Comparative analysis of various cytohistological techniques in diagnosis of lung diseases

A prospective study was conducted on 100 patients divided in two groups who underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB). Group I consisted of 60 cases of suspected lung malignancy on clinical and radiological examination, while group II consisted of 40 cases of nonneoplastic lung diseases. Pre-FOB sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and bronchial brushing (BB) were done in all the cases, while forceps biopsy (FB), transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA), and transthoracic needle aspiration were done in 56, 25, and 15 patients, respectively. BB and FB showed a sensitivity of 70.83 and 70% respectively in the diagnosis of malignancy. BAL was found to be positive in 37.5% patients. TBNA had the highest sensitivity of 83.33% whereas pre-FOB sputum and post-FOB sputum were positive only in 27.58 and 29.06% cases. In nonneoplastic group, BAL showed sensitivity of 80 and 83.33% in diagnosing tuberculosis and fungal diseases whereas BB was positive in 60 and 66.66% patients, respectively. Thus a combination of various cytohistological techniques results in a statistically significant increase in the diagnostic yield of various neoplastic and nonneoplastic lung diseases. BB, FB, and TBNA are complimentary in diagnosis of various lung malignancies whereas BAL is a useful procedure in detection of infectious diseases.