Endobronchial ultrasound- guided transbronchial needle aspiration for mediastinal lymph node staging in patients with typical pulmonary carcinoids

Background Pulmonary carcinoids, which are well-differentiated lung neuroendocrine carcinomas, account for only 1–2 % of primary lung malignancies. Although fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography performs poorly in the identification of mediastinal lymph node metastases, particularly for pulmonary carcinoids, endobronchial ultrasound-guided (EBUS) transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) may be a useful means of...