Role of Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy in Histopathological Analysis of Lung Lesions

Introduction: Bronchogenic lesions are undoubtedly one of the most common diseases worldwide. Pulmonary cytology and biopsy are simple and resourceful methods of early diagnosis of respiratory diseases. The use of bronchoscope has increased the variety of diagnostic specimen obtainable and extended the scope of cyto-pathology. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy has an excellent result in diagnosis of lung diseases when combined with brushing cytology and biopsy. The present study aims to ascertain the yield of diagnostic bronchoscopic procedures in lung lesions and to calculate the incidence of various types of malignancies. Materials and methods: This hospital based observational study was carried out in the Pathology department of Geetanjali Hospital. A total of 110 patients of clinically suspected lung lesion were included and bronchoscopy was carried out in all patients. Various samples such as bronchial brushing, bronchial biopsy and bronchial washing were taken as and when required and samples were given to pathology and microbiology department for reporting. Data was analysed by SPSS ver. 21. Results: Out of 110 biopsies 61 were found to be malignant, 20 were inflammatory lesions, 16 were non-malignant, 11 were inadequate material and 2 were inconclusive. Overall diagnostic yield of bronchial biopsy was 88.2%.The most common type of malignant was Squamous cell carcinoma (34.5%) Adenocarcinoma (9%) and Small cell carcinoma (7.2%). Conclusion: Bronchial biopsy is a valuable tool and helps in the diagnosis of lung lesions.