CT-guided 14-G cutting needle lung biopsy in children: safe and effective.

CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy was performed in children with chronic respiratory disease to obtain samples for histological examination. An automatic cutting device with a 14-G needle was used with one or two cores obtained in each procedure. Seven procedures were performed in six children, mostly with local anaesthesia. Adequate tissue was obtained in all cases. Although a small pneumothorax and/or haemothorax occurred in most procedures, these were usually visible only on CT and did not require active management. A larger pneumothorax in one child also resolved with conservative management. Percutaneous CT-guided 14-G automatic cutting-needle biopsy of lung parenchyma in children is a minimally invasive alternative to open-lung biopsy with no complications in our series.