Safety and Diagnostic Accuracy of Percutaneous Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy of the Spleen: A Multicenter Study

Purpose. To analyze the safety and accuracy of ultrasound-guided (USG) percutaneous needle biopsy of the spleen. Methods. Sixty-two USG needle biopsies performed in 52 patients were retrospectively analyzed: there were 53 biopsies of local lesions and 9 biopsies of diffuse lesions. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was performed in 37 cases and core-needle biopsy (CNB) in 25 cases. The complications and diagnostic accuracy of the 2 types of biopsy were compared. Results. Two patients (3.8%) had postprocedural hemorrhage after CNB; one was minor, and the other severe, requiring splenectomy. No bleeding occurred with FNA. The diagnostic accuracy was similar with FNA (86.5%) and CNB (92%), whereas in patients with lymphoma, accuracy of FNA (80%) tended to be lower than that of CNB (100%), although the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion. USG needle biopsy is safe and effective for diagnosing both focal and diffuse splenic lesions. The risk of bleeding may be lower with FNA than with CNB. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 37:445-450, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jcu.20608