) for fine-needle aspiration and 0.001 (0-0.002) for core biopsy, with rates of 0.164 (0.137-0.191) for 15-gauge, 0.316 (0.113-0.519) for 16-gauge, and 0 (0-0) for 14-, 17-, 18-, 20-, 21-, and 22-gauge needles. Furthermore, specific complication rates of bleeding, pain, pneumothorax, vasovagal reactions, and death were all 0 (0-0).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that it is possible to safely perform percutaneous US-guided LB.

Ultrasound-guided non-targeted liver core biopsy: comparison of the efficacy of two different core needle biopsy systems using an ex-vivo animal model and retrospective review of clinical experience

PURPOSE

To compare the efficacy of two 18-gauge core needle biopsy systems, the Achieve® (Merit Medical) and the Marquee® (BD Bard), using an ex-vivo animal liver model and retrospective review of clinical experience.

METHODS

Sixty ex-vivo liver biopsy samples were obtained using the Achieve® (n = 30) and the Marquee® (n = 30) needles. In addition, 20 liver biopsy samples from 20 patients obtained using the Achieve® (n = 10) and Marquee® (n = 10) were compared retrospectively. One pathologist, blinded to needle type, recorded total core length and the number of complete portal triads. Ex vivo measurements were compared using mixed effects linear, logistic, and ordinal regression. In vivo measurements were compared using Student's t-test.

RESULTS

For the Achieve® and Marquee® needles, the mean(SD) total core length (mm) of ex vivo samples was 11.0(3.3) and 12.6(3.4), respectively (P = 0.069) and the adequacy rate was 23.3% and 50%, respectively (P = 0.04). Mean number of portal triads of ex vivo samples was 7.2(2.9) and 8.6(3.8), respectively (P = 0.13), and the adequacy rate was 73.3% and 83.3%, respectively (P = 0.32). For in vivo samples, the Achieve® and Marquee® needles demonstrates mean(SD) total core length (mm) of 24.6(7.1) and 32.0(4.6), respectively (P = 0.01), adequacy rate (P = 0.06). Mean number of portal triads was 14.9(4.8) and 19.6(4.1), respectively (P = 0.03), adequacy rate (P = 0.47).

CONCLUSIONS

Slightly longer core biopsies were obtained with the Marquee® needle compared with the Achieve® needle. Early clinical experience demonstrates no significant difference in sample adequacy rates. Both needle types can be expected to provide adequate samples for pathologic assessment of liver tissue.

Incidence of major hemorrhage after aggressive image-guided liver mass biopsy in the era of individualized medicine

PURPOSE

To analyze a large volume of image-guided liver mass biopsies to assess for an increased incidence of major hemorrhage after aggressive liver mass sampling, and to determine if coaxial technique reduces major hemorrhage rate.

METHODS

Patients who underwent image-guided liver mass biopsy over a 15-year period (December 7, 2001-September 22, 2016) were retrospectively identified. An aggressive biopsy was defined as a biopsy event in which ≥ 4 core needle passes were performed. Association of major hemorrhage after aggressive liver mass biopsy and other potential risk factors of interest were assessed using logistic regression analysis. For the subset of aggressive biopsies, Fisher's exact test was used to compare the incidence of major hemorrhage using coaxial versus noncoaxial techniques.

RESULTS

Aggressive biopsies constituted 11.6% of biopsy events (N =579/5011). The incidence of major hemorrhage with <4 passes was 0.4% (N =18/4432) and with ≥4 passes 1.2% (N =6/579). In univariable models, aggressive biopsy was significantly associated with major hemorrhage (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.16-6.92, p =0.025). After adjusting for gender and platelet count, the association was not significant at the p =0.05 level (OR 2.58, 95% CI 0.927-6.24, p =0.067). The rate of major hemorrhage in the coaxial biopsy technique group was 1.4% (N =3/209) compared to 1.1% (N =4/370) in the noncoaxial biopsy technique group, which was not a significant difference (p =0.707).

CONCLUSIONS

Although aggressive image-guided liver mass biopsies had an increased incidence of major hemorrhage, the overall risk of bleeding remained low. The benefit of such biopsies will almost certainly outweigh the risk in most patients.

Prospective Evaluation of Unprocessed Core Needle Biopsy DNA and RNA Yield from Lung, Liver, and Kidney Tumors: Implications for Cancer Genomics

Context

Targeted needle biopsies are increasingly performed for the genetic characterization of cancer. While the nucleic acid content of core needle biopsies after standard pathology processing (i.e., formalin fixation and paraffin embedding (FFPE)) has been previously reported, little is known about the potential yield for molecular analysis at the time of biopsy sample acquisition.

Objectives

Our objective was to improve the understanding of DNA and RNA yields from commonly used core needle biopsy techniques prior to sample processing.

Methods

We performed 552 ex vivo 18 and 20G core biopsies in the lungs, liver, and kidneys. DNA and RNA were extracted from fresh-frozen core samples and quantified for statistical comparisons based on needle gauge, biopsy site, and tissue type.

Results

Median tumor DNA yields from all 18G and 20G samples were 5880 ng and 2710 ng, respectively. Median tumor RNA yields from all 18G and 20G samples were 1100 ng and 230 ng, respectively. A wide range of DNA and RNA quantities (1060–13,390 ng and 370–6280 ng, respectively) were acquired. Median DNA and RNA yields from 18G needles were significantly greater than those from 20G needles across all organs (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Core needle biopsy techniques for cancer diagnostics yield a broad range of DNA and RNA for molecular pathology, though quantities are greater than what has been reported for FFPE processed material. Since non-formalin-fixed DNA is advantageous for molecular studies, workflows that optimize core needle biopsy yield for molecular characterization should be explored.