Experience of CT Guided Procedures in the Diagnosis of 55 patients with Intrathoracic Lesions from May 2009 to Feb 2011 at Ribat University Hospital(Sudan)

Objective: To present the experience of our center in the use of computed tomography (CT)guided Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) and core tissue biopsy procedures as an effective way for obtaining adequate material from intra-thoracic lesions, with the aim of assessing their diagnostic yield and complications.Methods: the study included 55 patients who underwent CT-guided procedures between May 2009 and February 2011. All fine needle aspirations were performed with 20-gauge needles while coretissue biopsies were performed with 14 –gauge needles under CT guidance. The diagnostic yield of these procedures, complications, and patient’s feedback were studied.Results: Diagnosis was malignant lesions in 18(32.1%), benign in 35(62.5%), and in 2(0.036%) patients the sample was inadequate. So the diagnostic yield of CT guided procedures was 96.36%. 16 (89%) of the malignant sample were non-small cell lung cancer and 2(11%) were small cell lung cancer. The results of both procedures (fine needle aspirations and core tissue biopsies) done on the same lesion were similar in (93.7%) of the results. Patients who underwent other procedures before this (e.g. bronchoscopy) had similar results in 25% of the samples. Complications reported were hemoptysis in 5 (9.1%), pneumothorax in 2 (3.6%) and surgical emphysema in 1 (1.8%) patient. 5 (9.2%) of the patients described the pain of the procedure as intolerable.Conclusions: CT guided procedure has high diagnostic yield and is recommended for obtaining tissues for histological assessment. Tissue biopsy offers no substantial advantage over FNA in the evaluation of malignant lung lesions

The ocean sampling day consortium.

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world's oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

The ocean sampling day consortium

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

The Ocean Sampling Day Consortium

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits