Associated Factors for Non-Diagnostic Cytopathology in the Endobronchial Ultrasound-Transbronchial Needle Aspiration: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Diagnostics, cilt.16, sa.10, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 16 Sayı: 10
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.3390/diagnostics16101509
- Dergi Adı: Diagnostics
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, EMBASE, Directory of Open Access Journals, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration, delayed diagnosis, mediastinal lymph node
- Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Introduction: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is widely used for diagnosing pulmonary diseases causing mediastinal lymphadenopathy. However, non-diagnostic results may occur. This study investigated factors associated with non-diagnostic cytological results in EBUS-TBNA. Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA at a tertiary hospital between March 2019 and December 2023. Data on demographics, biopsy techniques, cyto-/histopathological results, sonographic lymph node measurements, and pre-procedural PET-CT SUVmax values were recorded. Cytological results were classified as diagnostic or non-diagnostic. We analyzed the characteristics and associated factors of patients who were non-diagnostically identified. Results: Among 776 patients undergoing EBUS-TBNA, 502 (64.7%) were male, with a mean age of 61.5 ± 12.6 years. A total of 1110 lymph nodes were sampled. Of the patients, 14.1% had a non-diagnostic cytology. Among the diagnosed patients, cytological findings showed 58.9% non-malignant, 41.1% malignant. The most sampled station was station 7 (72.9%), with an average of 5.9 ± 1.4 aspirations. Diagnostic cases had significantly more aspirations (p = 0.022) and sampled larger lymph node sizes (p < 0.001). Each 1 mm increase in lymph node size raised the likelihood of diagnostic results by 1.04 times (adjOR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.02–1.08, p = 0.002). The largest lymph node size significantly predicted diagnostic results (AUROC = 0.611, p < 0.001). A cut-off of 19.55 mm had 67.0% sensitivity and 52.2% specificity. Conclusions: Sampled larger lymph nodes increase diagnostic yield in EBUS-TBNA, reducing the need for repeat procedures and enabling earlier treatment, thereby decreasing morbidity and mortality.