HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Guest Access | Sign In via User Name/Password

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Article Archive Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (7) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tiitto, L. Articles by Kaarteenaho-Wiik, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tiitto, L. Articles by Kaarteenaho-Wiik, R.

Thoracoscopic Lung Biopsy Is a Safe Procedure in Diagnosing Usual Interstitial Pneumonia^*

^* From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Drs. Tiitto, Kaarteenaho-Wiik, and Heiskanen) and Pathology (Dr. Pääkkö), University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu; Department of Medical Informatics Group (Mr. Bloigu), University of Oulu, Oulu; and Department of Medicine (Dr. Kinnula), Division of Pulmonary Diseases, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.

Correspondence to: Riitta Kaarteenaho-Wiik, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Oulu, PO Box 5000 (Kajaanintie 50), FIN-90014, University of Oulu, Finland; e-mail: Riitta.Kaarteenaho-Wiik{at}oulu.fi

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of lung biopsy on the survival of patients when histopathologic confirmation of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) is needed.

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a distinct clinical entity with histopathologic features of UIP. Surgical biopsy is needed when clinical and radiologic findings are not typical. The safety of lung biopsy is a matter of debate, and the results of short-term mortality (< 30 days) after biopsy are variable.

Methods: Seventy-six patients with UIP, including 34 patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) biopsy and 42 patients who underwent open-lung biopsy, were included in this retrospective study. All biopsies were reevaluated for UIP histopathology. Clinical data such as age at the time of biopsy, type of biopsy, preoperative pulmonary function, major postoperative complications, date and cause of death, and survival time after the biopsy were gathered. Median survival was used to compare the survival between different groups, and cumulative survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meyer method.

Results: Thoracoscopic biopsy was safe for diagnosing UIP, with no short-term mortality. In contrast, open-lung biopsy was followed by four deaths (5.3%) within 1 month after the procedure. All fatal cases were accompanied by a histopathologic pattern of diffuse alveolar damage. Age of the patient at the time of biopsy was a significant predicting factor for survival. Patients < 50 years old lived 181 months (range, 119 to 242 months), and patients > 50 years old lived 75 months (range, 55 to 95 months).

Conclusions: VATS biopsy is a safe procedure in diagnosing UIP.

Key Words: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis • outcome • video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

This article has been cited by other articles:

				I. Noth and F. J. Martinez Recent Advances in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Chest, August 1, 2007; 132(2): 637 - 650. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. H. Park, D. K. Kim, D. S. Kim, Y. Koh, S.-D. Lee, W. S. Kim, W. D. Kim, and S. I. Park Mortality and risk factors for surgical lung biopsy in patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg., June 1, 2007; 31(6): 1115 - 1119. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. A. Berbescu, A.-L. A. Katzenstein, J. L. Snow, and D. A. Zisman Transbronchial Biopsy in Usual Interstitial Pneumonia Chest, May 1, 2006; 129(5): 1126 - 1131. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]