Bf uc180f ol8

All procedures were carried out as outpatient procedures as previously described [10] (link), in accordance with British Thoracic Society guidelines [11] (link), under conscious sedation together with topical airway anaesthesia using lignocaine 2%. All procedures were carried out using a dedicated linear array bronchoscope (BF-UC180F-OL8, Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). Ultrasound images were processed by a dedicated Doppler-mode ultrasound scanner (EU-ME1, Olympus, Tokyo, Japan).
The first specimen was obtained according to standard clinical protocols. The initial 3 drops of the aspirate was recovered onto a positively charged slide, air dried, and then simultaneously fixed and stained using the Diff-Quik protocol and assessed on-site by a cytopathologist. The remainder of the specimen was then placed in a sterile solution and transported to the diagnostic pathology laboratory where it is centrifuged, fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin and sectioned for routine histopathology and immunohistochemical analysis. Once the on-site diagnosis was confirmed, a second specimen was then taken for research purposes.

Patients under general anesthesia underwent EBUS-TBNA in an operating room with 8.0 mm endotracheal intubation. After white-light bronchoscopy was performed with a tracheal tube, the target LNs and peripheral vessels were examined by EBUS using a linear array ultrasonic bronchoscope (BF-UC180F-OL8; Olympus Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). The diameters of the target LNs were measured and recorded in the frozen ultrasound images. A dedicated 22G needle was used for aspiration (NA-201SX-4022; Olympus Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). We recommended that at least three needle aspirations be performed for each target lesion, and the number of passes was approximately 20 to 30 times [13 (link),14 (link)]. All procedures were performed by experienced bronchoscopists. Needle aspiration of the largest accessible LNs was guided by ultrasound. An internal stylet was removed after the initial puncture, after which negative pressure was applied with a syringe to obtain histological cores and cytological specimens. The aspirated material was smeared onto glass slides and was then fixed in 95% alcohol. Papanicolaou staining and light microscopy were also performed by an independent cytopathologist. Histological cores were formalin-fixed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Immunohistochemistry was also performed when necessary. Biopsies from stations 4R, 7, and 4L were routinely obtained.