Utilidad de la broncoscopia con lavado broncoalveolar y biopsia transbrónquica para el diagnóstico de tuberculosis pulmonar en pacientes adultos que acudieron a la consulta externa de neumología del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso en el periodo octubre 2021 a noviembre 2022

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, it is a public health problem in Ecuador. Early diagnosis with sputum smear microscopy and culture is needed for adequate and timely treatment. Bronchoscopy is indicated in patients with an inadequate specimen, a non-productive cough, or when the smear microscopy remains negative despite clinical suspicion. Bronchoscopy is used to access the tracheobronchial tree and obtain biological specimens. Objectives: To determine the usefulness of bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial biopsy in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis in adult patients who attended the outpatient pulmonology department of the Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital during the period October 2021-November 2022. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out. The universe of the study consisted of patients over 18 years of age registered in the database of the Pulmonology Department of the Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital in the period October 2021-November 2022. The population of the study was 50 patients who were in compliance with all the inclusion criteria and in the database. Results: The primary criterion for bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage was "non-productive cough" (46.0%), which constituted 50% of the total positive cases. The diagnostic positivity in the study group was higher with bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage, which covered 71.4% of the total positive cases compared to transbronchial biopsy with 28.6%. Conclusions: Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial biopsy proved to be an invaluable diagnostic tool in patients presenting with non-productive cough. Among the diagnostic techniques, bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage emerged as the most effective