Effect of needle size in sonographically guided aspiration followed by cell block preparation for the diagnosis of hepatic neoplasms

K. W. Chiu*, C. S. Changchien, L. Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Sonographically guided needle aspiration followed by cell block (CB) preparation is a diagnostic technique used to establish histologic diagnosis, particularly in the case of focal hepatic lesions. To investigate the effect of needle size in hepatic aspiration with CB, a randomized study of 18-, 20- and 22-gauge Chiba-needle aspirations under sonographic guidance were performed. The results of this prospective study are reported herein. Materials and Methods: Randomized 18-, 20- and 22-gauge Chiba-needle aspirations under sonographic guidance were performed in 81 patients clinically suspected of having hepatic neoplasms. The precipitated specimen was embedded in paraffin paraplast, and processed by means of conventional microtome serial sectioning of block preparations. Results: The failure rates of needle aspiration were found to be 55.6% (5/9) using a 22-gauge needle, 12.1% (4/33) using a 20-gauge needle and 2.2% (1/46) using an 18-gauge needle. There were quite significant differences between the groups of 18- and 22-gauge needles (p<0.001), and the groups of 20- and 22-gauge needles (p<0.01). The diagnostic accuracy was 93.5% in 46 aspirated cases using an 18-gauge needle and 80.0% in the other 31 patients using a 20-gauge needle. There was no significant difference between these two groups. Conclusion: These data suggest that 18-, 20- and 22-gauge needles with a successful aspiration under sonographic guidance followed by CB can provide an accurate diagnosis, but the wider caliber needle is recommended for hepatic aspiration because it has a lower failure rate.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)32-36
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Medical Ultrasound
Volume2
Issue number1
StatePublished - 1994
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • cell blocks
  • hepatic neoplasm
  • needle aspiration
  • ultrasound diagnosis

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