Keywords:
Neoplasia, Calcifications / Calculi, CAD, Biopsy, Ablation procedures, MR, CT, Thorax, Interventional non-vascular, Cardiac
Authors:
G. Asafu Adjaye Frimpong1, E. Aboagye1, P. Amankwah2, N. K. Abaidoo2; 1Kumasi, Ashanti/GH, 2Kumasi/GH
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-1837
Aims and objectives
Thoracic biopsy is a frequently performed procedure and has been associated with marked patient benefits.
Computed tomography have been employed over the years for the purposes of diagnosis,
staging,
prognostic assessment and monitoring of most thoracic pathologies [1-4].
Currently,
the list of clinical indications for CT-guided thoracic biopsy includes histological diagnosis of undetermined mediastinal,
chest wall and lung lesions,
diagnosis of hilar lesions following negative bronchoscopy,
focal parenchymal infiltrates in which an infectious organism cannot be isolated,
as well as biopsy or re-biopsy of malignancy for targeted therapy [5-9].
A major concern in the performance of CT-guided biopsies of the thoracic region is the risk of complications during and after the procedure,
and the recovery time in a busy clinical setting.
Potential complications associated with the procedure include pneumothorax,
pulmonary hemorrhage,
hemoptysis and air embolism [10-14].
Some of these complications have been reported to occur within the first two hours,
with majority occurring in the first 24 hours.
As such,
post-biopsy care remains an important aspect in ensuring successful outcomes of the procedure.
However,
post-biopsy care has varied considerably over the years,
especially,
with regards to recovery time.
Several studies have recommended a post-biopsy care of between 1 to 4 hours,
with a study done by Dennie et al advocating for as short as 30 minutes of post-biopsy care in patients without pneumothorax [15-17].
In this initial study,
we report our experience with 30 minutes of post-biopsy care in patients who presented with no complications after the post-biopsy scan,
providing a starting point for similar algorithms to be explored in a randomized control study to establish the observation.
Derived benefits included reduction in hospital costs,
patients’ early return to work and our ability to optimally utilize procedural space and ancillary staff.