Role of Esophageal Endosonography in the Diagnosis of Mediastinal Lesions

Objective: To share our experience in the patients with mediastinal lesions who were admitted to our clinics for endosonography-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA) and to emphasize the contribution of EUS-FNA to the diagnostic algorithm in these patients.Material and Method: The EUS-FNA findings of 10 patients who had EUS examination because of mediastinal lesions between May 2008 and November 2009 in our hospital gastroenterology clinic, were retrospectively reviewed.Results: At the end of EUS-FNA, 5 patients had been diagnosed with malignancy (two small cell lung cancer and three non-small cell lung cancer) and 4 had been diagnosed with benign disease (two pulmonary tuberculosis, one benign mediastinal cystic lesion and one reactive lymph node). The result was inconclusive in one patient. In our series EUS contributed to the diagnostic algorithm in 90% of the cases (9/10). EUS made a therapeutic contribution in one patient by the drainage of mediastinal cyst. Conclusion: EUS-FNA has an important role in the diagnosis of mediastinal disease.