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Rubens Chojniak

Publications and source records attributed to Rubens Chojniak.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Computed tomography guided needle biopsy: experience from 1,300 procedures.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Computed tomography (CT) guided biopsy is widely accepted as effective and safe for diagnosis in many settings. Accuracy depends on target organ and needle type. Cutting needles present advantages over fine needles. This study presents experience from CT guided biopsies performed at an oncology center. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective study at Hospital do Câncer A. C. Camargo, São Paulo. METHODS: 1,300 consecutive CT guided biopsies performed between July 1994 and February 2000 were analyzed. Nodules or masses were suspected as primary malignancy in 845 cases (65%) or metastatic lesion in 455 (35%). 628 lesions were thoracic, 281 abdominal, 208 retroperitoneal, 134 musculoskeletal and 49 head/neck. All biopsies were performed by one radiologist or under his supervision: 765 (59%) with 22-gauge fine-needle/aspiration technique and 535 (41%) with automated 16 or 18-gauge cutting-needle biopsy. RESULTS: Adequate samples were obtained in 70-92% of fine-needle and 93-100% of cutting-needle biopsies. The specific diagnosis rates were 54-67% for fine-needle and 82-100% for cutting-needle biopsies, according to biopsy site. For any site, sample adequacy and specific diagnosis rate were always better for cutting-needle biopsy. Among 530 lung biopsies, there were 84 pneumothorax (16%) and two hemothorax (0.3%) cases, with thoracic drainage in 24 (4.9%). Among abdominal and retroperitoneal biopsies, there were two cases of major bleeding and one of peritonitis. CONCLUSION: Both types of needle showed satisfactory results, but cutting-needle biopsy should be used when specific diagnosis is desired without greater incidence of complications.

Adolescent↗

Topographic metabolic map of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma using 18F-FDG PET and CT image fusion.

OBJECTIVE: To propose a methodologic approach to evaluate head and neck tumors in order to identify and distinguish areas of higher metabolic activity inside the lesion. STUDY DESIGN: The sample consisted of 17 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Images were simultaneously acquired using a nondedicated PET-CT device and an independent workstation with ENTEGRA 2 NT software to generate the image fusion between PET and CT. Sites of higher metabolic activity inside the tumor were classified as centric or eccentric according to their relative location to the lesion center. RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent (n=13) of the patients presented the site of higher metabolic activity at the center of lesion, and in 23% (n=4) the uptake of the tracer was increased at the periphery of the lesion. CONCLUSIONS: This technique gave a realistic view of the functional metabolism, locating the anatomical tumor area and helping in future treatment planning.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗

Computed tomography-guided biopsy of mediastinal lesions: fine versus cutting needles.

PURPOSE: To report the experience of a radiology department in the use of computed tomography guided biopsies of mediastinal lesions with fine and cutting needles, describing the differences between them. The results of adequacy of the sample and histologic diagnoses are presented according to the type of needle used. METHODS: We present a retrospective study of mediastinal biopsies guided by computed tomography performed from January 1993 to December 1999. Eighty-six patients underwent mediastinal biopsy in this period, 37 with cutting needles, 38 with fine needles, and 11 with both types (total of 97 biopsies). RESULTS: In most cases, it was possible to obtain an adequate sample (82.5%) and specific diagnosis (67.0%). Cutting-needle biopsy produced a higher percentage of adequate samples (89.6% versus 75.5%, P = 0.068) and of specific diagnosis (81.3% versus 53.1%, P = 0.003) than fine-needle biopsy. There were no complications that required intervention in either group. CONCLUSION: Because they are practical, safe, and can provide accurate diagnoses, image-guided biopsies should be considered the procedure of choice in the initial exploration of patients with mediastinal masses. In our experience, cutting needles gave higher quality samples and diagnostic rates. We recommend the use of cutting needles as the preferred procedure.

Adolescent↗

Computed tomography-guided needle biopsies in pediatric oncology.

BACKGROUND: The use of computed tomography (CT)-guided biopsies facilitate the diagnosis and management in several medical settings. In this study, the authors analyzed how effective cutting and fine-needle biopsies are in pediatric oncology. METHODS: Medical records of 75 patients were analyzed in retrospect allowing the study of 101 biopsy results. The results of these procedures were compared with clinical follow-up or surgical biopsy results and evaluated for how they affected the patient's treatment. RESULTS: CT-guided biopsies altered the treatment in 57 of 75 patients. No major complication occurred. Cutting and fine-needle biopsies are comparable in obtaining adequate material, but cutting needle obtains a superior rate of specific diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: CT-guided biopsies are safe procedures that can alter the management of pediatric oncology patients. Cutting and fine-needle biopsies each have one optimal specific use that must be considered to improve their accuracy.

Adolescent↗

Pulmonary metastases tumor doubling time: assessment by computed tomography.

Growth rate is a prognostic factor for pulmonary metastases treatment. We used computed tomography (CT) to quantify tumor doubling time (Tdt) variation of pulmonary metastases in the same patient, from different histologies and sizes. We prospectively evaluated chest CTs of patients with pulmonary metastases under no cancer treatment. Tdt of 408 pulmonary nodules in 21 patients was determined. One hundred twenty-three (30%) remained unaltered, 44 (11%) had reduction, and 241 (59%) increased in size. Nodules that grew presented a mean Tdt of 118 +/- 134 days (range: 22-930 days). There was high intraindividual variability of mean Tdt with no difference between histologies. Smaller nodules presented greater tendency to grow, and lower Tdt. There is large variation in clinical behavior for pulmonary metastases in the same patient. Each nodule should be evaluated independently. Selection of a single nodule to evaluate metastatic disease behavior could influence the therapeutic decision.

Adult↗

Computed tomography-guided cutting needle biopsy of pulmonary lesions.

PURPOSE: To report the experience of a radiology department in the use of computed tomography - guided cutting needle biopsy of pulmonary nodules, by evaluating diagnostic yield and incidence of complications. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of 52 consecutive patients who underwent lung lesion biopsy guided by computed tomography, performed between May 1997 and May 2000. Thirty-five patients were male and 17 were female, with ages ranging from 5 to 85 years (median, 62 years). The size of the lesions ranged from 1.8 to 15 cm (median, 5.4 cm). RESULTS: In a total of 52 biopsies of lung lesions, 51 biopsies (98.1%) supplied appropriate material for histopathological diagnosis, with 9 diagnosed (17.3%) as benign and 42 (80.8%) as malignant lesions. Specific diagnosis was obtained in 44 (84.6%) biopsies: 4 benign (9.1%) and 40 (90.9%) malignant lesions. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the cutting needle biopsies for determining presence of malignancy were 96.8%, 100%, and 97.2%, respectively. Complications occurred in 9 cases (17.3%), including 6 cases (11.5%) of small pneumothorax, 1 (1.9%) of hemoptysis, 1 (1.9%) of pulmonary hematoma, and 1 (1.9%) of thoracic wall hematoma. All had spontaneous resolution. There were no complications requiring subsequent intervention. CONCLUSION: The high sensitivity and specificity of the method and the low rate of complications have established cutting needle biopsy as an efficient and safe tool for the diagnosis of lung lesions. In our hospital, cutting needle biopsy is considered a reliable procedure for the evaluation of indeterminate pulmonary nodules.

Adolescent↗

[Prospective evaluation of clinical and Doppler ultrasound characteristics of cancer patients with suspicion of deep venous thrombosis].

PURPOSE: To evaluate Doppler Ultrasound (DUS) in oncology patients suspected of having Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) and correlate findings with their clinical characteristics and outcome. METHODS: A study was made with 96 consecutive oncology patients submitted to DUS suspected to have DVT between May 2001 and April 2002. The same radiologist examined 73 women and 23 men, with a median age of 58 years, using DUS equipment, with high frequency linear and convex probes (logic500--GE and HDI5000--Philips). RESULTS: In 42 (43.8%) patients the DUS was considered normal, in 33 (34.4%) DVT was diagnosed and 21 of them had superficial or previous deep venous thrombosis or non conclusive studies. Considering clinical evaluation (and death by PE as caused by DVT) as the gold standard, DUS sensitivity was of 95.9%. There was a statistically significant correlation between DVT and tumor stage at the time of initial diagnosis and patient's survival rate (p<0.05). There was no correlation between DVT and gender, age, type of malignancy, stage of disease at the time of DVT diagnosis and different treatment regimens. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that in cancer patients DUS has a high sensitivity for diagnosis of DVT and that DVT diagnosis in these patients correlates with a shorter overall survival. Since there are no reliable clinical predictors to identify cancer patients with DVT, DUS should be performed whenever DVT is suspected.

Adult↗