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Endobronchial ultrasound plus fluoroscopy-guided biopsy compared to fluoroscopy-guided transbronchial biopsy for obtaining samples of peripheral pulmonary lesions: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: We report a meta-analysis of recent studies comparing the diagnostic yields of endobronchial ultrasonography plus fluoroscopically-guided transbronchial biopsy (EBUS + TBB) with that of conventional fluoroscopically-guided TBB for peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). Methods: We searched Medline, the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Google Scholar through 31 March 2013 using the keywords: lung neoplasm, pulmonary lesions, diagnosis, endobronchial ultrasound, fluoroscopy, and fluoroscopic. Results: Four studies were included in the study with a total of 461 patients, 222 in the EBUS + TBB group and 239 in the TBB only group. The meta-analysis revealed that the group with EBUS + TBB was more favored in terms of positive diagnostic yield than the group diagnosed with only conventional TBB (odds ratio [OR] = 2.211, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.422–3.438, P< 0.001). Subgroup analysis based on lesion size found that smaller PPLs had higher accuracy (OR = 4.502, 95% CI = 2.002–10.126, P< 0.001) than PPLs of large size (OR = 1.849, 95% CI = 1.033–3.311, P= 0.039). Conclusion: Obtaining TBB samples for histopathological diagnosis is enhanced by the addition of EBUS to conventional fluoroscopic guidance; this is, especially important for patients with small peripheral lung lesions who benefit greatly from early diagnosis.