Efficacy of 67Ga-scintigraphy in predicting the diagnostic yield of transbronchial lung biopsy in pulmonary sarcoidosis

Abstract

Nineteen consecutive patients with clinically suspected sarcoidosis underwent 67Ga-scintigraphy prior to transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) to determine if 67Ga uptake in lung parenchyma would increase the diagnostic yield of the biopsy procedure. Biopsies were obtained from the areas showing parenchymal uptake on the 67Ga scan in 13 of the 19 patients. In the six patients not demonstrating uptake of 67Ga in the lung parenchyma, biopsies were obtained at random from the right lower lobe. There was no correlation between 67Ga uptake in hilar nodes or pulmonary parenchyma tissue and the diagnostic yield from TBLB. We conclude that 67Ga scanning is neither efficacious nor cost-effective in predicting the diagnostic yield of TBLB in sarcoidosis.