{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T18:10:52Z","timestamp":1790187052052,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]],"date-time":"2025-04-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744934400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Un Respiro per la Vita E.T.S."}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Contrast-enhanced endobronchial ultrasound (CE-EBUS) is a minimally invasive technique that combines traditional endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) with a contrast agent (sulfur hexafluoride), enhancing the visualization of blood flow in mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes. This study aimed to assess the use of CE-EBUS in patients with advanced neoplasms and hilar or mediastinal lymphadenopathy, particularly to improve diagnostic accuracy and expedite sample collection. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted from April 2021 to December 2023, involving 49 patients divided into two groups: EBUS (n = 26) and CE-EBUS (n = 23). Patients had advanced neoplasms with hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, including bulky masses and nodal metastases with central necrosis. In the CE-EBUS group, 4.8 mL of sulfur hexafluoride was administered intravenously. Morphological, echogenic, and vascular characteristics, diagnostic accuracy, sample collection adequacy and molecular testing were compared between the groups. Results: The diagnostic accuracy in CE-EBUS was similar to EBUS (21 vs. 19 patients), with no significant difference (p = 0.100). However, for patients with bulky masses and necrosis, the molecular assessment rate was significantly higher in the CE-EBUS group (81.8%) compared to the EBUS group (33.3%) (p = 0.014). Conclusions: CE-EBUS-TBNA could improve the accuracy of molecular assessments in patients with bulky, necrotic lymphadenopathy and could help collect vital neoplastic tissue for molecular testing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14082800","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]],"date-time":"2025-04-18T08:24:07Z","timestamp":1744964647000},"page":"2800","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Diagnostic Yield of CE-EBUS in Mediastinal and Hilar Lymphadenopathy: A Preliminary Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-5648-011X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ilaria","family":"Suriano","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7188-5107","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Frasca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"PhD Course in Microbiology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, and Transplants (MIMIT), University Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford, 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Filippo","family":"Longo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-1048-6625","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio","family":"Sarubbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Master\u2019s Degree Program in Medicine and Surgery, Campus Bio-Medico University, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7378-0111","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanni","family":"Tacchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1509-6714","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pierfilippo","family":"Crucitti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"347","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lungcan.2005.07.013","article-title":"Endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration for staging of lung cancer","volume":"50","author":"Yasufuku","year":"2005","journal-title":"Lung Cancer."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1467","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ultrasmedbio.2006.06.018","article-title":"Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for the study of peripheral lung lesions: A preliminary study","volume":"32","author":"Sperandeo","year":"2006","journal-title":"Ultrasound Med. 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