Mediastinal lesions, spectrum, and modalities of diagnosis: a retrospective multicenter-based experience

Context Diagnosis of mediastinal lesions start with clinical evaluation combined with specific /boratory investigation and different imaging modalities till biopsy that can obtained by percutaneous approach, endoscopic approach, or finally open approach. Aims A retrospective assessment of different mediastinal lesions was performed of the diagnosis and the different modalities of sampling used in three different Egyptian centers (Cairo, Mansoura, and Tanta universities) during the period 2017–2018. Settings and design This was a retrospective study. Patients and methods Study enrolled 92 patients with mediastinal lesions, collected from medical records of the three chest department during the period 2017–2018, were retrospectively analyzed. Data included clinical presentation, diagnostic methods, and diagnostic outcome. Results Mediastinal lymphadenopathies were the most common lesions. Endobronchial ultrasound was the sampling modality most used successfully (39.13%) to achieve the final diagnosis, followed by computed tomography-guided trucut biopsy (25%). The most frequent pathological finding was lymphomas, 34.78%, followed by adenocarcinomas, 26%. Conclusion Malignancy was the commonest diagnosis among cases enrolled in our study.