A retrospective study comparing the ultrathin versus conventional bronchoscope for performing radial endobronchial ultrasound in the evaluation of peripheral pulmonary lesions

Ultrathin bronchoscopy for diagnosing peripheral pulmonary lesions

Bronchoscopes are continuously improving. Increasingly, thinner bronchoscopes with larger working channels and better imaging quality are becoming available for clinical use. Concurrently, useful ancillary devices have been developed, such as radial probe endobronchial ultrasound (rEBUS) and navigation devices. Randomized studies have demonstrated the diagnostic superiority of ultrathin bronchoscopy over thin bronchoscopy under rEBUS and virtual bronchoscopic navigation guidance for small, peripheral pulmonary lesions. Furthermore, biopsy needles and cryoprobes have been miniaturized and adapted to the working channel of the new ultrathin bronchoscopes. Multi-modality and multi-instrumental ultrathin bronchoscopy using such new technologies has facilitated high diagnostic yields.

Guided Bronchoscopy for the Evaluation of Pulmonary Lesions: An Updated Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Guided bronchoscopy is increasingly used to diagnose peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). A meta-analysis published in 2012 demonstrated a pooled diagnostic yield of 70%; however, recent publications have documented yields as low as 40% and as high as 90%.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Has the diagnostic yield of guided bronchoscopy in patients with PPLs improved over the past decade?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A comprehensive search was performed of studies evaluating the diagnostic yield of differing bronchoscopic technologies used to reach PPLs. Study quality was assessed using the Quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy of studies (QUADAS-2) assessment tool. Number of lesions, type of technology used, overall diagnostic yield, and yield by size were extracted. Adverse events were recorded. Meta-analytic techniques were used to summarize findings across all studies.

RESULTS

A total of 16,389 lesions from 126 studies were included. There was no significant difference in diagnostic yield prior to 2012 (39 studies; 3,052 lesions; yield 70.5%) vs after 2012 (87 studies; 13,535 lesions; yield 69.2%) (P > .05). Additionally, there was no significant difference in yield when comparing different technologies. Studies with low risk of overall bias had a lower diagnostic yield than those with high risk of bias (66% vs 71%, respectively; P = .018). Lesion size > 2 cm, presence of bronchus sign, and reports with a high prevalence of malignancy in the study population were associated with significantly higher diagnostic yield. Significant (P < .0001) between-study heterogeneity was also noted.

INTERPRETATION

Despite the reported advances in bronchoscopic technology to diagnose PPLs, the diagnostic yield of guided bronchoscopy has not improved.

Ultrathin Bronchoscopy for the Diagnosis of Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Ultrathin bronchoscopy (external diameter, ≤3.5 mm) is useful for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions because of its good accessibility.

OBJECTIVES

We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the diagnostic yield of ultrathin bronchoscopy for peripheral pulmonary lesions.

METHODS

We performed a systematic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE (from inception to May 2021), and meta-analysis was performed using R software. The diagnostic yield was evaluated by dividing the number of successful diagnoses by the total number of lesions, and subgroup analysis was performed to identify related factors.

RESULTS

Nineteen studies with a total of 1,977 peripheral pulmonary lesions were included. The pooled diagnostic yield of ultrathin bronchoscopy was 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.60-0.70). Significant heterogeneity was observed among studies (χ2, 87.75; p < 0.01; I2, 79.5%). In a subgroup analysis, ultrathin bronchoscopy with 1.2 mm channel size showed a diagnostic yield of 0.61 (95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.68), whereas ultrathin bronchoscopy with 1.7 mm channel size showed 0.70 (95% confidence interval, 0.66-0.74) (χ2, 5.35; p = 0.02). In addition, there was a significant difference in diagnostic yield based on lesion size, histologic diagnosis (malignant vs. benign), bronchus sign, and lesion location from the hilum, whereas no significant difference was found based on lobar location. The overall complication rate of ultrathin bronchoscopy was 2.7% (pneumothorax, 1.1%).

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrathin bronchoscopy is an excellent tool for peripheral pulmonary lesion diagnosis with a low complication rate. The diagnostic yield of ultrathin bronchoscopy was significantly higher with larger channel size, which might be attributed to the availability of radial endobronchial ultrasound.

Comparison of the Value of Conventional Ultrasound and Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound-Guided Puncture Biopsy in Different Sizes of Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions

Objective

To compare the clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and conventional ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy in peripulmonary lesions of different sizes.

Materials and Methods

110 patients with peripulmonary lesions were randomly divided into two groups: the conventional ultrasound-guided group and the contrast-enhanced ultrasound-guided group. The lesions in the two groups were further divided into two groups according to the size of the lesions, and the tissues taken after puncture biopsy were sent for pathological examination. The pathological results were compared with the postoperative pathological results and other examination results, and the complications were recorded at the same time.

Results

In the conventional ultrasound group, the success rate of single puncture was 72.7% and the success rate of puncture was 80.0%; in the contrast group, the success rate of single puncture was 90.9% and the success rate of puncture was 94.6%. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant. There was no significant difference in needle bleeding and pneumothorax between the two groups. In the <30 mm group, there was no significant difference in the success rate of single puncture and the success rate of puncture between the two groups according to the size of the lesions. In the ≥30 mm group, the success rate of single puncture (97.1%) and puncture success rate (97.1%) in the contrast guidance group were higher than those in the conventional ultrasound guidance group (70.3%, 78.4%) and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Compared with conventional ultrasound, for peripheral pulmonary lesions guided by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, especially when the maximum diameter of the lesion is ≥ 30 mm, needle biopsy has better guiding significance; for peripheral lung lesions with a maximum diameter of <30 mm, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography is compared with conventional ultrasound guidance. The puncture success rate was not significantly different.

Mobile 3D Intraprocedural Fluoroscopy in Combination With Ultrathin Bronchoscopy for Biopsy of Peripheral Lung Nodules

Despite development of multiple technologies, distinguishing benign from malignant lung nodules when they are still small in size is challenging. A high yield and minimally invasive bronchoscopic technology with low cost for diagnosis of small lung lesions is needed in pulmonary and lung cancer clinical practice. Peripheral airway bronchoscopy using thin and most recently ultrathin bronchoscopes improve visualization of small airways. The novel mobile 2D/3D C-Arm fluoroscopy system is a complementary tool along with radial endobronchial ultrasound in detecting small lung nodules with real-time high-quality multidimensional image confirmation during bronchoscopy. This combined technology can be easily acquired in any bronchoscopy room, and potentially affect lung nodule practice significantly.

Diagnostic value of ultrathin bronchoscopy in peripheral pulmonary lesions: a narrative review

Flexible bronchoscopes are being continuously improved, and an ultrathin bronchoscope with a working channel that allows the use of a radial-type endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) probe is now available. The ultrathin bronchoscope has good maneuverability for passing through the small bronchi and good accessibility to peripheral lung lesions. This utility is particularly enhanced when it is used with other imaging devices, such as EBUS and navigation devices. Multimodality bronchoscopy using an ultrathin bronchoscope leads to enhanced diagnostic yield.

Comparison of ultrathin bronchoscopy with conventional bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions without virtual bronchial navigation

BACKGROUND

For the precise management of advanced lung cancers, bronchoscopy with a high diagnostic yield and abundant tumor specimens are required. In recent years, new devices and techniques have been rapidly developed, including the endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) using a guide sheath, virtual bronchoscopic navigation (VBN), and ultra-thin bronchoscope (UTB), for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). These techniques increase the diagnostic yield for PPL, thus requiring fewer biopsy specimens. VBN is generally not available at the city hospitals in Japan. In this study, using fluoroscopy without VBN, we studied whether the histologic diagnostic yield of radial EBUS for PPLs would be higher using a UTB (without guide sheath) or conventional bronchoscope (CB) (with guide sheath).

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients with suspected lung cancer who underwent bronchoscopy at the Hakodate Goryoukaku Hospital from April 2017 to March 2019. We analyzed 168 patients-102 using UTB and 66 using CB.

RESULTS

The diagnostic yields for PPL were significantly higher in the UTB group than in the CB group (74.5% vs. 59.1%; P = 0.04). The median examination time was significantly longer in the UTB group than in the CB group (24 vs. 20 min; P = 0.01). There were no statistically significant differences in the complication rate between the UTB and CB groups (3.9% vs. 3.0%; P = 0.69).

CONCLUSIONS

UTB had a significantly higher tissue diagnostic yield than CB, without the use of VBN.

Technologies for targeting the peripheral pulmonary nodule including robotics

Bronchoscopic sampling of PPL was significantly advanced by the development of the endobronchial ultrasound guide sheath method in the 1990s. Since then, a range of technical and procedural techniques have further advanced diagnostic yields. These include the use of thinner bronchoscopes with better working channel diameters, understanding the importance of peripheral transbronchial needle aspiration, and virtual bronchoscopic assistance. These have enabled better sampling of smaller and more technically challenging lesions including ground-glass nodules. Most recently, robotic bronchoscopy has been developed which, among other refinements, allows fine control of visual bronchoscopic navigation by replacing movements directed by the hand with electronic consoles and trackballs, and innovatively integrate virtual with real bronchoscopic pathways. The requirement for PPL diagnosis and treatment is expected to increase with more chest CT performed as part of CT screening programmes.