ROLE OF BRONCHOSCOPIC ASSISTED PROCEDURES IN DIAGNOSING SPUTUM SMEAR NEGATIVE PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

Background: Why we do an invasive and time-consuming procedure like bronchoscopy in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis. Aims: To nd the role of bronchoscopic assisted procedures in Diagnosing sputum smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in the Post Graduate Department of Medicine, S.N. Medical College and Hospital, Agra and Post Graduate department of Pathology, S.N. Medical College and Hospital, Agra. A total sample of 50 patients were included in this study and these patients had clinical suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis. They had either dry cough or three negative sputum smear examination for AFB, which is the requirement for study. Results: Anal diagnosis of sputum smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis was made in 50 patients by various methods. BALuid smear/culture for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) was positive in 21/50(42%) patients while smear/ culture of bronchial brushing was positive in 13/31(41.93%) patients, post bronchoscopy sputum (PBS) smear/culture yield total 12/50(24%) as a positive result and trans bronchial lung biopsy (TBLS) smear/culture also positive in 3/10 (30%) patients. During our study, we are able to diagnose 23 case cases out of 50 cases (46%) by combining all the bronchoscopic aided procedures and using either smear for AFB and culture for AFB as the end result of our study. Conclusion: The study concludes that exible beroptic bronchoscopy is a useful tool in early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in sputum smear negative patients.