No complications occurred after EBUS-TBNA, but there were four minor complications following subsequent mediastinoscopy: Two patients had a hematoma, one had a recurrent nerve injury, and one had a wound infection.
"It was a very clean study, showing that in the hands of a trained surgeon in our setting, EBUS-TBNA works very well. We clearly showed that the diagnostic yield is similar, and that patients who require mediastinoscopy as part of their staging can undergo EBUS-TBNA as their initial modality. Depending on what you find, you want to also do mediastinoscopy," he added.
"I’m convinced that [Dr. Yasufuku has] demonstrated equivalent ability to stage the mediastinum with EBUS-TBNA and with mediastinoscopy," commented Dr. Joel D. Cooper, professor of surgery and chief of thoracic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
The study was supported by Olympus Medical Systems, a company that markets an EBUS-TBNA system. Dr. Yasufuku said that he has received research support from Olympus. Dr. Cooper said that he had no relevant disclosures.