Patient characteristics | |
---|---|
Number of patients (n) | 123 |
Mean age (yrs, range) | 63.1 (38–88) |
Male/female (n, %) | 92 (74.8%) / 31 (25.2%) |
Location of the target lesion (n, %) | |
Left lung mass | 28 (22.7%) |
Right lung mass | 47 (38.2%) |
Central pulmonary mass (within hilar and/or mediastinal structures) | 13 (10.6%) |
Lymph nodes with increase FDG uptake (primary lesion not accessible by linear EBUS or EUS-FNA) | 35 (28.5%) |
Mean size of the target lesion (mm) | |
Pulmonary mass | 32.1 mm (17-64 mm) |
Lymph nodes short-axis | 17.2 mm (13-22 mm) |
Non-diagnostic previous investigations (n, %) | |
Flexible bronchoscopy | 104 (84.5%) |
Bronchial/bronchoalveolar lavage | 104 (100%) |
Bronchial/transbronchial biopsies | 91 (87.5%) |
Bronchial brushing | 59 (56.7%) |
“Blind” TBNA | 15 (14.4%) |
CT-TTNA | 19 (15.5%) |
≥ 2 non-diagnostic procedures | 48 (39.0%) |