Abstract
The CT guided lung biopsy is considered to be a useful examination, but the frequency of complications including serious pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage is high. In this study, a series of 72 CT guided biopsy cases in the center were investigated. The results were the sensitivity of 86.2%, the specificity of 57.1%, and the accuracy of 83.3%. Pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage occurred in 11 (15.2%) cases and 21 (29.1%) cases, respectively. Conservative therapy was successful in all cases. There were no cases in which air embolism or dissemination of tumor was complicated. In patients who developed these complications, the lesions were small and were present in the deep place where was far from the pleura. Hence the normal lung was apt to be injured by the biopsy that might contribute to cause complications. In addition small lesions might decrease the correct diagnosing rate. Other methods including partial resection of the lung should be considered for small lesions less than 2cm in diameter.
