Is lung puncture dangerous?

Lung puncture is a clinical examination method for checking lung problems. Since it involves the lungs, there are certain risks. The doctor needs to be careful and quick, and the patient needs to cooperate closely to reduce the risk and increase the success rate. Of course, even if successful, lung puncture has certain complications. Below we will introduce the indications and complications of lung puncture!

Introduction

Lung puncture has high requirements and the operation should be performed carefully, seriously and quickly to shorten the time as much as possible. The patient must cooperate closely, breathe steadily and not cough. The patient should undergo a detailed examination before puncture so that the doctor can correctly position the patient and increase the success rate of the puncture.

Mainly, the fluid in the cavity or bronchial cavity is aspirated for further examination and clear diagnosis. Secondly, lung puncture is used to treat certain diseases, such as aspirating pus from some cavities with poor drainage, and injecting drugs to achieve the purpose of treatment when necessary.

Indications

The indications and method options for percutaneous puncture biopsy include: ① Pulmonary nodules, especially those with negative sputum cytology examination. For lesions with a diameter >2cm, a simulator can be used, which is simpler, cheaper and more convenient than CT. For lesions with a diameter ≤2cm, CT positioning is best used, as it is more accurate than simulator positioning. ② For extravascular central lung lesions, CT is better for positioning because CT can locate more accurately, especially for lesions in special areas such as behind the heart, beside the spine, beside the aorta, and in the hilar area. The best puncture point can be selected to reduce complications. ③ Lesions with lower density are better located by CT because CT has a higher resolution and can avoid necrotic areas, selecting the areas with the most diagnostic value for sampling, thereby improving the diagnosis rate. ④ Diffuse lesions can be diagnosed by locating them using a simulator.

complication

Complications of chest puncture biopsy include pneumothorax, pleural hemorrhage, tumor implantation in the needle tract, and gas embolism in other organs. In fact, the latter two situations are very rare. The postoperative complications reported more consistently at home and abroad are mainly pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage; pneumothorax is the most common complication, with literature reporting an incidence of 9% to 44%, mostly around 10%. Most of them are small pneumothoraces that can be absorbed on their own without treatment, and only 1.6% to 14.3% of patients require closed chest drainage; pulmonary hemorrhage can be absorbed on its own within 1 to 3 days, and a few patients have blood in their sputum; the incidence of massive hemoptysis and pleural hemorrhage is relatively low. The occurrence of complications is related to the operator's proficiency, the number of needle insertions, the acute angle between the puncture needle and the pleural tangent at the puncture point, and emphysema.