Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy and pulmonary fibrosis: A never-ending story?

• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14768
• Publication Date: 2023-03-25T19:24:16Z
• Authors: Barbara Ruaro; Stefano Tavano; Paola Confalonieri; Riccardo Pozzan; Michael Hughes; Luca Braga; Maria Concetta Volpe; Giovanni Ligresti; Alessia Giovanna ...; Selene Lerda; Pietro Geri; Marco Biolo; Elisa Baratella; Marco Confalonieri; Francesco Salton
• Keywords: H1-99; Science (General); Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); Pulmonary fibrosis (PF); 3. Good health; Social sciences (General); Q1-390; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Bronchoscopy; Surgical lung biopsy (SLB); Interstitial lung disease (ILD); Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC); Pulmonary fibrosis (PF); Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); Interstitial lung disease (ILD); Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC); Surgical lung biopsy (SLB); Bronchoscopy

The diagnostic process of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is often challenging, requires a collaborative effort of several experts, and often requires bioptic material, which can be difficult to obtain, both in terms of quality and technique. The main procedures available to obtain such samples are transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) and surgical lung biopsy (SLB).The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence for the role of TBLC in the diagnostic-therapeutic process of PF.A comprehensive review was performed to identify articles to date that addressed the role of TBLC in the diagnostic-therapeutic process of PF using the PubMed® database.The reasoned search identified 206 papers, including 21 manuscripts (three reviews, one systematic review, two guidelines, two prospective studies, three retrospective studies, one cross-sectional study, one original article, three editorials, three clinical trials, and two unclassifiable studies), which were included in the final review.TBLC is gaining increasing efficacy and improving safety profile; however, there are currently no clear data demonstrating its superiority over SLB. Therefore, the two techniques should be considered with careful rationalization on a case-by-case basis. Further research is needed to further optimize and standardize the procedure and to thoroughly study the histological and molecular characteristics of PF.