Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Comparing 3 biopsy methods for diagnosing dog airway tumors
By De Lorenzi, D et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2025·San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A prospective comparison of fiberoptic endobronchial needle aspiration, bronchial brushing, and forceps biopsy for the diagnoses of canine exophytic tracheal and endobronchial masses, and submucosal infiltrations.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 21 dogs with growths in their airways underwent three different procedures to help diagnose the nature of these masses. The procedures included endobronchial needle aspiration, bronchial brushing, and forceps biopsy. The endobronchial needle aspiration was the most effective, accurately identifying cancer in about 90% of cases, while the other methods were less reliable. This technique not only provided the best results on its own but also worked well when used alongside the other methods, making it a promising option for diagnosing airway issues in dogs.
People also search for: dog airway mass diagnosis · canine tracheal cancer test · bronchial brushing for dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To compare the diagnostic yield of endobronchial Wang™ needle aspiration to that of bronchial brushing and forceps biopsy for canine tracheal and endobronchial masses and submucosal infiltrations examined by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope-guided bronchial brushing, forceps biopsy, and endobronchial Wang™ needle aspiration were performed consecutively in dogs with exophytic airway masses or submucosal infiltrations. The diagnostic performances of the three techniques were compared to surgical or necropsy histopathology, as the gold standard. We determined the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy, and 95% confidence interval of each technique. RESULTS: Twenty-one dogs were included. Endobronchial Wang™ needle aspiration accurately identified malignancy in 90.48% of cases, forceps biopsy in 80.95%, and bronchial brushing in 52.38%. Of the 21 cases, agreement in the final morphological tumour type was obtained in 19 (90%), 15 (71%), and 8 (38%) using endobronchial Wang™ needle aspiration, forceps biopsy, and bronchial brushing, respectively. Endobronchial Wang™ needle aspiration had the highest sensitivity and accuracy (94% and 90%, respectively; 95% CI: +0.99/-0.89) when used both alone and in combination with the other techniques. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Endobronchial Wang™ needle aspiration alone or in combination with other techniques may be promising for obtaining the highest diagnostic yield for canine tracheal or bronchial mucosal abnormalities.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40468678/