Objective To evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in diagnosis of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs), mediastinal occupying lesion of unknown origin, as well as in N-staging for lung cancer. Methods EUS-FNA was performed via esophagus with a 22-gange needle in 61 patients, followed by pathological and cytological examinations. Results The positive diagnosis rate of EUS-FNA was 93.4% (57/61), and the cytological and pathological diagnostic accuracy were 85.2% (52/61) and 83.6% (51/61), respectively. Of 61 patients, 26 were suspected as having lung cancer with mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis, but the bronchoscopy failed to confirm the diag-nosis. EUS-FNA diagnosed lung cancer in 21 and benign lesion in 5. Of 22 patients with mediastinal occupying lesions of unknown origin, 19 (86.4%) were diagnosed by EUS-FNA. Of 7 patients with malignant tumor history and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, EUS-FNA confirmed mediastinal metastasis in 6 (85.7%). Six cases of lung cancer with suspected mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis were confirmed by EUS-FNA and the corresponding therapy regimen was modified. No complications related to EUS-FNA procedure occurred. Conclusion EUS-FNA is a safe and effective method for diagnosis of enlarged medistinal LNs, mediastinal lesion of unkown origin and N-stage of lung cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of thin-slice CT navigation combined with cytology in routine preoperative bronchoscopy of peripheral pulmonary lesions and compare the diagnostic effects of different cytological sampling methods. Methods: The clinical data of peripheral lung cancer patients with preoperative bronchoscopy and cytology sampling guided by thin-slice CT from May 2015 to July 2016 in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were retrospectively analyzed. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of different cytological sampling methods for peripheral pulmonary lesions guided by thin-slice CT were compared, the factors affected the diagnostic sensitivity were analyzed, and the complications induced by these methods were observed. Results: The diagnostic sensitivity of thin-slice CT navigation combined with bronchoalveolar lavage for peripheral pulmonary lesions was 39.1%, and the positive diagnosis rate was 35.1%. The diagnostic sensitivity of thin-slice CT navigation combined with cell brush for peripheral pulmonary lesions was 51.7%, and the positive diagnosis rate was 46.4%. The diagnostic sensitivity of bronchoalveolar lavage combined with cell brush for peripheral pulmonary lesions was 57.5%, and the positive diagnosis rate was 51.5%. The positive diagnosis rate between brush sampling and bronchoalveolar lavage was statistically different (P=0.01). No significant difference was observed in the diagnostic rate between cell brush and cell brush combined with bronchoalveolar lavage (P=0.06). The factors affected diagnostic sensitivity of brush included the lesion location, size, and the relationship between the lesion and bronchial (all P<0.05). When the size of the peripheral lung lesion >2 cm, the diagnostic sensitivity of thin-slice CT navigation combined with cell brush for peripheral pulmonary lesions was 73.6%. Its positive diagnosis rate was 68% and the specificity was 100%, respectively. Two cases of mild bleeding were observed, and hemorrhage was terminated by conservative treatment. Conclusion Preoperative thin-slice CT navigation combined with cytological examination is an effective method for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions, and the diagnostic efficiency of cell brush is higher than that of bronchoalveolar lavage, especially for the lesion size >2 cm.