Small lymph nodes of the abdomen, pelvis, and retroperitoneum: usefulness of sonographically guided biopsy.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of sonographically guided percutaneous biopsy of small lymph nodes in the abdomen, retroperitoneum, and pelvis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From May 1995 through January 1997, 35 sonographically guided lymph node biopsies were performed in 34 patients. All biopsies were performed with a 20- (n = 18) or 22-gauge (n = 10) self-aspirating needle alone or in combination (n = 7). To determine the amount of compression achieved with the transducer, the skin-to-lesion distance on reference computed tomographic (CT) scans was compared with that on sonograms. A biopsy was considered successful if a specific benign or malignant diagnosis was rendered by the pathologist. RESULTS: Of 35 sonographically guided biopsies, 30 (86%) were successful. Diagnoses included 26 (74%) cases of carcinoma, three (9%) cases of benign reactive lymphocytosis confirmed at open biopsy, and one (3%) case of a lymph node with a positive acid-fast bacilli stain. The average lymph node diameter was 2.1 cm (range, 0.9-4.3 cm). With sonography, a mean of 2.5 needle passes (range, 1-5) were made per biopsy. Transducer compression reduced the skin-to-lesion distance from an average of 8.8 cm (at CT) to 4.5 cm. CONCLUSION: Sonographic guidance seems to provide a reasonable alternative to CT in biopsy of small abdominal, pelvic and retroperitoneal lymph nodes.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Fisher, AJ; Paulson, EK; Sheafor, DH; Simmons, CM; Nelson, RC
Published Date
- October 1997
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 205 / 1
Start / End Page
- 185 - 190
PubMed ID
- 9314983
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0033-8419
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1148/radiology.205.1.9314983
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States