Efficacy and safety of unguided percutaneous fine needle aspiration cytology in peripheral lung lesions.

The efficacy and safety of unguided percutaneous fine needle aspiration cytology in peripheral lung lesions were studied in 42 patients. The diagnostic yield of unguided aspiration was 83.3%. The yield in malignant lesion was 85.7% while in benign lesion it was 78.6%. There was no false positive report. Complications seen were asymptomatic pneumothorax and blood tinged sputum in a few cases following aspiration. The procedure was well accepted by the patients. Unguided FNAC is a simple, quick, economical, safe and reliable procedure for the diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions.