Assessing the Safety and Clinical Impact of Thoracoscopic Lung Biopsy in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease

Introduction The clinical relevance of surgical lung biopsy in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) is supported in the literature. Yet most reports reflect institutional or personal bias. Aim To evaluate the validity of radiologic diagnosis and clinical impact of lung biopsy to help clarify which patient benefit most from biopsy. Materials and methods We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospectively managed database. All patients who had a surgical lung biopsy for ILD within a period of four year (2009 to 2013) were included. Data included patient demographics, peri-operative variables and outcomes. Preoperative Computed Tomography (CT) imaging was reviewed by a thoracic radiologist blinded to the original report and pathologic information. Results A total of 47 patients were included. Lung tissue was obtained via a thoracoscopic approach in all but two that had mini-thoracotomy. Mean operating time was 51.1 minutes (18-123), median hospital stay was two days (1-18). Most (87.2%) of the patients were discharged within 72 hours. Thirty day mortality for elective surgery was 4.5% (2/44). Post-operative complications occurred in about one third of the patients. Complications in elective procedures included pneumothorax (10.4%), re-intubation (5.4%) and prolonged intubation (2.7%). Full concordance of radiographic diagnosis with the final diagnosis was significantly higher when reviewed by a cardiothoracic radiologist (60.5% vs. 21.3%). The preoperative clinical diagnosis was fully concordant with the final diagnosis in only 28.2% of cases. In 13.0% of patients the preoperative diagnosis was incorrect. Malignancy was the final diagnosis in two (4.3%) patients. In 51.1% of the patients, results of the biopsy did alter therapy. Conclusion Diagnosis of specific ILD by a cardiothoracic radiologist is more specific and accurate and will probably lead to more appropriate therapy. Elective thoracoscopic surgical lung biopsy is a safe procedure, leads to a more accurate diagnosis of ILD and impacts therapy.