Pulmonary amyloidosis diagnosed by CT-guided transbronchial biopsy: a casereport

During a medical check-up, a nodular shadow was detected by chest X-ray in the right lower lung field of a 59-year-old man. On computed tomography (CT ), the nodular lesion had a relatively well-defined, irregular margin. A fl uoroscopy-guided bronchoscopic biopsy did not uncover any malignancy. Speci mens from a subsequent CT-guided bronchoscopic biopsy revealed a pulmonary amyloid deposit. As a rule, it is difficult to exclude malignancy or confir m benign disease in cases of truly benign lesions, particularly if the lesi ons are difficult to biopsy. Amyloidosis is one of such conditions and requ ires reliable diagnostic methods to avoid unnecessary surgical resection. F rom our experience, we consider CT-guided bronchoscopic biopsy to be a safe and accurate procedure, even when applied to truly benign lesions.