Characteristics of all study patients with and without a guide sheath during EBUS-TBB
| Characteristic | EBUS-TBB without a guide sheath | EBUS-TBB with a guide sheath | p-value |
| Patients n | 556 | 419 | |
| Age years | 67±12 | 66±13 | 0.032 |
| Male sex | 356 (64) | 222 (53) | 0.001 |
| Lesion location | |||
| Upper lobes | 360 (65) | 167 (40) | <0.001 |
| Middle/lower lobes | 196 (35) | 252 (60) | |
| Lesion character | |||
| Solid | 512 (92) | 377 (90) | 0.250 |
| Others# | 44 (7.9) | 42 (10) | |
| Lesion size | |||
| <20 mm | 48 (8.6) | 46 (11) | 0.093 |
| 20–30 mm | 102 (18) | 94 (22) | |
| >30 mm | 406 (73) | 279 (67) | |
| EBUS probe position | |||
| Within | 457 (82) | 354 (85) | 0.343 |
| Adjacent to or outside | 99 (18) | 65 (16) | |
| Final diagnosis | |||
| Lung cancer | 532 (96) | 386 (92) | 0.019 |
| Non-lung cancer | 24 (4) | 33 (8) | |
| Diagnostic yield | 447 (80) | 325 (78) | 0.281 |
Numerical variables are presented as mean±sd, and categorical variables are expressed as number (%). EBUS-TBB: endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial biopsy. #: part-solid, ground-glass opacity, and cavity.