Rates of success and failure of biopsies of hollow abdominal organs: descriptive analysis

Objective: To evaluate the rates of success and failure of ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy of lesions in hollow abdominal organs, as well as the influence of contrast enhancement on those rates. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective, single-center study evaluating patients submitted to ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy of abdominal lesions in hollow organs between January 2017 and June 2018. Patient records were reviewed using a standardized data collection form. Results: We included 49 procedures performed in 48 patients, of whom 18 (38%) had a prior diagnosis of cancer. Malignancy was suspected in 44 cases (90%). Among those 44 cases, the suspicion was of a new neoplasm in 28 (64%), of relapse in 11 (25%), and of a metastatic lesion in 5 (11%). The histopathological findings were sufficient to make the diagnosis in all 44 of those cases, 33 (75%) of which were found to be malignant. The diagnosis was consistent with the clinical suspicion in 33 (75%) of the cases in which there was a definitive histological result. There were no complications resulting from the procedure. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy is a safe procedure that demonstrates high efficacy in providing a sufficient sample for the diagnosis. The main reason to perform such a biopsy is suspicion of a new neoplasm, followed by suspicion of a metastatic lesion. The histopathological results were concordant with the suspicion in the majority of the cases evaluated here.