Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Oct 22;7(1):34.
doi: 10.1186/2049-6958-7-34.

Endobronchial tuberculosis: histopathological subsets and microbiological results

Sevket Ozkaya  1 , Salih Bilgin, Serhat Findik, Hayriye Cete Kök, Canan Yuksel, Atilla Güven Atıcı
Affiliations

Endobronchial tuberculosis: histopathological subsets and microbiological results

Sevket Ozkaya et al. Multidiscip Respir Med. .

Abstract

Background: Endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB) is defined as a tuberculous infection of the tracheobronchial tree with microbial and histopathological evidence, with or without parenchymal involvement. Bronchoscopic appearances of EBTB have been divided into seven subtypes: actively caseating, edematous-hyperemic, fibrostenotic, tumorous, granular, ulcerative, and nonspecific bronchitic. However, information for establishing a definite microbiological diagnosis in each of these categories is lacking.We aimed to present bronchoscopic appearances and percentages for the EBTB subtypes and to compare bronchoscopic appearances with microbiological positivity in bronchial lavage fluid.

Methods: From 2003 to 2009, 23 biopsy-proven EBTB patients were enrolled in the study. Diagnosis of EBTB was histopathologically confirmed in all patients.

Results: The commonest subtype was the edematous-hyperemic type (34.7%); other subtypes in order of occurrence were: tumorous (21.7%), granular (17.3%), actively caseating (17.3%), fibrostenotic (4.3%), and nonspecific bronchitic (4.3%). Although all patients were sputum-smear-negative for acid-fast bacilli (AFB), 26% of patients were smear-positive for AFB in the bronchial lavage fluid. The bronchial lavage fluid grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 39.1% of all patients.The bronchial lavage smear positivity for AFB in the bronchial lavage fluid was 75%, 25%, 20%, 12.5%, 0%, and 0% for the granular, actively caseating, tumorous, edematous-hyperemic, fibrostenotic, and nonspecific bronchitic subtypes of EBTB, respectively. Culture positivity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bronchial lavage fluid was 75%, 50%, 40%, 25%, 0%, and 0%, respectively.

Conclusion: The commonest subtype of EBTB was the edematous-hyperemic subtype. The granular type had the highest smear positivity and culture positivity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bronchial lavage fluid. Bronchoscopy should be performed in all patients suspected to have EBTB.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CT showing a right paracardiac intrapulmonary mass lesion and pleural effusion.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CT showing cavitation and infiltration.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Videobronchoscopy image showing the granuler subtype of endobronchial tuberculosis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Videobronchoscopy image showing the tumorous subtype of endobronchial tuberculosis.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Videobronchoscopy image showing the actively caseating subtype of endobronchial tuberculosis.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Videobronchoscopy image showing the edematous subtype of endobronchial tuberculosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Casali L, Crapa ME. Women, immigration, poverty and tuberculosis. Multidiscip Resp Med. 2010;5:398–400. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hohisel G, Chan BK, Chan CH, Chan KS, Teschler H, Costabel U. Endobronchial tuberculosis: diagnostic features and therapeutic outcome. Respir Med. 1994;88:593–597. doi: 10.1016/S0954-6111(05)80007-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chung HS, Lee JH. Bronchoscopic assessment of the evolution of endobronchial tuberculosis. Chest. 2000;117:385–392. doi: 10.1378/chest.117.2.385. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kurasawa T, Kuze F, Kawai M, Amitani R, Murayama T, Tanaka E, Suzuki K, Kubo Y, Matsui Y, Sato A. et al.Diagnosis and management of endobronchial tuberculosis. Intern Med. 1992;31:593–598. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.31.593. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chung HS, Lee JH, Han SK, Shim YS, Kim KY, Han YC. et al.Classification of endobronchial tuberculosis by the bronchoscopic features. Tuberc Respir Dis. 1991;38:108–115.

LinkOut - more resources