Figure 1.

Detailed information of patients who died within 90 days after CT-guided PTNB. Patient 1 was an 86-year-old female with stage IA2 non-small-cell lung cancer who developed pneumonia while hospitalized for pneumothorax care after PTNB. She expired 49 days after PTNB and did not receive any treatment for lung cancer. She was a nonsmoker, but had emphysema, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic hepatitis C, and chronic kidney disease. Patient 2 was an 82-year-old male with stage IA3 adenocarcinoma. He underwent lobectomy and developed pneumonia during postoperative management. He died 52 days after PTNB and 32 days after the surgery. A 50 pack-year former smoker, patient 2 also had emphysema, early IPF, and hypertension. Patient 3 was an 82-year-old male with stage IA3 squamous cell carcinoma. He received a wedge resection and was rehospitalized for pneumonia the day following his discharge from surgery. He died 77 days after PTNB and 63 days after the surgery. He was a 200 pack-year former smoker with emphysema, early IPF, coronary artery disease, DM, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, and liver cirrhosis. Patient 4 was a 75-year-old male with stage IIA adenocarcinoma and underwent lobectomy immediately after PTNB, along with adjuvant chemotherapy. He was admitted to the emergency room for duodenal ulcer perforation and pan-peritonitis and died of multiorgan failure 83 days after PTNB. He was a 40 pack-year former smoker and had emphysema, a history of ST-elevation myocardial infarction, hypertension, DM, and chronic kidney disease.