Examination of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration using a puncture needle with a side trap

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is useful for diagnosing hilar and mediastinal lymph node enlargement; however, specimens obtained are often small and inadequate for pathologic diagnosis. In June 2017, EchoTip ProCore, a puncture needle with a side trap, was launched in Japan. In this single-center prospective interventional study, 57 patients with lymph nodes, intrapulmonary tumor or pleural mass were diagnosed using EBUS-TBNA with EchoTip ProCore between June 2017 and February 2020. EBUS-TBNA was performed for 57 patients and 53 patients had sufficient specimen for histologic diagnosis. The following pathologic subtypes were diagnosed: non-small cell lung cancer, 22; small cell lung cancer, 8; cancer of unknown primary, 2; neuroendocrine tumor (G2) recurrence, 1; lymphoma, 2; metastatic renal cell carcinoma, 3; thymoma recurrence, 1; sarcoidosis, 4; tuberculosis, 1; and non-malignancy, 9. In addition, the cytology showed Class V in 31 out of 57 cases (54.4%). In total, a definitive pathological diagnosis was obtained in 50 out of 57 cases (87.7%). The only complication was pneumonia caused by BAL simultaneously combined with EBUS-TBNA in one patient. Among 13 patients with inadequate specimens or without malignancy, only one patient was subsequently diagnosed with malignancy, and the median follow-up period was 300 days. EBUS-TBNA using EchoTip ProCore can obtain a sufficient specimen size for pathologic diagnosis.