Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Sep-Oct;49(5):769-776.
doi: 10.1097/RCT.0000000000001735. Epub 2025 Jul 30.

Association Between Sarcopenia Measurement in Pectoral Region and Immediate Complications Following Percutaneous Transthoracic Lung Biopsy

Aşık Murat  1 , Bilgi Zeynep  2 , Güney Ramazan  1 , Tekin Zeynep Nilüfer  1 , Muhammed Furkan Tapan  1
Affiliations

Association Between Sarcopenia Measurement in Pectoral Region and Immediate Complications Following Percutaneous Transthoracic Lung Biopsy

Aşık Murat et al. J Comput Assist Tomogr. 2025 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: Measurement of the skeletal muscle area (SMA) at the T4 vertebra level on thoracic computed tomography (CT) has emerged as a novel marker for predicting sarcopenia. This study aimed to investigate the association between complications following percutaneous transthoracic lung biopsy and sarcopenia.

Materials and methods: Patients who underwent CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic lung biopsy to make a definitive diagnosis of suspected lung cancer were included in this study. The factors that are effective in predicting pneumothorax and parenchymal hemorrhage, which are the most common complications that may occur after lung biopsy, were investigated. For this purpose, statistically evaluated the relationship between the incidence of pneumothorax and parenchymal hemorrhage postbiopsy and factors including age, sex, lesion localization, lesion size, procedure duration, depth of lesion, number of pleural insertions of the biopsy needle, method of biopsy (fine needle aspiration biopsy or core needle biopsy ), and sarcopenia. The effects of these factors on complications occurring after biopsy were evaluated by univariate and multivariate regression analysis.

Results: Three hundred twenty patients (M/F: 226/94) were enrolled in this retrospective study conducted between January 2016 and August 2023. The average age of the patients included was 65.18±12.62 SD (range: 43 to 88 y). The most common complications after CT-guided biopsy were pneumothorax (n=58, 18.1%) and parenchymal hemorrhage (n=21, 6.6%). Statistically significant associations were found between the incidence of complications and factors such as lesion size, distance from the pleura, and the most important factor as thoracic skeletal muscle area.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that sarcopenia, along with certain clinical and procedural factors, may play a role in the prediction of complications following transthoracic lung biopsy. Further research is warranted to elucidate these associations' mechanisms and optimize patient care strategies.

Keywords: 3D Slicer; complications; computed tomography; lung biopsy; sarcopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Oliver AL. Lung cancer: epidemiology and screening. Surg Clin North Am. 2022;102:335–344.
    1. Nooreldeen R, Bach H. Current and future development in lung cancer diagnosis. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22:8661–8679.
    1. Zeng L, Liao H, Ren F, et al. Pneumothorax induced by computed tomography guided transthoracic needle biopsy: a review for the clinician. Int J Gen Med. 2021;14:1013–1022.
    1. Heerink WJ, de Bock GH, de Jonge GJ, et al. Complication rates of CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy: meta-analysis. Eur Radiol. 2017;27:138–148.
    1. Tomiyama N, Yasuhara Y, Nakajima Y, et al. CT-guided needle biopsy of lung lesions: a survey of severe complication based on 9783 biopsies in Japan. Eur J Radiol. 2006;59:60–64.

MeSH terms