Baseline characteristics of study patients after propensity score matching
| Characteristic | EBUS-TBB without a guide sheath | EBUS-TBB with a guide sheath | p-value |
| Patients n | 360 | 360 | |
| Age years | 68±11 | 65±13 | 0.006 |
| Male sex | 220 (61) | 196 (54) | 0.070 |
| Lesion location | |||
| Upper lobes | 167 (46) | 167 (46) | 1.000 |
| Middle/lower lobes | 193 (54) | 193 (54) | |
| Lesion character | |||
| Solid | 323 (90) | 322 (89) | 0.903 |
| Others# | 37 (10) | 38 (11) | |
| Lesion size | |||
| <20 mm | 45 (13) | 31 (8.6) | 0.148 |
| 20–30 mm | 72 (20) | 86 (24) | |
| >30 mm | 243 (68) | 243 (68) | |
| EBUS probe position | |||
| Within | 305 (85) | 304 (84) | 0.918 |
| Adjacent to or outside | 55 (15) | 56 (16) | |
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.