ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value and safety of endobronchial ultrasoundguided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in elderly patients with bronchogenic carcinoma.Methods From August,2013 and July,2014,31 patients aged 65 years and over with space-occupying mass and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes detected by CT or positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) underwent EBUS-TBNA.Rapid onsite cytology evaluation was not performed.Results There were 26 males and 5 females in this study,aged 65-77 years (70.1 years old on average).In 31 patients,70 samples were obtained from lymph nodes (LNs) and 4 samples were obtained from intrapulmonary lesions.29 cases were diagnosed as lung cancer,and 2 cases had false-negative diagnoses.The sensitivity and specificity rates of EBUS-guided TBNA method were 93.6％ and 100.0％,respectively.No major complications were observed in this series.Conclusions EBUS-TBNA is an safe and effective method in diagnosing bronchogenic carcinoma in elderly patients.
