Feasibility, utility, and safety of transbronchial cryobiopsy for interstitial lung diseases in Japan

BACKGROUND: Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) is a new technique that enables larger tissue collection than can be obtained by conventional transbronchial lung biopsy. TBLC is becoming popular worldwide and is performed for diffuse lung disease and lung cancer. However, only a few reports of TBLC have been published in Japan. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TBLC at our hospital and compare these findings with past reports. METHODS: From April 2018 to January 2020, 38 patients who underwent TBLC for diffuse lung disease at our hospital were evaluated with respect to age, sex, biopsy site, biopsy size, diagnostic disease, and complications. RESULTS: The patients who underwent TBLC were 20 men and 18 women with an average age of 63.7 years. The average sample size was 5.7 mm, and the diagnostic rate was 65.7% (25/38). Grade ≥2 complications included bleeding (15.8%), pneumothorax (2.6%), and atrial fibrillation (2.6%). CONCLUSIONS: TBLC was considered to be useful for the diagnosis of diffuse lung disease and could be safely performed.