O b j e c t i v e : To determine sensitivity and specificity of bronchial wash cytology in diagnosis of malignant lung tumors, withhistopathology as gold standard. D e s i g n : Validation study of bronchial wash cytology as a screening procedure. S e t t i n g : Pulmonologyunit,Department of Medicine, Military Hospital Rawalpindi. D u r a t i o n : Six months (from Nov 2004 to May 2005) Patients a n d m e t h o d s:Hundred indoor patients of either gender with clinical suspicion of lung tumors were included in this study by convenience non probabilitysampling. Transbronchial biopsies of the lesions were done and samples of tissues were collected for histopathological examination. Tenml of reaspirated isotonic saline was sent for bronchial wash cytology examination. R e s u l t s : Out of 100 patients histopathologicalexamination confirmed malignancy in 75 (75%), whereas cytology could detect malignancy in 58 (58%). Thus bronchial wash cytology hada sensitivity of 77.33% and a specificity of 100%. Conclusion: Pulmonary wash cytology has good sensitivity and specificity but yields lessinformation as compared to biopsy. It is particularly useful in patients where the latter is contraindicated or the required expertise is notavailable.
Comparative study of bronchial brush and bronchial wash cytology in the diagnosis of lung tumors
