Time and Cost of Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy/Core-Needle Biopsy for Primary Laryngohypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate benefits in terms of time and cost of percutaneous ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy/core-needle biopsy (US-FNAB/CNB) for the diagnosis of primary laryngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LHSCC) in comparison with direct laryngoscopic biopsy (DLB) under general anesthesia. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case-control study. SETTING Single operator of a single center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS From 2018 to 2019, 28 patients who underwent percutaneous US-FNAB/CNB for the diagnosis of untreated LHSCC were enrolled. All US-FNAB/CNBs were performed in the outpatient department by a single head and neck surgeon. Their results were compared with those of 27 patients who underwent DLB under general anesthesia. RESULTS No major complications occurred in the US-FNAB/CNB and DLB groups. Time to biopsy, time to pathologic diagnosis, and time to treatment initiation in the US-FNAB/CNB and DLB groups were 0 and 14 days (P < .001), 7 and 20 days (P < .001), and 24 and 35 days (P = .001), respectively. Procedure-related costs were $368.5 and $981.0 in the US-FNAB/CNB and DLB groups (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS US-FNAB/CNB offers true benefits in terms of time and cost over those given by conventional DLB for diagnosis of LHSCC in indicated patients.