What are the major complications of image guided PNB?
Major complications are defined as those that result in an unplanned increase in the level of care, prolonged hospitalization (in-patients), admission to the hospital for therapy (out-patients), permanent adverse sequelae, and death. The complications of PNB can be stratified as general or organ-specific. Major general complications include hemorrhage, infection, solid organ injury, bowel perforation, and pneumothorax. Reported rates of major complications range from 0.1% to 10% with infection as a result of a biopsy being uncommon. Clinically significant bleeding requiring blood transfusion or intervention is infrequent, but the reported rates increase with larger needles sizes, use of cutting needles, and the vascularity of the organ or lesion biopsied.
