IMPORTANCE OF OPEN LUNG BIOPSY IN PATIENTS SUSPECTED INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE

Aim: The purpose of this study was to review the role of surgical lung biopsy techniques in patients with suspected interstitial lung disease to determine the outcomes in terms of diagnosis and management.
Methods: Clinical courses and histolopathological reports of twenty four patients with suspected diagnosis of interstitial lung disease on clinical and radiological grounds were reviewed retrospectively. Twenty of the patients had undergone mini thoracotomy and four had undergone video-assisted thoracoscopic lung biopsy. Pathologic diagnosis had been established in all patients.
Results: The most frequent diagnosis was sarcoidosis in six patients. As a result of histopathological examination the definite diagnosis and management of 9 (37.5%) patients had changed. Mean post-operative length of hospital stay and chest tube drainage duration was 3.6 days and 2.1 days, respectively. The overall morbidity rate was 12.5% and there was no mortality.
Conclusion: Open lung biopsy can safely be performed in patients with suspected interstitial lung disease. The morbidity and mortality is low, length of hospital stay and chest tube drainage durations are relatively short. It alters the diagnosis and management in a significant number of patients.