In patients with suspected malignant pleural mesothelioma, confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) holds promise as a guidance tool for use in pleural biopsies and can help distinguish pleural abnormalities from pleural fibrosis, according to study results published in CHEST.
The study included patients from multiple centers who were scheduled to undergo pleural biopsies for suspected malignant pleural mesothelioma (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02689050). Prior to the procedure, 2.5 ml fluorescein was administered intravenously to the patients. Histology was correlated with in vivo through the needle CLE imaging of the pleura and ex vivo CLE imaging of the biopsies. Characteristic CLE patterns were identified for hyaline stroma, fibrotic pleura, pleuritis, and malignant pleural mesothelioma epithelial and sarcomatoid type by a pathologist with expertise in mesothelioma.
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