Therapeutic options for stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) consist of definitive chemoradiation, surgery combined with neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy, and trimodality therapy. More recently, biologically driven systemic therapy options, including immunotherapy and targeted therapy, have become increasingly available. A customized, case-based survey was designed and distributed to members of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) to determine practice habits and preferences for NSCLC patients with stage III disease and N2 to N3 nodal involvement. Data were compiled from 87 respondents from 31 countries, including medical oncologists (49%), surgical oncologists (24%), and radiation oncologists (21%). Definitive chemoradiation was more likely to be recommended for stage IIIC (98.2%) or stage IIIB (75.8%) scenarios compared with stage IIIA (59.6%) without actionable driver alterations (P < .0001 and .0003, respectively); and chemoradiation was more likely for stage IIIB (57.7%) compared to stage IIIA (39.9%) with actionable EGFR/ALK alterations (P = .008). Surgery was more likely to be recommended in the presence of an actionable alteration (38.7% vs. 19%, P < .0001). Surgeons were more likely than medical oncologists to recommend surgical approaches in scenarios without actionable alterations (25.6% vs. 11.2%, P < .0001) or with actionable alterations (57.5% vs. 31.1%, P = .0001). The dominant recommended strategy for stage III NSCLC was chemoradiation, although respondents were more likely to recommend surgical approaches in the presence of actionable alterations. Despite the lack of reported clinical trial data, many IASLC lung cancer experts favored targeted therapy when actionable driver alterations were present.

Whole Lung Lavage (WLL) has been an important part in the management of Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP) since it improves radiologic and clinical parameters. Bilateral WLL is usually performed in two sessions on different days. Few case reports have described one-session bilateral sequential lung lavage (OSBSWLL), and none have described ambulatory management (same-day discharge). Demographic characteristics, physiologic parameters, procedure details and outcomes were retrospectively collected on consecutive patients who underwent OSBSWLL for PAP following an ambulatory protocol stablished in our institution. A total of 13 patients underwent 30 OSBSWLL (61.5% male; mean age 40). The mean SpO2 was 90% (IQR 9) and 94% (IQR 6), before and after OSBSWLL respectively. In 63.3% of cases, patients were discharged home the same day of procedure. Only in two cases (6.6%), patients required post-procedure prolonged mechanical ventilation (> 4 h) due to persistent hypoxia. OSBSWLL can be performed with same-day discharge.

Background and Objective: Linear endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) has become a key tool for diagnosing pulmonary diseases, offering high diagnostic yield for both malignant and non-malignant conditions. With its increased use, more complications are being reported. The objective of this narrative review is to discuss the complications associated with linear EBUS. Methods: A literature search using PubMed and Google Scholar from 2009 to 2024 was done. We included case reports, prospective, and retrospective studies reporting linear EBUS complications. Key Content and Findings: Overall complications from EBUS range from 0.04% to 17%. Most common are infectious complications which are 0.04–4%. These include mediastinitis, pneumonia, pericarditis, bacteremia, tumor bed infection, lung abscess, empyema, and septic shock. Other complications include pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium, pneumoperitoneum, and subcutaneous emphysema. Complications due to anesthesia or equipment malfunction can occur as well. Hemorrhagic complications have been reported as well. Mortality is low 0.01–0.04%, and four cases have been reported that led to death from complications. Conclusions: With increased use of EBUS as a diagnostic tool, number of complications will increase. Clinicians performing the procedures should be aware of types of possible complications that can occur and follow the patients closely after the procedure. Rapid diagnosis and treatment should be done to avoid fatal outcomes.

Background: Bronchoscopic thermal ablation has emerged as a minimally invasive therapeutic option for managing pulmonary nodules in patients unsuitable for surgery or radiotherapy. Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy (RAB) offers enhanced stability and precise navigation, potentially improving the safety and accuracy of bronchoscopic ablation. However, clinical data on RAB-guided microwave ablation (MWA) remains limited. Therefore, further evidence is needed to evaluate its feasibility, safety, and early therapeutic performance. Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective feasibility study of shape-sensing RAB-guided MWA (ssRAB-MWA) for pulmonary nodules between October 2024 and September 2025. Eligible lesions (≤3.0 cm) included both primary lung cancers and metastatic nodules. All procedures were performed under general anesthesia using the ssRAB system integrated with cone-beam CT for intra-procedural confirmation. Technical success, safety outcomes, and short-term efficacy were assessed. Results: Nine patients (with 11 lesions: 3 primary, 8 metastatic) underwent ssRAB-MWA with 100% technical success. The median ablation time per nodule was 10 min (range, 1–26). One patient developed post-ablation pneumonia requiring hospitalization; no pneumothorax, major bleeding, or airway injury occurred. All lesions exhibited a transient increase in size immediately following MWA, followed by gradual reduction or stabilization over time. PET-CT evaluation demonstrated metabolic remission in primary lesions, with one patient achieving pathologic complete response after surgery. Conclusions: ssRAB-MWA appears to be a feasible and safe navigation-guided technique for small pulmonary lesions, offering encouraging early local control in both primary and metastatic lung cancers. This platform may expand the therapeutic spectrum of interventional pulmonology, bridging diagnosis and local therapy. Larger multicenter studies are warranted to validate long-term outcomes.

Background and Objective: Diagnosis of pathology in the mediastinum has proven quite challenging, given the wide variability of both benign and malignant diseases that affect a diverse array of structures. This complexity has led to the development of many different non-invasive and invasive diagnostic modalities. Historically, diagnosis of the mediastinum has relied on different imaging modalities such as chest X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission topography. Once a suspicious lesion was identified with one of these techniques, the gold standard for diagnosis was mediastinoscopy for diagnosis and staging of disease. More recently, many minimally invasive techniques such as CT-guided biopsy, endobronchial ultrasound with transbronchial needle aspiration, and endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration have revolutionized the diagnosis of the mediastinum. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of all the modalities available for diagnosing mediastinal disease with an emphasis on bronchoscopic techniques. Methods: Literature search was performed via the PubMed database. We included all types of articles and study designs, including original research, meta-analyses, reviews, and abstracts. Key Content and Findings: Minimally invasive techniques such as endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) and endoscopic ultrasound-fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) have demonstrated high diagnostic yield and low complication rate and have made a significant difference in the time to diagnosis and lives of patients. There continues to be innovation in the field of bronchoscopy with the development of new technologies such as confocal laser endomicroscopy, optical coherence tomography, and artificial intelligence. Conclusions: Bronchoscopy is and will continue to be an integral modality in minimally invasive diagnosis of the mediastinum.

Interventional pulmonology is a young and growing field; this necessitates an understanding of billing, coding, and documentation rules. Interventional pulmonologists may not appreciate these intricacies. Advocating for resources to benefit patients with administrators, insurance companies, and others requires understanding these principles. This series of 4 articles will review the fundamental and advanced aspects of billing, coding, documentation, and programmatic building of an interventional pulmonology program. Part 1 will review the fundamentals of billing, coding, and reimbursement. Part 2 will review bronchoscopy/endoscopy codes and procedural modifiers. Part 3 will review pleural codes and unlisted codes. Part 4 will combine the previous parts and describe approaches to build, expand, and capture the work involved in a robust interventional pulmonary program. Each part will compliment and support the others with the end goal being to create a broad framework for any IP program to use as a foundation to balance patient care, revenue capture, growth, and a clinical work-life balance. This first part of the series will review some of the foundational principles of billing and coding, which will be built on in the subsequent parts of the series. This includes: health care common procedure coding system, current procedural terminology, ambulatory payment categories, and relative value units, among others. This includes how new codes are created, valued, compensated, and how this effects interventional pulmonologists. Without a thorough understanding of optimal medical billing and coding, interventional pulmonologists are often at a disadvantage. This 4-part series seeks to address and rectify this issue.