Comparison of the harvest volume between maneuvers of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration including the "cross-fanning technique".

Recently, a certain volume of biopsy specimens has been required for genetic testing of tumors using endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). This study aimed to verify the superiority of our newly devised EBUS-TBNA biopsy technique, the "cross-fanning technique," which combines rotation and up-down maneuvers, by comparing its harvest volume with that of other maneuvers. Using a bronchoscope simulator, ultrasonic bronchoscope, and 21-gauge puncture needle, we compared the weight of silicone biopsy specimens obtained by the following 4 procedures: Conventional maneuver; Up-down maneuver; Rotation maneuver, and; Cross-fanning technique. Each procedure was repeated 24 times in total, rotating the sequences of the maneuvers, and the operator/assistant pair to align the conditions. The means ±â€…standard deviations of the sample volumes for each puncture technique were as follows: 2.8 ±â€…1.2 mg; 3.1 ±â€…1.6 mg; 3.7 ±â€…1.2 mg, and; 3.9 ±â€…1.2 mg. There was a significant difference between the 4 groups (P = .024). The post hoc test showed a statistically significant difference between techniques A and D (P = .019). This study showed that the cross-fanning technique might contribute to the increased volume of tissue samples obtained by EBUS-TBNA biopsy.

Precut technique using an injection needle: A retrospective study on a new ancillary procedure for pleural biopsy.

The effectiveness of thoracoscopic biopsy as a diagnostic method for pleural diseases has been reported; however, obtaining a sufficient specimen size is sometimes difficult. Therefore, an ancillary technique, the precut technique using an injection needle, was devised to address this problem. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the novel precut technique in patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion. This retrospective study included 22 patients who underwent pleural biopsy using the precut technique to examine exudative pleural effusion of unknown etiology. Thoracoscopy was performed under local anesthesia. The biopsy procedure was performed as follows: a needle was inserted into the pleura around the lesion using a semiflexible thoracoscope; the needle was positioned to make an incision in the pleura while injecting 1% lidocaine with epinephrine and lifting the pleura from the fascia; 2 or 3 precut incision lines were arranged in a triangle; and the specimen was obtained from the parietal pleura using forceps or a cryoprobe. Patient data including age, number of biopsies, biopsy specimen size, pathological and final diagnosis, and postoperative complications were examined. All patients were male with an average age of 74 years. Pleural effusion was found on the right and left sides in 16 and 6 patients, respectively. The average major axis of the biopsy specimens was 18 mm (range, 10-30 mm), which was sufficient to establish a pathological diagnosis. Only 1 patient experienced minor temporal bleeding as a complication. The precut technique enabled the procurement of specimens sufficient in size for pleural biopsy.

Clinical features of chronic summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis and proposition of diagnostic criteria.

BACKGROUND: Trichosporon asahii (T. asahii) causes chronic summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis (C-SHP); however, little is known about the clinical features of this condition. We aimed to elucidate the clinical features of C-SHP and propose practical diagnostic criteria for C-SHP based on the presence of serum anti-T. asahii antibody (TaAb). METHODS: Patients diagnosed with C-SHP and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) between January 2010 and May 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. Clinical findings were compared between the two groups. Criteria for C-SHP were proposed on the basis of significant characteristics and applied to the development and validation cohorts. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients with C-SHP and 26 with TaAb-negative IPF were identified. C-SHP patients were more likely to live in wooden houses; their serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) and serum surfactant protein-D (SP-D) levels were higher than those of IPF patients. C-SHP patients were more likely to have subpleural consolidation, micronodules, and extensive ground-glass opacification on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The following 3 items were considered to have diagnostic value: I) TaAb positivity; II) an HRCT pattern consistent with chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, including mosaic attenuation or micronodules; and III) elevated serum biomarker levels (KL-6 > 1500 U/mL or SP-D > 250 ng/mL). We defined cases satisfying I) and II) as "probable C-SHP" and those satisfying all 3 criteria as "confident clinical diagnosis of C-SHP". The areas under the receiver-operating curve were 0.965 and 0.993 in the development and validation cohorts, respectively, which suggested that these criteria had good discriminative ability in clinical evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical features could be useful for distinguishing C-SHP from IPF and other etiologies of ILDs.

Toward Easy and Rapid Bronchial Occlusion With an Endobronchial Watanabe Spigot: A New Technique Using a Guide Sheath and Curette.

BACKGROUND: Bronchial occlusion using an endobronchial Watanabe spigot (EWS) is reportedly effective for intractable bronchopleural fistula. Here, we describe a rapid and easy method for bronchial occlusion using a guide sheath (GS) and curette. METHODS: Thirty consecutive patients who underwent bronchial occlusion under mild sedation between October 2014 and February 2018 were enrolled. The devices used were a flexible bronchoscope (BF-1T260 or BF-1TQ290), GS (SG-201C; with 30 mm of the proximal end cutaway), and a CC-4CR-1 curette (all supplied by Olympus Ltd). The curette was inserted into the GS with the tip of the curette exposed outside the GS. The curette and GS were inserted into the bronchoscope. The EWS attached to the curette tip was inserted into the target bronchus and left in position by pulling the curette back through the GS while pushing the EWS with the GS under the bronchoscopic view. The success rate and procedure time were recorded. RESULTS: Bronchial occlusion with an EWS was performed on 143 target bronchi (2 to 9 bronchi/patient). The bronchial occlusion success rate was 98.6%. The median procedure time for bronchial occlusion per EWS on video recordings of the 10 most recent procedures was 110 (range, 40 to 521) seconds. The target bronchial occlusion success rate was 100%. This method enabled easy insertion of the EWS, even in the sharply branching upper lobe bronchus. No complications were observed. CONCLUSION: Bronchial occlusion using a GS and curette is a rapid and easy technique even in a sharply branching target bronchus.

Factors associated with the relapse of cryptogenic and secondary organizing pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Organizing pneumonia (OP) is a histopathological response pattern to lung inflammation. It is clinically classified into cryptogenic OP and secondary OP, which is associated with various clinical conditions. Rapid resolution with corticosteroids and frequent relapses are common in OP. However, few studies have investigated the factors associated with OP relapse. METHODS: The medical records of 75 patients with biopsy-proven OP, diagnosed between January 2010 and August 2015, who underwent corticosteroid therapy were retrospectively reviewed. Initially, the patients were all treated successfully; however, 31 patients experienced relapse thereafter (R group), whereas the others did not (NR group; 44 patients). The clinical, radiological, and pathological characteristics and administered corticosteroid doses were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The neutrophil percentage in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and the level of fibrin deposition in lung biopsy specimens were higher in the R group than in the NR group (P=0.01 and P=0.002, respectively). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that both factors were statistically significant predictors of OP relapse. CONCLUSIONS: A high neutrophil percentage in the BAL and the level of fibrin deposition in lung biopsy specimens are considered predictive factors of OP relapse during the tapering or after the cessation of steroid therapy. Patients without these findings may be treated with low-dose corticosteroids.