The diagnostic role of conventional bronchoscopy in nonresolving pulmonary consolidations

Objective The aim was to assess the diagnostic yield of conventional bronchoscopic modalities in nonresolving pulmonary consolidation cases. Materials and methods Prospective single-center study of 30 patients with nonresolving pulmonary consolidation admitted from November 2013 to April 2014 at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. Results Our study showed that the vast majority of the nonresolving pulmonary consolidations are due to pneumonias and malignancies (46.6 and 33.3%, respectively). The sensitivity of the combined bronchoscopic bronchial wash and transbronchial biopsies is 76.6%. These bronchoscopic techniques can effectively rule out the possibility of bacterial infective pneumonia as the cause of the nonresolving consolidations, their negative predictive value is 100%. The complication rate is 13.3% which is mainly due to pneumothorax and bleeding. Conclusion Conventional bronchoscopic sampling techniques in cases of nonresolving pulmonary consolidation are effective and safe. It should be integrated in the workup of patients having nonresolving pulmonary consolidation including those lacking endobronchial lesions on chest computed tomography images.