Initial Experience with a New EUS-FNA Needle in the Diagnosis of Mediastinal and Abdominal Masses

Introduction: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fi ne-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) plays a well-established role in the diagnostic workup of suspected mediastinal and abdominal malignancy; however the most eff ective type of needle has yet to be determined. Th e SharkCore Fine Needle BiopsyTM (Medtronic) is thought to facilitate acquisition of tissue with intact architecture and allow for rapid needle passes and device exchanges during the fi ne needle aspiration. We present our initial experience with this needle in EUSFNA of abdominal and mediastinal masses. Methods: Eleven patients had EUS with FNA with SharkCore Fine Needle BiopsyTM (Medtronic) from July 2015 to November 2015 at our institution. Data were collected regarding procedure indication, needle size, number of passes, diagnostic success, and complications. Th e average patient age was 52 years; fi ve patients were male and six were female. Results: All FNAs were technically successful. Six of the 11 patients had pancreatic masses or lesions, and the remaining fi ve patients had various indications including one patient with mediastinal mass, two with submucosal masses, one with paraesophageal lymphadenopathy, and one with abdominal lymphadenopathy. A 22-guage needle was used in 10 of the 11 patients, and a 25-guage needle was used in the remaining patient, with an average of 3.6 passes. Nine of the 11 FNAs were diagnostic. Diagnoses ranged from acute infl ammatory lung mass to pancreatic pseudopapillary neoplasm to spindle cell lesion. Th ere were no known peri-procedural complications (Table). Conclusion: EUS-FNA with SharkCore Fine Needle BiopsyTM is technically feasible and safe in our initial experience.