The use of computed tomography (CT)-guided simultaneous microcoil localization for multiple pulmonary nodules before video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was found to be safe, with no significant increase in adverse outcomes, according to the findings of a retrospective study published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine.
The worldwide increase in lung cancer screening has resulted in a rise in the identification of small pulmonary nodules. Excisional biopsy is an existing method of nodule extraction that is known to be safe and effective, and CT-guided microcoil localization improves the accuracy of this approach.
To date, “few studies have focused on the microcoil utilization in simultaneous localization before VATS,” according to the study authors.
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The single-center, retrospective study evaluated 249 consecutive patients with 279 lung nodules who underwent CT-guided microcoil localization prior to VATS between June 2016 and March 2019. Of them, 28 patients had multiple pulmonary nodules and underwent CT-guided microcoil simultaneous localization.
The localization of nodules was found to be successful in the group of patients with multiple nodules (group A; 91.4%) and the group of patients with a single nodule (91.0%). VATS was also highly successful in both groups (group A, 100% and group B, 99.1%, respectively).
CT-guided simultaneous microcoil localization for multiple nodules was found to increase the procedure time from 13 min (±6 min) for a single nodule to 24 min (± 7.5 min; P <.001), but this increase in the procedure time was deemed “acceptable” by the study authors.
Complications associated with the procedure were considered minor and did not require further treatment. There was no significant difference in the overall rate of complications between the 2 groups (group A, 32.8% vs group B, 30.8%; P =.771).
Study limitations included its single-center nature and the “relatively small” number of patients with multiple nodules, the investigators said.
Reference
Xu Y, Ma L, Sun H, et al. The utility of simultaneous CT‑guided localization for multiple pulmonary nodules using microcoil before video‑assisted thoracic surgery. BMC Pulm Med. 2021;21(1):39. doi:10.1186/s12890-021-01393-x
