[Clinical classification of 288 cases of bronchial tuberculosis based on an expert consensus]

To study the clinical application and significance of the recently published expert consensus on endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB).

A retrospective analysis of 288 cases of EBTB hospitalized in Tianjin Haihe Hospital from May 2005 to April 2010 was carried out. The classification and typing of the disease were based on a consensus report recently published by Chinese Journal of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases. Chi-square test was performed to analyze the differences between groups.

Of the 288 cases of EBTB, 47.9% (138/288) was classified as Type I (Inflammatory infiltrative), 33.3% (96/288) as Type II (ulcerous necrotic), 5.2% (15/288) as Type III (granulomatous hyperplastic), 7.3% (21/288) as Type IV (scar stricture) and 0.4% (1/288) as Type V (Bronchomalacia), respectively. There were 17 cases (5.9%) classified as a mixed type with a combination of Type IV or Type V disease with 1 or more of the other types. 37.5% (108/288) of the patients were young females, while young and middle-aged patients with type I and type II diseases accounted for 74.7% (215/288) of the cases, much more than old aged patients (6.6%, 19/288). 97.2% (n=280) of the cases suffered from secondary pulmonary tuberculosis. In 107 cases, the disease was located in the left, 162 cases in the right, while in 109 cases the right upper lobe bronchus was involved, and right main bronchus in 36 cases, 3 cases and 58 cases in left upper lobe with and without lingular segment, 10 cases in lingular segment only. Chest CT showed that local mucosal thickening of the trachea or bronchus was evident in 40.3% (116/288); toothed or spike protuberance in 30.9% (89/288), bronchial obstruction in 11.1% (32/288), and bronchial stenosis in 87.9% (253/288). The negative rate of sputum in the first month after interventional therapy was 60.2% (56/93), significantly higher than that in non-interventional therapy group (23.1%, 18/78).

The new consensus report on EBTB was clinically useful for classification and typing of the disease, and for the selection of treatment modalities.