Diagnostic Yeld of Ultrathin Bronchoscopy in Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions

The use of an ultrathin bronchoscope (UB) has recently been introduced in the diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions. The use of the UB can be supported by navigation systems such as fluoroscopy, ultrasound guidance, electromagnetic navigation, or other technologies, which have complementary potential. Further navigation techniques are still under study. The use of ultrathin instrumentation has already been shown to significantly reduce procedural times compared to traditional instrumentation. The purpose of the study is to prospectively evaluate the institutional experience of different third-level hospital centers with the use of a UB (MP190F; Olympus Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) for sampling peripheral lung lesions by means of transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) or transbronchial biopsy (TBB), performed after fluoroscopic navigation and simultaneous radial probe-endobronchial ultrasound (RP-EBUS) assessment. Design: multicentric, observational study.