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Background and Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and clinical usefulness of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for mediastinal staging of centrally located T1N0M0 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) clinically staged with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT)., Methods: We conducted a study that included patients with centrally located T1N0M0 NSCLC, clinically staged with PET/CT who underwent EBUS-TBNA for mediastinal staging. Patients with negative EBUS-TBNA underwent mediastinoscopy, video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy (VAMLA) and/or lung resection with systematic nodal dissection, that were considered the gold standard. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), overall accuracy of EBUS-TBNA for diagnosing mediastinal metastases (N2 disease) and the number needed to treat (NNT: number of patients needed to undergo EBUS-TBNA to avoid a case of pathologic N2 disease after resection) were calculated., Results: One-hundred eighteen patients were included. EBUS-TBNA proved N2 disease in four patients. In the remaining 114 patients who underwent mediastinoscopy, VAMLA and/or resection there were two cases of N2 (N2 prevalence 5.1%). The sensitivity, specificity, NPV, PPV and overall accuracy for diagnosing mediastinal metastases (N2 disease) were of 66%, 100%, 98%, 100% and 98%, respectively. The NNT was 31 (95% CI: 15-119)., Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA in patients with central clinically staged T1N0M0 NSCLC presents a good diagnostic accuracy for mediastinal staging, even in a population with low prevalence of N2 disease. Therefore, its indication should be considered in the management of even these early lung cancers., (© 2023 The Authors. Respirology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.)

The aim of our study was to describe the incidence of infectious complications of endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) and to analyze the potential risk factors in a prospective cohort of patients., Methods: We conducted a prospective multicenter study, with all consecutive patients referred for an EBUS-TBNA with patients at risk of developing an infectious complication (considering>10 nodal samplings, known immunosuppression, bronchial colonization and cavitated or necrotic lesions) and a second group without any risk factor., Results: Three hundred seventy patients were included: 245 with risk factors and 125 without risk factors (as the control group). Overall, 15 patients (4.05%) presented an acute infectious complication: fourteen in cases (5.7%) and 1 in controls (0.8%). Of these, 4 patients presented pneumonia, 1 mediastinitis, 4 obstructive pneumonitis and 6 mild complications (respiratory tract infection that resolved with antibiotic). Also 7 (1.9%) patients had self-limited fever. One-month follow-up showed 1 mediastinitis at sixteenth day post-EBUS, which required surgical treatment, and 3 pneumonias and 3 respiratory tract infections at nineteenth day (1.9%). All patients had a good evolution and there were no deaths related with infectious complication. We observed an increased risk of complication in patients with risk factors and in patients with necrosis (p=0.018)., Conclusions: The incidence of infectious complications in a subgroup of patients with risk factors was higher than in patients without risk factors. Nevertheless, it remains low, and no fatal complication occurred, which reinforces the idea that EBUS-TBNA is a safe technique for the assessment of the mediastinum. Necrotic lesions are a risk factor of post-EBUS infection, and their puncture should be avoided., (Copyright © 2022 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To describe experience with bronchial artery embolization (BAE) in a cohort of patients with cancer., Materials and Methods: All consecutive patients with cancer and at least one episode of hemoptysis that required BAE during a 14-year period were included in this observational retrospective review. The endpoints of the study were immediate success, recurrence of hemoptysis, mortality resulting from hemoptysis, and all-cause mortality., Results: Immediate control of bleeding was achieved in 31 of 40 patients (77.5%). Recurrence requiring BAE occurred in eight patients (20%). Cumulative hemoptysis control rate was 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80-1.0) at 1 month and 0.65 (95% CI, 0.44-0.86) at 6 months. Probability of survival was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.62-0.88) at 1 month, 0.42 (95% CI, 0.27-0.57) at 6 months, 0.36 (95% CI, 0.21-0.51) at 12 months, and 0.08 (95% CI, 0.0-0.18) at 3 years., Conclusions: BAE is an effective and safe technique in the treatment of hemoptysis in patients with cancer. Nevertheless, mortality resulting from hemoptysis and recurrence rate are high among these patients secondary to progression of the underlying disease., (© 2014 The Society of Interventional Radiology Published by SIR All rights reserved.)

Linear endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a recently introduced technique which allows needle aspiration under real-time ultrasound visualization of the node. Although it has been demonstrated as a useful tool in mediastinal staging of lung cancer, it is not used in most institutes worldwide. Our aim with this report is to share our experience using EBUS-TBNA and to make a short review of the literature. We performed a short review on the existing literature on this technique, paying special attention to our experience in this field. EBUS-TBNA has shown to be useful and safe in detecting metastatic mediastinal and/or hilar lymph nodes in patients with lung cancer. It is also useful as a diagnostic tool in other pathological conditions., (© Tianjin Lung Cancer Institute and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty. Ltd.)

The aim of this study is to determine the sensitivity of real-time endobronchial ultrasonography (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) in lung cancer staging. Short- and long-axis node diameters were measured during EBUS in patients referred for lung cancer staging and sensitivities for the identification of nodal malignancy at TBNA determined. Three hundred fifteen real-time EBUS-guided TBNA nodal sampling procedures were performed in 161 patients and in 87 of them, N2/N3 metastasis was confirmed (50.9%), eliminating the need for mediastinoscopy. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) short-axis diameters of the sampled mediastinal and lobar nodes were 11 (8-15) and 8 (7-12) mm, respectively. TBNA provided satisfactory samples from 269 nodes (85.4%) and a sensitivity of 100% for the identification of malignant TBNA samples was reached for a short-axis diameter cut-off of 5 mm and a short- to long-axis ratio of 0.5. The probability of malignancy was over 90% for nodes with a short-axis diameter >20 mm and 55% for round nodes (short- to long-axis ratio of 1). In 18 out of 50 patients with a normal mediastinal computed tomography (CT) scan, the technique identified enlarged nodes in the mediastinum (36%), mainly in the subcarinal region and confirmed mediastinal malignancy in 8 (10%). Real-time EBUS-guided TBNA obtains satisfactory node samples in almost 90% of cases and improves the identification of enlarged nodes in patients with a normal mediastinum at CT. If sampling all nodes with a short-axis diameter of > or =5 mm and a short- to long-axis ratio > or =0.5, a sensitivity of 100% for the cytologic identification of malignant nodes can be expected.