[Usefulness of bronchofiberscopy in the study of pleural effusion]

We revised our own experience in 208 patients with pleural effusion to whom fiberoptic bronchoscopy was made in part of the diagnostic study. In our population the most frequent cause was neoplastic origen, observing that in 97 patients (46%), 60 of them were due to bronchogenic carcinoma. In relation to the presentation symptoms, just when haemoptysis was present bronchoscopy exhibited bigger diagnostic profitability (17 of 29), p < 0.001. There were 106 patients (51%) who had some or several parenchymatic injuries going with the pleural effusion. In this group, in 55 cases, fiberoptic bronchoscopy was useful to the diagnosis; on the contrary when the only radiologic abnormality was pleural effusion, 102 cases, in 96 of them the procedure was not diagnostic, p < 0.001. A close relationship was noticed between diagnostic profitability of bronchoscopy with the existence of pulmonary neoplasm; about the 61 diagnosed patients using bronchoscopy, 53 of them had bronchogenic carcinoma, p < 0.001. We conclude then in our experience bronchoscopy is useful to the diagnosis of pleural effusion if it goes with haemoptysis or parenchymatic lesions in the radioly. Its diagnostic profitability has close relationship with the existence of bronchogenic carcinoma.