Advanced bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions

Bronchoscopy to examine peripheral pulmonary lesions is performed using a bronchoscope with an outer diameter of 5-6 mm under fluoroscopy, but the diagnostic yield can be insufficient. Problems with transbronchial biopsy include a limited range of bronchoscope insertion, difficulty in guiding a bronchoscope and biopsy instruments to lesions, and insufficient confirmation of the arrival of biopsy instruments at the target lesion; as such, new techniques have been used to overcome these individual problems. Radial-endobronchial ultrasound is used to identify peripheral pulmonary lesions and sampling sites. In a meta-analysis, the diagnostic yield, that of lesions smaller than 2 cm, and complication rate were 73, 56.3, and 1.0%, respectively. Virtual bronchoscopic navigation is a method to guide a bronchoscope to peripheral lesions under direct vision using virtual bronchoscopic images of the bronchial route, and the diagnostic yield, that of 2-cm or smaller lesions, and complication rate were 73.8, 67.4, and 1.0%, respectively. Electromagnetic navigation utilizes electromagnetism; the diagnostic yield was 64.9-71%, and the pneumothorax complication rate was 4% for this modality. Ultrathin bronchoscopes can be advanced to the peripheral bronchus under direct vision in contrast to normal-size bronchoscopes, and the diagnostic yield and pneumothorax complication rates were reported to be 63 and 1.5%, respectively. The overall diagnostic yield of these new techniques on meta-analysis was 70%, a higher yield than that obtained with conventional transbronchial biopsy. Each technique has advantages and disadvantages, and the investigation of appropriate combinations corresponding to individual cases is necessary. (C) 2015 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.