Usefulness of Post-bronchoscopy Sputum Culture for Diagnosis of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease

BACKGROUND: Bronchoscopy is recommended for patients with suspected nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) whose sputum culture results are consistently negative or from whom adequate sputum samples cannot be obtained. Post-bronchoscopy sputum (PBS) collection is recommended for patients with suspected tuberculosis who undergo bronchoscopy. However, it remains unclear whether PBS collection can increase the diagnostic yield of NTM-PD. METHODS: Patients with suspected NTM-PD who underwent diagnostic bronchoscopy from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020 at the Seoul National University Hospital were included in the study. They were divided into the sputum culture-negative and scanty sputum groups. The results of mycobacterial cultures from bronchial washing specimens and PBS were compared between these groups. RESULTS: = 0.255). CONCLUSIONS: Additional PBS collection improved diagnostic yield marginally in patients with suspected NTM-PD who undergo bronchoscopy.