The usefulness of needle biopsy in chest lesions of different sizes and locations.

Needle biopsies were done on 125 chest lesions in 117 patients, for the purpose of evaluating the procedure in relation to size and location of the lesions. Fifty of these lesions were centrally located, and 75 were peripherally located. Sixty-four lesions, with diameters of 2 cm or less, were classified as "small," and 61 were classified as "large". In peripheral lesions diagnostic yield was higher, but accuracy was lower than it was in central lesions. Diagnostic yield was the same in small lesions as it was in large ones, although accuracy was higher in small lesions. The complication rate was lower in central lesions than it was in peripheral lesions; the rate did not differ between large and small lesions.