Sensitivity of cytology specimens from bronchial lavage in the diagnosis of lung malignancies

ABSTRACT Aim: This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic sensitivity of bronchial lavage, which is a bronchoscopic method used in diagnosing lung cancer. Material and Method: Reports of bronchoscopy, endobronchial biopsy, and bronchial lavage cytology of 286 patients, who underwent bronchoscopy with a preliminary diagnosis of lung cancer and an ultimate diagnosis of malignancy in the year 2015, in the Department for Pulmonology, Dicle University Medical Faculty, Turkey, were analyzed. The study was conducted according to the screening model. The frequency values of variables were calculated using descriptive statistics, and then graphs of these values were presented. The relationship between gender and diagnosis was examined using the chi-square test. The significance of the difference between the mean age of male and female patients diagnosed with cancer was assessed using the unrelated-sample t test. One-way analysis of variance was used to detect whether a significant difference existed between mean age and different histologic types. Results and Conclusions: Of the 286 patients whose malignancy was confirmed, 44 were females and 242 were males; the mean age was 55.75 and 62.18, respectively. The sensitivity of bronchial lavage was found at a relatively low level of 16.6%. The sensitivity of pathological examination of endobronchial biopsy, another bronchoscopic method, was 81.1%. One patients bronchial lavage was pozitive in 76 patients who received both bronchial lavage and biopsy in the same procedure. Also 5 patients bronchial lavage were positive in 8 patients who could not be biopsied due to some restrictions. Although the diagnostic sensitivity of cytology specimens is found to be low, it is the only way to gain bronchoscopic samples from patients without endobronchial lesions, patients who do not accept biopsy, and patients with a high risk of bleeding and fragile lesions and who are not suitable for biopsy. Key Words: Bronchial lavage, bronchoscopy, cytological examination, lung cancer