Minimally invasive percutaneous musculoskeletal biopsy performed by Interventional Pathologist for myopathy study. Twenty years of experience

Muscle biopsy plays a major role in the final diagnosis of myopathies. Open muscle biopsy is the benchmark procedure, although minimally invasive percutaneous muscle biopsy (MIPMB) has demonstrated comparable diagnostic performance at a lower cost and can be carried out by interventional pathologists. Muscle biopsies performed from 1997 to 2017 were reviewed and classified according to the type of procedure, whether carried out by an interventional pathologist or another specialist, the diagnosis and the effectiveness of the procedure. 738 muscle biopsies were performed; 32% were open biopsies and 68% MIPMB carried out by pathologist. The muscle most often biopsied was the femoral quadriceps and the most frequent diagnosis was inflammatory myopathies. In only 39 cases (20 open biopsies and 19 MIPMB) was there insufficient tissue for diagnosis. Muscle biopsy proved highly effective as a diagnostic tool as 90% yielded adequate tissue samples. The results obtained with MIPMB performed by interventionist pathologists were comparable to those of open muscle biopsy.