ABSTRACT
Objective: Computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous lung biopsy is difficult for small nodules and lesions that are adjacent to large blood vessels. This study investigated the validity of CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy in the diagnosis of pulmo-nary nodules with a digital angle instrument. Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of 35 patients with lung mass≤60 mm, who underwent CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy from January 2018 to September 2018. Patients were assigned in to three groups. Group A and B were patients with pulmonary nodules≤30 mm. Biopsy of group A was performed with the help of a digital an-gle instrument, and group B didn’t use digital angle instrument. Group C had lung mass of>30 mm, and the biopsy was performed without using the instrument. The size of the mass, frequency of punctures, distance of the puncture, and complication of pneumotho-rax after puncture were compared among the three groups. Results: The maximum diameter of pulmonary nodules in group A (18.4 ± 2.1) mm was significantly lower than that in groups B (28.3 ± 2.0) mm and C (43.2 ± 3.6) mm, and their P value were 0.0034 and 0.0028, respectively. Some patients in group A were at risk because of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and proximity of lesions to large blood vessels. The puncture distance in group A was also significantly more than groups B (P<0.039). However, the probability of puncture success in group A was 100%, which was significantly higher than groups B and C. The postoperative complica-tions in group A were also significantly fewer than in other two groups. Conclusions: CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy with a digital angle instrument is a safe, simple, and accurate diagnostic method, especially in patients with pulmonary nodular lesions.