Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2025

Abstract

Background: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is used effectively in staging lung cancer and in the evaluation of benign causes of mediastinal and/or hilar lymphadenopathy (MHL), such as sarcoidosis. However, evidence for its utility in the diagnostic workup of silicosis is limited.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study included patients with occupational silica exposure who underwent EBUS-TBNA to evaluate MHL on computed tomography (CT). Cytology specimens were re-examined by an independent pathologist under polarized microscopy, and cytologic criteria for the diagnosis of LN silicosis were formulated from the findings. Primary outcomes were the determination of the diagnostic yield (DY) of EBUS-TBNA for LN silicosis and the assessment of its sensitivity for the diagnosis of parenchymal silicosis in patients with known chronic silicosis.

Results: Eighty-four patients with silica exposure underwent EBUS-TBNA to evaluate MHL. This population is predominantly coal miners, 77 (91%). Birefringent silica particles (BSP) were identified in 82 (97.62%), silicotic nodules (SN) in 26 (30.95%), and granulomas in 21 (25%). EBUS-TBNA demonstrated a DY of 95.2% for LN silicosis, and supported the diagnosis of parenchymal silicosis with a sensitivity of 97.6%.

Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA effectively identifies LN silicosis and confirms the diagnosis of parenchymal silicosis in the appropriate clinical-radiologic context. Granulomas can be seen in cytologic specimens of patients with silicosis. In patients with well-defined silica exposure and suspected silicosis, EBUS-TBNA does not impact the preprocedural presumed diagnosis of silicosis. Therefore, EBUS-TBNA should be reserved for cases in which alternative diagnoses are more likely.

Comments

Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.

Journal of Bronchology & Interventional Pulmonology 32(3):e1016, July 2025. DOI: 10.1097/LBR.0000000000001016

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