Pleural needle biopsy

This test may be done in the hospital. It may also be done at a clinic or health care provider's office. The procedure involves the following: You will be sitting up during the procedure. Your provider cleanses the skin at the biopsy site. A numbing drug (anesthetic) is injected through the skin and into the lining of…

You will have blood tests before the biopsy. You will likely have a chest x-ray .

When the local anesthetic is injected, you may feel a brief prick and a burning sensation. When the biopsy needle is inserted, you may feel pressure. As the needle is being removed, you may feel tugging.

Pleural biopsy is often done to find the cause of a collection of fluid around the lung ( pleural effusion ) or other abnormality of the pleural membrane. Pleural biopsy can diagnose tuberculosis , cancer, and other diseases. If this type of pleural biopsy is not enough to make a diagnosis, you may need a surgical…

Pleural tissues appear normal, without signs of inflammation, infection, or cancer.

Abnormal results may reveal: Primary lung cancer Malignant mesothelioma Metastatic pleural tumor Collagen vascular disease Tuberculosis Other infections

There is a slight chance of the needle puncturing the wall of the lung, which can partially collapse the lung. This usually gets better on its own. Sometimes, a chest tube is needed to drain the air and expand the lung. There is also a chance of excessive blood loss.

If a closed pleural biopsy is not enough to make a diagnosis, you may need a surgical biopsy of the pleura. This procedure has been mostly replaced by a procedure that uses a scope to visualize the pleura while taking the biopsy (pleuroscopy).

Reed JC. Pleural effusions. In: Reed JC, ed. Chest Radiology: Patterns and Differential Diagnoses. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 4. Walsh R, Klein JS. Thoracic radiology: invasive diagnostic imaging and image-guided interventions. In: Broaddus VC, Ernst JD, King TE, et al, eds. Murray and Nadel's…