Transbronchial needle aspiration: Development history, current status and future perspective

Background: Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) technology was underutilized by clinicians because it is "blind". Recent development of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) renewed the interest and confident of TBNA. TBNA without EBUS is referred as conventional transbronchial needle aspiration (C-TBNA). Methods: This paper focuses on C-TBNA technology development history, present situation and future development to do a detailed introduction. Results: TBNA is a simple, cost effective and minimally invasive technique for diagnosing disease of the mediastinum and lung in adult as well as children patients. Conclusions: More improvements of TBNA technology should be made, including employing technological advances to perfect the instruments and techniques, focusing on patient comfort, optimizing yield, simplifying instruments, maximizing ease of use and minimizing training requirements for the pulmonologist. The ideal TBNA scope deserves further evaluation and study.