Safety and Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Biopsy with FAL Tract Sealing for Pediatric Hypervascular Malignant Solid Tumors: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
AI interpretation is pending for this paper.
Open original publication →What the AI sees
Not AI summarized yet.
Research significance
Pending deeper interpretation.
Source abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous needle biopsy combined with FAL tissue adhesive needle tract sealing in pediatric hypervascular malignant solid tumors. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 149 pediatric patients with Adler grade ≥2 malignant solid tumors who underwent US-guided percutaneous needle biopsy between January 2021 and October 2025. Based on the application of FAL sealing, patients were divided into the FAL group (n=57) and control group (n=92). Using 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) for baseline covariates (e.g., age, tumor size, Adler grade, biopsy needle size, and hematological metrics), we generated 39 matched pairs. The number of needle passes, postoperative changes in laboratory values, complication rates, and follow-up outcomes were compared between the two cohorts. RESULTS: Before matching, the FAL group presented with larger tumors, lower preoperative hemoglobin levels, a different pathological distribution, and imbalance in biopsy needle size than the control group. After PSM, baseline characteristics were balanced between the two groups. Patients in the FAL group more frequently underwent ≥4 needle passes than those in the control group [84.6% (33/39) vs. 60.5% (23/38), P=0.034]. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in postoperative laboratory changes, complication rates, or diagnostic accuracy among surgically validated cases between the two groups. No FAL-related adverse events or needle tract seeding were observed during a median follow-up of 140 days in the matched FAL group. CONCLUSION: In pediatric hypervascular malignant solid tumors, US-guided PNB combined with FAL tract sealing was associated with a higher number of biopsy passes without an observed increase in procedure-related complications, while diagnostic accuracy remained comparable. Further prospective multicenter and large-sample studies are needed for validation.