Percutaneous Liver Needle Biopsy Methods Can Be Safe and Effective in Patients with Viral Hepatitis

Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate the biopsy methods used in terms of safety, and effectiveness as well as incidence, and severity of complications. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted as a prospective, observational study with the participation of five centers in Turkey. Any patient complaints and/or complications were also recorded. The patients' pain severity was determined by an established scoring method. Results: This research included 221 chronic hepatitis patients and 12 physicians. With regard to the biopsies, 71.9% were ultrasound-guided and 28.1% were blind biopsies. 71% of patients had complaints (mostly pain) and 19.9% developed complications; however, no mortality occurred. It was observed that patient's complaints were significantly correlated with the physician's age, level of biopsy experience, and number of biopsies performed yearly. It was determined that the biopsy method was not affective factor in terms of the development of severe pain after biopsy. The use of a 16G biopsy needle was found to increase the probability of severe pain occurrence by about eight times. Conclusion: Severe pain was not affected by the biopsy method or patient-specific factors, and was a result of the size of the biopsy needle used and the characteristics of the practitioner.