The introduction of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of small pulmonary peripheral lesions in an Asian population.

backgroundElectromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) is emerging as a useful new technique for diagnosing small pulmonary peripheral lesions (SPPLs). However, the accuracy and efficiency of ENB have not been investigated in Asian populations where the differential diagnoses for SPPLs may be different. To analyze this question, this study included patients who received diagnostic ENB followed by surgery for the excision of SPPLs.

methodsConsecutive patients referred to the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital (Tongji University), between May 2014 and April 2015 were recruited. ENB was used to obtain biopsy tissue and make a diagnosis, which was then confirmed by histopathological examination.

resultsThe ENB was performed on 84 SPPLs of 78 patients in the study, with four patients having more than one SPPL. It successfully reached and biopsied 81 lesions. The average ENB navigation time was 10.8 minutes (range, 0.5-52 minutes). No mortality occurred, with only two complications (one bleeding and one pneumothorax). The mean diameter of the biopsied SPPLs was 19.0 mm (range, 5.0-30.0 mm). The distance from the sensor probe to the focus was 8.0 mm (range, 1-16 mm). ENB diagnosis had identical results with histopathology examination in 81 lesions (37 lung cancer and 41 non-lung cancer). The sensitivity of ENB was 92.9% (78 out of 84 lesions) in this study.

conclusionsThese data suggested that ENB was an accurate and efficient procedure to sample and diagnose SPPLs in the Asian population. It appeared that ENB had a high percentage of successful results in both navigating and aiding in the diagnosis of SPPLs in the Asian population.