AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in aiding diagnosis in lung parenchymal lesions.
METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all patients that underwent an EBUS-TBNA for a centrally located parenchymal lesion between January 2013 and December 2022.
RESULTS: A total of 128 mass lesions adjacent to central airways were sampled by EBUS-TBNA. 4 samples were excluded as the final diagnosis was unknown. Of the remaining 124 samples taken, EBUS-TBNA samples were adequate for analysis in 118 cases. The overall diagnostic hit rate was 95.2%. EBUS-TBNA detected malignancy in 101 out of 108 confirmed cases of cancer. There was one complication reported requiring procedure abandonment. The sensitivity of EBUS-TBNA in diagnosing cancer in lung parenchymal masses was 93.5%. The specificity was 100%.
| EBUS histology | Number |
| Squamous cell carcinoma | 33 |
| Adenocarcinoma | 24 |
| Non-small cell carcinoma | 14 |
| Small cell carcinoma | 35 |
| Secondary carcinoma | 1 |
| Carcinoid | 1 |
| Granulomatous inflammation | 1 |
| Reactive/benign | 9 |
| Non-diagnostic | 6 |
| Excluded from analysis | 4 |
| Total sampled | 128 |
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that EBUS-TBNA is a safe and accurate method for the diagnosis of lung cancer in central lung parenchymal lesions.