Diagnostic Yield of Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy Washings among Patients of Sputum Smear Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy with bronchial washing is done for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis among patients who cannot produce sputum spontaneously. Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic yield of Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy for detection of positive cases in cases of Smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methodology: All patients (n=80) were advised NPO for 6 hours before carrying out the procedure. It was done using local anesthesia while retrievement of the instilled amount by 25% was considered successful. The bronchial washings were sent for AFB staining in-order to confirm the presence or absence of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. Bronchial washing smear was considered positive if 1-9 AFB/HPF are seen on direct microscopy. Statistical Analysis: SPSS v.26 analyzed the data. Stratification of diagnostic yield was done with respect to age and gender. Post stratification Chi-Squire test was applied with P-value ≤0.05 was taken as significant. Results: The diagnostic yield of FOB for detection of positive cases in cases of Smear negative PTB was 57.5%. The highest diagnostic yield was seen in patients in the age group 16-32 and 49-60 years old patients i.e. 37% in both groups. For both genders diagnostic yield for FOB was 50%. However patient’s age and gender were insignificantly associated with diagnostic yield of FOB. Conclusion: It was concluded that FOB can provide a rapid and definitive diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in sputum negative patients. Keywords: Diagnostic Yield, Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy, Smear Negative and Pulmonary Tuberculosis.