Premium
Sensitivity of biopsy using local anesthesia in detecting nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Author(s) -
Waldron John,
Andrew Hasselt C. Van,
Wong Raymond K. Y.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.2880140106
Subject(s) - local anesthesia , medicine , forceps , biopsy , nasopharyngeal carcinoma , topical anesthesia , anesthesia , surgery , radiology , radiation therapy
Flexible and rigid endoscopes allow good visualization of the nasopharynx using local anesthesia, and permit biopsies to be taken under direct vision. Little information is available on the accuracy of biopsies taken using local anesthesia, and general anesthesia is usually recommended for evaluation and biopsy of the nasopharynx to avoid missing small or submucosal lesions. We report the results from 260 patients biopsied using local anesthesia (188) and general anesthesia (72). All biopsies were taken using large nasal biopsy forceps under direct vision. The sensitivity of this technique in diagnosing nasopharyngeal carcinoma was 95.1% using local anesthesia and 95.6% using general anesthesia. We suggest that general anesthesia is rarely necessary for definitive biopsy of the nasopharynx. In the majority of patients, an accurate diagnosis can be obtained using large biopsy forceps under direct vision using local anesthesia.