Usefulness of virtual bronchoscopic navigation combined with endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial lung biopsy for solitary pulmonary nodules

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of virtual bronchoscopic navigation (VBN) combined with endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) guided transbronchial lung biopsy for solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN). Methods: A total of 115 patients with suspected SPN who underwent transbronchial lung biopsy were evaluated. The patients were randomly divided into an EBUS (EBUS) group and a virtual bronchoscopic navigation combined with endobronchial ultrasound (VBN+EBUS) group. The diagnostic yield and examination time were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in the diagnostic yield between the VBN+EBUS group and the EBUS group (83.6% vs 66.7%, P = .419). When the lesions less than 20 mm in diameter of the lesions were analyzed, the diagnostic yield was higher in the VBN+EBUS group than in the EBUS group (80.0% vs 53.6%, P = .041). The time for positioning lesions in VBN+EBUS group was less than that in EBUS group (5.67 +/- 2.48 min vs 8.65 +/- 2.23 min, P = .015). But the total examination time was not significantly different between the 2 groups (20.59 +/- 2.12 min vs 21.53 +/- 1.62 min, P = .236). The incidence of complications did not differ between the 2 groups. Conclusions: In conclusion, VBN can shorten the positioning time and it is a safe and effective technique for pulmonary nodules.