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World J Gastrointest Endosc. Apr 16, 2026; 18(4): 111687
Published online Apr 16, 2026. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v18.i4.111687
Published online Apr 16, 2026. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v18.i4.111687
Complication incidence after endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy: A single-center experience
Milena Peruhova, Veselin Stoitsov, Division of Gastroenterology, University Hospital “Virgin Mary,” Burgas 8000, Bulgaria
Milko Bozhidarov Mirchev, Division of Gastroenterology, University Hospital “Heart and Brain,” Burgas 8000, Bulgaria
Tsvetelina Velikova, Faculty of Medicine, Sofia University Saint Kliment Ohridski, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria
Author contributions: Peruhova M and Mirchev MB contributed to conceptualization; Stoitsov V contributed to methodology; Velikova T contributed to software, data curation, visualization, supervision, and formal analysis; Peruhova M, Stoitsov V, and Mirchev MB contributed to validation; Peruhova M and Stoitsov V contributed to investigation; Peruhova M contributed to resources and project administration; Peruhova M and Velikova T contributed writing the original draft; Stoitsov V and Mirchev MB contributed to reviewing and editing; All authors read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study protocol received approval from the institutional research ethics board and was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, No. 001/2024.
Informed consent statement: All patients signed an informed consent statement before the procedure.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The dataset analyzed during the current study contains General Data Protection Regulation - protected patient information. Therefore, they are not publicly available but can be shared upon reasonable request to the corresponding author, in accordance with applicable data protection regulations.
Corresponding author: Veselin Stoitsov, MD, PhD, Chief Physician, Division of Gastro
Received: July 7, 2025
Revised: August 26, 2025
Accepted: January 20, 2026
Published online: April 16, 2026
Processing time: 280 Days and 23 Hours
Revised: August 26, 2025
Accepted: January 20, 2026
Published online: April 16, 2026
Processing time: 280 Days and 23 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study highlighted that complications following fine needle biopsy are infrequent and primarily influenced by endoscopist experience rather than the overall burden of comorbidities. Although most patients had at least one comorbidity, no significant association was found between comorbidities and complication rates. Cardiovascular disease emerged as a specific predictor of risk while arterial hypertension showed a surprising negative association. These findings emphasize the importance of individual clinical factors and endoscopist expertise over cumulative comorbidity scores when assessing procedural risk and ensuring patient safety during fine needle biopsy.