Alveolar herniation in transbronchial lung biopsy: a newly recognized diagnostic pitfall

Abstract

Artifacts in transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) related to the procedure or subsequent handling are well described in the literature, and some may lead to a misdiagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ^1,2,3 We report a series of 8 cases with another, yet undescribed artifact consisting of displacement of alveolar pneumocytes and macrophages into the bronchial mucosa posing a diagnostic challenge to distinguish it from lung cancer. The 5 men and 3 women aged between 36 and 82 years had a suspected clinical diagnosis of ILD (4x), diffuse ground glass opacities (2x) or bilateral pulmonary nodules (2x), respectively, with no clinical suspicion of lung cancer.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

from #ORL-AlexandrosSfakianakis via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2y6lync