The Wet Suction Technique Enhances the Diagnostic Efficacy and Aspirate Quality of EUS-FNA for Solid Lesions: A Multicenter Retrospective Study in China.

GOALS:To comprehensively compare the wet suction technique with the conventional dry suction technique for endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in solid lesions. BACKGROUND:Optimal suction techniques for EUS-FNA remain uncertain when approaching solid lesions. STUDY:We performed a retrospective study of EUS-FNA at 3 medical centers in China. A total of 203 patients were enrolled who received 2 passes of EUS-FNA with 22-G needles. If the first pass underwent dry suction, the second pass was wet suction. Otherwise, the order of suction technique is opposite. Diagnostic accuracy, sample quality (including cellularity and blood contamination), and sample quantity (including specimen adequacy, the maximum intact specimen length, and the total specimen length) were compared between wet-suction and dry-suction techniques. RESULTS:The patients included 143 pancreatic lesions and 60 nonpancreatic lesions. Compared with the dry suction technique, the wet suction technique yielded a significantly higher diagnostic accuracy (85.22% vs. 72.41%, P =0.002), better specimen adequacy score and cellularity score ( P <0.0001), and lower blood contamination score ( P <0.0001). In the subgroup analysis, wet suction provided significantly higher diagnostic accuracy in pancreatic cancer without chronic pancreatitis ( P <0.05), and better cellularity score and specimen adequacy score, lower blood contamination score, and longer maximum intact specimen length and total specimen length in various lesions than that in dry suction. CONCLUSIONS:The wet suction technique resulted in significantly higher diagnostic accuracy in pancreatic cancer without chronic pancreatitis, and better cellularity and histologic specimen in most of solid lesions.