Role of bronchial brushings, washings and biopsy in the etiological diagnosis of lung collapse cases at a rural teaching hospital

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Original Article

Author Details : J.V. Praveen

Volume : 2, Issue : 4, Year : 2017

Article Page : 100-102

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Abstract

Background: To evaluate the utility of fiberoptic bronchoscopy and to compare the sensitivities of bronchial brushings, washings and biopsies in diagnosing the etiology of the collapse.
Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out on 32 patients attending our tertiary level rural teaching hospital, Maharajah’s Institute of Medical Sciences. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was performed in patients who had persistent opacities on chest radiography in the form of collapse. Detailed clinical history, physical examination and routine investigations followed by fiberoptic bronchoscopy were done provided they met the criteria of our study.
Results: The age of the patients varied from 18 to 75 years, and the male: female ratio was 3:1. Malignant causes were diagnosed in 18 (56.25%) out of total 32 cases on bronchial biopsy and 10 cases (31.25%) showed inflammatory and in 4 cases significant pathology could not be established through bronchoscope. Bronchial washing showed 11 true positive, 7 true negative, 3 false positive and 11 false negative cases whereas bronchial brushing showed 18 true positive, 10 true negative, 1 false positive and 3 false negative cases, as confirmed on biopsy. Bronchial brushing showed good sensitivity (85.71%) and specificity (90.90%) compared to bronchial washing which had sensitivity of 53.28% and specificity of 70%.
Conclusions: We conclude that fiberoptic bronchoscopy was found to be extremely useful in finding specific etiology of various lung collapse cases.

Keywords: Bronchoscopy; Biopsy; Brushings; Lung collapse

How to cite : Praveen J, Role of bronchial brushings, washings and biopsy in the etiological diagnosis of lung collapse cases at a rural teaching hospital. IP Indian J Immunol Respir Med 2017;2(4):100-102

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