Peripheral cryobiopsy for solitary pulmonary nodules

In the present retrospective single-center pilot study the working group of Prof. Sun from Shanghai Chest hospital sampled 20 consecutive patients with 23 ground-glass opacity lesions (GGOs) using the flexible single-use 1.1 mm cryoprobe. The average sample size was 3.65 mm. A diagnostic yield of 82.61% (19/23) was reported. Pneumothorax or severe hemorrhage did not occur.

Although it can be more difficult to confidently diagnose GGOs compared to solid lesions, the authors state that cryobiopsy is safe, feasible and has a high diagnostic efficacy. Yet, further data will be needed to confirm safety and diagnostic value.

More information on the study can be found at Medical Insight.
Further applications in pulmonology can be found at Medical Videos.