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SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Thoracic ultrasonography is widely used in imaging peripheral lesions and invasive interventional procedures. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of thoracic ultrasonography-guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy and the factors affecting the diagnosis of peripheral tumoral lung lesions. METHODS: The lesion size, biopsy needle type, number of blocks, complications, and pathology results were compared in 83 patients between January 2015 and July 2018. The cases with pathological non-diagnosis and definite pathological diagnosis were determined. For the assessment of the factors affecting diagnosis, the size of the lesions and the biopsy needle type were evaluated. Biopsy preparations containing non-diagnostic atypical cells were referred to a cytopathologist. The effect of the cytopathological examination on the diagnosis was also evaluated. RESULTS: Pathological diagnosis was made in 66.3% of the cases; cell type could not be determined in 22.9% of the cases, and they were referred to a cytopathologist. After the cytopathologist's examination, the diagnosis rate increased to 80.7%. Diagnosis rates were higher when using tru-cut than Chiba and higher in cases with tumor size >2 cm than smaller. CONCLUSION: Thoracic ultrasonography-guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy is a preferred approach to the diagnosis of peripheral tumoral lung lesions, given its high diagnostic rate, in addition to being cheap, highly suitable for bedside use, and safe, and the lack of radiation exposure.
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OBJECTIVES: Pleural effusion is a common diagnostic and clinical problem. The differential diagnosis of pleural effusion may be difficult and may require several procedures, including invasive ones. Certain studies have investigated biochemical parameters to facilitate the diagnosis of exudative pleural effusion; however, it remains a challenging problem in clinical practice. We aimed to investigate the potential role of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, which can be easily obtained by determining the cell count of the pleural fluid, in the differential diagnosis of exudative pleural effusion. METHODS: Records from patients who underwent thoracentesis and pleural fluid analysis between May 1, 2013, and March 1, 2015, were obtained from the electronic database of our hospital. The patients who met the inclusion criteria were divided into five groups according to their diagnosis: malignant pleural effusion, para-malignant pleural effusion, para-pneumonic effusion, tuberculosis-related effusion or other. The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio value was calculated by dividing the absolute neutrophil count by the absolute lymphocyte count. The patient groups were compared according to the given parameter. RESULTS: A total of 465 patients who met the inclusion criteria among 1616 patients with exudative pleural effusion were included in the study. The mean neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio value was significantly lower in tuberculosis-related pleural effusion compared to malignant, para-pneumonic and para-malignant effusions (p=0.001, p=0.001, p=0.012, respectively). The areas under the curve for tuberculosis pleurisy compared to malignant, para-pneumonic and para-malignant effusions were 0.38, 0.36, and 0.37, respectively. Lower cut-off values had higher sensitivity but lower specificity for tuberculosis pleurisy, while higher cut-off values had higher specificity but lower sensitivity for this condition. CONCLUSION: The pleural fluid neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, which is an inexpensive, reproducible, and easily calculated hematological parameter, may facilitate the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion.