Transthoracic Needle Biopsy of Pulmonary Nodules: Meteorological Conditions and the Risk of Pneumothorax and Chest Tube Placement

J Clin Med. 2019 May 22;8(5):727. doi: 10.3390/jcm8050727.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether meteorological variables influence rates of pneumothorax and chest tube placement after percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB) of pulmonary nodules. A retrospective review of 338 consecutive PTNBs of pulmonary nodules at a single institution was performed. All procedures implemented a coaxial approach, using a 19-gauge outer guide needle for access and a 20-gauge core biopsy gun with or without a small-gauge aspiration needle for tissue sampling. Correlation between age, sex, smoking history, lesion size, meteorological variables, and frequency of complications were evaluated. Fisher exact, trend and t tests were used to evaluate the relationship between each factor and rates of pneumothorax and chest tube placement. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. Pneumothorax occurred in 115 of 338 patients (34%). Chest tube placement was required in 30 patients (8.9%). No significant relationship was found between pneumothorax rate and age (p = 0.172), sex (p = 0.909), smoking history (p = 0.819), or lesion location (p = 0.765). The presence or absence of special weather conditions did not correlate with the rate of pneumothorax (p = 0.241) or chest tube placement (p = 0.213). The mean atmospheric temperature (p = 0.619) and degree of humidity (p = 0.858) also did not correlate with differences in the rate of pneumothorax. Finally, mean atmospheric pressure on the day of the procedure demonstrated no correlation with the rate of pneumothorax (p = 0.277) or chest tube placement (p = 0.767). In conclusion, no correlation is demonstrated between the occurrence of pneumothorax after PTNB of pulmonary nodules and the studied meteorological variables.

Keywords: biopsy; lung; pneumothorax; weather.