Frequency of Endobronchial Tuberculosis in Patients Undergoing Bronchoscopy

Introduction: Endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB) is a microbial and histopathologically proven tuberculosis (TB) infection of the tracheobronchial tree. Because bronchoscopy is not routinely performed in all patients with TB, we aimed to investigate the incidence of EBTB in patients who underwent bronchoscopy in our clinic. Materials and Methods: We investigated the frequency of EBTB in 483 patients who underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) in our clinic between January 1, 2021, and July 11, 2023. Routinely, at each FOB, cytology, acid-resistant bacteria (ARB) staining, and mycobacteria culture are requested from the bronchoscopic lavage material. We analyzed the clinical, radiologic, and bronchoscopic features and treatment processes of EBTB cases. Results: The frequency of EBTB in patients who underwent FOB was 0.62%. EBTB was diagnosed by mycobacterial culture of bronchoscopic lavage material. The general characteristics of our patients were advanced age, 2/3 of them were male, they had never had TB before, and 2 of them had malignancy (1 of them had concurrent lung cancer). Conclusions: EBTB cases may present at an advanced age, in patients presenting with nonspecific symptoms; with radiology as nodules, masses, or consolidations; and with tumor lesions on FOB. Even if the bronchial lavage is ARB negative, we must follow the mycobacteria culture. Although EBTB can occur simultaneously with lung cancer, it can also be a very good cancer imitator.