Pneumologie
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Peripheral pulmonary nodules are difficult to reach bronchoscopically, so for a long time it has been tried, by the use of imaging techniques like X-ray, ultrasound and computed tomography, to aspirate these nodules for exact histological diagnosis. The computed tomography offers the best spatial orientation for methodical reasons, thus this technique is performed increasingly and with great accuracy in pulmonary lesions. Complications like bleeding into lung parenchyma or small pneumothorax after aspiration can be detected easier by computed tomography. ⋯ In another 4 of 30 (13 %) cases pneumothorax occurred, requiring chest tube placement. The ct-guided lung biopsy with the AUTOVAC(R) needle represents a safe, low resilient diagnostic tool to obtain large tissue samples of specimen in good quality. Even in patients with compromised lung function because of severe chronic obstructive lung disease and/or emphysema, the described aspiration technique can be performed, if at the moment of aspiration procedure a pneumologist with corresponding equipment and trained medical staff is present, in order to place a chest tube in case of pneumothorax.