nodes in the derivation set (n = 196) and the validation set (n = 133) revealed that independent predictors of malignancy were lymph node standardized uptake value, the standardized uptake value ratio between the lymph node and primary tumor, and heterogeneous echogenicity during sonography. The model stratified lymph nodes into low risk with a score of less than equal to 1 and high risk with a score of greater than equal to 2. Lymph nodes in the derivation and validation sets from the low-risk

more »

... group (n = 141 of 142 and 94 of 96, respectively) were further proven to be benign; those from the high-risk group (n = 35 of 54 and 24 of 37, respectively) were malignant. A negative predictive value of 99.3% and 97.9% in the derivation and validation sets, respectively, was achieved using this model. The findings indicated that this is a robust risk stratification model for identifying patients who could seek treatment directly following a negative endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration assessment or otherwise require further staging analysis. (p. 126)