CT Guided Needle Biopsies in Pulmonary Nodules

determine the prevalence of pulmonary pathologies"nby CT-guided needle biopsy in pulmonary nodules."nPatients and Methods: We performed CT guided"nneedle biopsy on 78 cases of pulmonary nodules. Lung"nCT scan with a 64-Slice MSCT was done for all patients"nbefore the needle biopsy. All biopsies were performed"nby one experienced interventional radiologist by"nusing a semiautomatic coaxial 18 guage needle. The"nresults were confirmed by two pathologists who were"nunaware of each other's reports. Because of different"npathologic diagnosis two cases were excluded from the"nstudy."nResults: The study population included 43 men and"n33 women with the mean age of 62 years. The mean"nlesion diameter was 22 mm (±7 mm). Thirty-nine"ncases were diagnosed as malignant lesions. Benign"npulmonary conditions were diagnosed in 37 patients."nThe most common malignant lesion was pulmonary"nadenocarcinoma (26%), squamous cell carcinoma"nand bronchoalveolar carcinoma were the next ones."nPulmonary metastasis was seen in three cases and non"nHodgkin lymphoma in three patients. The prevalence"nof adenocarcinoma was not significantly different"nbetween men and women (p value=0.01). The mean age"nof the patients with malignant lesions was 74 years and"n56 years in the others. The difference was significant"n(p=0.05). Tuberculosis was the most common cause of"nbenign lesions (14.4% of all cases), intersitial fibrosis"nand anthracosis were the next most common."nConclusion: Most pulmonary nodules were malignant"nand pulmonary adenocarcinoma was the most"nfrequent. Among benign lesions tuberculosis was the"nmost common."nKeywords: Pulmonary Nodules, Needle Biopsy, CT"nGuide