title: Evaluation of the diagnostic utility of fiberoptic bronchoscopy for smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis in routine clinical practice.
abstract: We evaluated the diagnostic yield of fiberoptic bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis in patients treated at a referral hospital in Lima, Peru. Of the 611 patients who underwent the procedure, 140 (23%) were diagnosed with tuberculosis based on the analysis of BAL samples. Being young and being male were significantly associated with positive cultures. In addition, 287 patients underwent post-bronchoscopic sputum smear testing for AFB, the results of which increased the diagnostic yield by 22% over that obtained through the analysis of BAL samples alone. We conclude that the analysis of BAL samples and post-bronchoscopic sputum samples provides a high diagnostic yield in smear-negative patients suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia Geral e Controle de Doenças, Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Antuérpia, Bélgica. sotosolari@gmail.com
authors.forename: Alonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.forename: Vilma
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Acurio
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Segura
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van der Stuyft
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D010568:Peru; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult