The Diagnostic Yield of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) Technique in Assessment of Mediastinal Lymph Nodes

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) technique provides a complementary assessment of the areas of mediastinal lymph node involvement. But the usefulness of EBUS-TBNA in assessing all areas of mediastinal lymph nodes is little known, and it seems that such assess is dependent to various factors related to the patient’s condition and especially the characteristics of local lymph nodes. We aimed to evaluate the utility of EBUS-TBNA in assessing mediastinal lymph nodes and the factors associated with this utility. This cross-sectional study was performed on 40 patients suspected to mediastinal lymphadenopathy scheduled for assessment by EBUS-TBNA and mediastinoscopy. The diagnostic yield of EBUS-TBNA to mediastinal lymph nodes was evaluated and non-diagnostic cases evaluated by mediastinoscopy. In evaluation with EBUS-TBNA, the diagnostic yield of EBUS of mediastinal lymph nodes including 34 out of 40 cases was equal to 85%. The size of lymph node (lower than 10 mm), the area of sample (left and right upper paratracheal), and the nature of the lymph node sample (benign type) were associated with lower diagnostic yield for EBUS-TBNA. The diagnostic yield of EBUS in assessing mediastinal lymph nodes for sampling and diagnosis is 85%.