Clinical analysis for the application of endoscopic ultrasonography in the diagnosis of patients with a retroperitoneal space-occupying lesion

OBJECTIVE: To report our experience and to evaluate the application of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in the qualitative diagnosis of retroperitoneal space-occupying lesions.

METHODS: Twenty-six patients with retroperitoneal space-occupying lesions confirmed by CT or MRI were studied. All the patients underwent endoscopic ultrasonography guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) at the Department of Gastroenterology, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Hubei Province, China from August 2009 to August 2011. Different parameters were evaluated, such as complications of EUS-FNA, the ratio of definite pathological diagnosis, and the pathologic types of all the specimens.

RESULTS: Of the 26 patients, 24 had definite pathological diagnosis; the ratio of histodiagnosis was 92.3%. There were no complications such as hemorrhage, infection, or injury to the abdominal viscera in the process of EUS-FNA. Eight patients had benign tumors, with a ratio of 33.3%, and 16 patients had malignant tumors, with a ratio of 66.7%. Two patients had no definite pathological diagnosis because of the shortness of tissue sample. Eight patients did not undergo operation due to the diagnosis of benign tumors.

CONCLUSION: The EUS-FNA has the advantage of lower complications, and higher diagnostic ratio, which is valuable in the qualitative diagnosis of retroperitoneal space-occupying lesions.