A new podcast from the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) reviews recent research on pneumothorax rates in CT-guided lung biopsies and discusses ways to decrease their incidence.
The BIR interviewed co-authors Prof. Lloyd Ridley, Dr. Michael Chan, and Dr. Ya Ruth Huo about their review and meta-analysis, which was published online in January 2020 in the British Journal of Radiology (BJR) and won the 2021 BJR Barclay Medal.
The researchers had wanted to improve their practice in performing lung biopsies and reduce the rate of pneumothorax -- the most common complication, according to Ridley of Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
In their study, the authors pooled and quantified risk factors as odds ratios and pneumothorax rates. These results would enable other proceduralists planning a lung biopsy to consider factors that they can improve to reduce their pneumothorax rates, Chan said.
Also, "the lack of data in the literature which assess the correlation of these factors with pneumothorax rates highlights the need for larger, more comprehensive studies in the future," said Huo of the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
The podcast can be found on Soundcloud or on the BIR's website.
