DIAGNOSTIC YIELD OF FIBEROPTIC BRONCHOSCOPY (FOB) IN THREE COMMON LUNG CONDITIONS AT A RURAL TEACHING HOSPITAL

Background: Fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) is an important procedure for diagnosis of different respiratory problems. The present study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic yield of FOB in pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer. Methodology: The present study was carried out on 289 patients attending our tertiary level rural teaching hospital. Detailed clinical history, physical examination and routine investigations were carried out in all the participants. All the patients were then subjected for fiberoptic bronchoscopy, provided they met the criteria of our study. Results: The diagnostic yield of FOB was 37.7%, 48.7% and 68.5% in pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumonia and lung cancer respectively. The overall diagnostic yield was 55.7%. The maximum diagnostic yield was obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) acid fast stain for tuberculosis, BAL gram stain and culture/sensitivity for pneumonia and BAL cytology in cases of carcinoma. Conclusion: Routine flexible bronchoscopy technique has a reasonably high diagnostic yield in current clinical practice. Our study concludes that the diagnostic yield of FOB at our rural setting is comparable with studies from other centres within the country and abroad. The procedure is more useful in diagnosis when combined with a sound clinical judgment and other supportive investigations.