Incidence and Risk Factors for Adverse Events Related to Image-Guided Liver Biopsy

Abstract Objective To determine the incidence of major adverse events related to a large volume of image-guided liver biopsies performed at our institution over a 12-year period and to identify risk factors for major bleeding events. Patients and Methods A retrospective analysis of an internally maintained biopsy registry was performed. The analysis revealed that 6613 image-guided liver biopsies were performed in 5987 adult patients between December 7, 2001, and December 31, 2013. Liver biopsies were performed using real-time ultrasound guidance and a spring-loaded biopsy device, with rare exceptions. Adverse events considered major and included in this study were hematoma, infection, pneumothorax, hemothorax, and death. Using data from the biopsy registry, we evaluated statistically significant risk factors ( P