The effectiveness and safety of local pleural anesthesia for pain control in patients undergoing CT-guided transthoracic needle biopsy

Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of pleural anesthesia for CT-guided transthoracic needle biopsy (TNB). Methods This retrospective study was performed between March 2019 and August 2019 in a tertiary care hospital. Patients undergoing CT-guided TNB received either (a) pleural and skin anesthesia (pleural anesthesia group) or (b) skin anesthesia only (skin anesthesia group). Pain score was reported on a 0-5 numeric rating scale, and pain scores 3-5 were classified as significant pain. The relationship between pleural anesthesia and pain score, significant pain, and pneumothorax was assessed by using multivariable linear and logistic regression models. Results A total of 111 patients (67 men, 66.0 +/- 11.4 years) were included (pleural anesthesia group, 38; skin anesthesia group, 73). Pleural anesthesia group reported lower pain score (1.4 +/- 1.0 vs. 2.3 +/- 1.1, p < 0.001) and less frequent significant pain (18.4% [7/38] vs. 42.5% [31/73], p = 0.020) than skin anesthesia group. Pain score was negatively associated with pleural anesthesia (beta = -0.93, p < 0.001) and positively associated with procedure time (beta = 0.06, p < 0.001). Significant pain was negatively associated with pleural anesthesia (p = 0.004, adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.21 [95% confidence interval: 0.07, 0.61]) and positively associated with procedure time (p < 0.001, adjusted OR = 1.15 [95% confidence interval: 1.07, 1.24]). Pleural anesthesia was not associated with pneumothorax or chest tube placement (p = 0.806 and 0.291, respectively). Conclusion Pleural anesthesia reduces subjective pain without increasing the risk of pneumothorax.