Study of Lesions in Bronchial Brush and Wash Cytology

Aims: The aim of the study is to compare and evaluate the efficacy of bronchial brush and wash cytology in diagnosing neoplastic and non- neoplastic bronchopulmonary lesions and to relate the cytological findings with the clinical diagnoses.

Study Design: Retrospective descriptive study.

Place and Duration of Study: Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, between January 2019 and December 2019.

Methodology: Cases with both Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and Bronchial brush (BB) samples (35) were included in the study. The slides were stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin stain, Papanicolaou stain, and were studied under the light microscope. The clinical points of interest were obtained from the case records at the medical records division, and histopathological findings from the histopathology registers at the Department of Pathology.

Results: A total of 35 cases were studied. Follow up with histopathology after a cytological diagnosis revealed that the sensitivity of diagnosing malignancy from BAL specimen and bronchial brush sample was 58% and 92% respectively.

Conclusion: The study confirms that the efficacy in assessing the risk of malignancy by respiratory cytology using a bronchial brush specimen is higher than the bronchoalveolar lavage specimen.