Original Research

Diagnostic Yield of Fiber Optic Bronchoscopy Washings amongPatients of Sputum Smear-Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Abdul Wahab Gureja1
Abu Umara Medical & Dental College / Ali Fatima Hospital Lahore, Pakistan
Bilal Mushtaq2
Tehsil Headquarter Hospital (THQ), Wazirabad
Asif Hanif3
Institute of TB & Chest Medicine, King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital Lahore, Pakistan
Affaf Javaid4
Department of Pulmonology Sargodha Medical College Sargodha, Pakistan
Muhammad Nusrullah3
Institute of TB & Chest Medicine, King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital Lahore, Pakistan
Faiza Khalid3
Institute of TB & Chest Medicine, King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital Lahore, Pakistan

✉ Correspondence: Abdul Wahab Gureja Email: awgureja@gmail.com

DOI https://doi.org/10.70302/jpsim.v7i1.2608
Volume: 7, Issue 1 Pages: 38–41 Published: 10 Mar 2026
Received: 14 Jul 2025 Revised: 12 Jan 2026 Accepted: 17 Feb 2026 Published Online: 10 Mar 2026

Abstract

Objective

To assess the diagnostic efficacy of fiber-optic bronchoscopy (FOB) in identifying smear-negative pulmonary TB.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was carried out at Institute of TB & Chest Medicine, Mayo Hospital Lahore from 15-7-2024 to 15-1-2025. Before FOB, patients were instructed to abstain from eating for 6 hours. The FOB was performed with local anesthesia. The BF type Olympus bronchoscope was used. The bronchi were washed using normal saline & recovery of up to a quarter of the fluid by suction was judged adequate. The hospital lab confirmed the presence or absence of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis by staining bronchial washings for AFB. Direct microscopy showing between 1 and 9 AFB/HPF in a bronchial washings smear indicates positivity. This data was gathered in a hypothetical scenario

Results

FOB had a 57.5% diagnostic yield for identifying PTB patients that were positive despite a negative sputum smear. Patients between the age of 16 and 32 and those between the age of 49 and 60 had the greatest diagnostic yield (37%). However among patients of 33-48 years, diagnostic yield was 26.1% only. For both genders diagnostic yield for FOB was 50%. Diagnostic yield of FOB increases with increasing duration of symptoms. However patient’s age, gender and duration of symptoms was not significantly associated with diagnostic yield of FOB.

Conclusion

Our findings support the use of FOB for the quick and accurate identification of MTB in sputum smear negative patients who have clinical and/or radiological features of Pulmonary TB
Keywords: Diagnostic yield, Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy, Smear Positive, Smear Negative, Pulmonary tuberculosis.

Keywords
Diagnostic yield Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy Smear Positive Smear Negative Pulmonary tuberculosis.

How to Cite This Article

Gureja AW, Mushtaq B, Hanif A, Javaid A, Nusrullah M, Khalid F. Diagnostic Yield of Fiber Optic Bronchoscopy Washings amongPatients of Sputum Smear-Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis. J Pak Soc Intern Med. 2026;7(1):38–41. doi:10.70302/jpsim.v7i1.2608

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no competing interests.

Disclosed in accordance with ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

Funding

No specific funding was received for this research.

Funder information follows the Crossref Funder Registry standard.

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CC BY CC BY 4.0 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. May be shared and adapted with attribution. © 2026 Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine.
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