Abstract
This study was performed to analyze complications associated with CT-guided needle lung biopsy in our hospital. In our analysis, we focused on the relationship of both the tumor diameter and length of penetration with the frequency of complications. We found that complications occurred in 59 of 206 CT-guided needle lung biopsies: 35 cases of pneumothorax, 28 cases of hemoptysis, and 4 cases of both pneumothorax and hemoptysis. The average tumor diameter was 2.2±0.9 cm in the cases with and 2.5±1.4 cm in those without complications, with no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.159). Unfortunately, the length of penetration could be measured in only 100 of 206 cases. The average length of penetration was 2.4±1.4 cm in the cases with and 1.3±1.3 cm in those without complications, with a significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05). Complications occurred in 8 of 61 cases in which the length of penetration was less than 2 cm, and in 21 of 39 cases in which the length of penetration was greater than 2 cm (p<0.05). We concluded that, to avoid complications, it is necessary for the length of penetration to be shortened as much as possible.
