CT Guided fine needle aspiration biopsy of pulmonary lesions under 15 mm of diameter: results on 68 consecutive patients

BACKGROUND Most reports on lung fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) demonstrate that the diagnostic accuracy tends to decrease with the size of the lesions, and that the frequency of complications increases as the size of lesions decreases. PURPOSE The aim of this prospective study was to describe the accuracy and incidence of complications related to FNAC of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) of 15 mm or less in diameter. Moreover, we evaluated how this procedure during the initial evaluation of patients with SPN can reduce the number of unnecessary surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS From January 2012 to December 2014, 225 patients with an SPN between 7-15 mm in diameter were referred to our Institution. Patients with risk factors such as ASA 3, FEV1