Transthoracic fine-needle aspiration in the aetiological diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia.

To investigate the safety and practicability of conducting transthoracic fine-needle aspiration (TFNA) in a general hospital setting, we applied the TFNA procedure to 20 patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) within 36 h of admission. Also, a preliminary assessment was made of the potential value of adding TFNA to conventional methods of diagnostic microbiology. TFNA was easy to perform and caused little discomfort, and no serious adverse events were observed. In spite of ongoing antimicrobial treatment, a likely aetiological diagnosis was established for 14 of 20 (70%) of the patients. TFNA may provide important additional information on the aetiology of CAP.