Pleural biopsy is removal of a sample of the pleura to diagnose cancer or infection.
Pleural biopsy is done to determine the cause of an exudative pleural effusion when thoracentesis is not diagnostic.
The yield of percutaneous pleural biopsy is about twice as high for tuberculosis than it is for pleural cancers. Improved laboratory techniques, newer diagnostic tests for pleural fluid (eg, adenosine deaminase levels, interferon-gamma, polymerase chain reaction studies for suspected tuberculosis), and more widespread availability of thoracoscopy have made pleural biopsy less necessary and therefore uncommonly done.
Percutaneous pleural biopsy should be done only by a pulmonologist or surgeon trained in the procedure and should be done only in patients who are cooperative and have no coagulation abnormalities.
The technique for percutaneous pleural biopsy is essentially the same as that for thoracentesis and can be done at the bedside; no specific additional patient preparation is necessary. At least 3 specimens obtained from one skin location, with 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positioning of the needle-cutting chamber, are needed for histology and culture.
Chest x-ray should be done after biopsy because of increased risk of complications, which are the same as those for thoracentesis but with higher incidence of pneumothorax and hemothorax.
