Yield and Complications in Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy of Abdominal Lesions

A series of 458 consecutive ultrasound-guided biopsies in 347 patients − 171 fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) and 287 1.2-mm needle core biopsies (NCBs) − was analysed for diagnostic yield and complications. FNAB was diagnostic in 107 (64%) biopsies of focal lesions with a correct diagnosis of malignancy in 86 of 125 biopsies (69%) and of benign disease in 21 of 43 (49%) biopsies. NCB provided a correct diagnosis in 189 (90%) biopsies for focal lesions, divided into 140 of 159 (88%) correct for malignancy and 49 of 50 (98%) correct for benign disease. In 69 patients examined with both FNAB and NCB on the same occasion, 50 out of 55 malignant lesions were identified with NCB but only 34 with FNAB; all 14 benign lesions were correctly identified by NCB, and only 6 by FNAB. Clinical relevant bleeding complications occurred in 6 out of 458 biopsies (1.3%) − 3 out of 287 following NCB (1.0%) and 3 out of 171 following FNAB (1.8%). It is concluded that if FNAB is replaced with 1.2-mm NCB using an automated biopsy gun, the diagnostic accuracy for abdominal lesions increases significantly (p<0.001), while the complication rate remains the same.