Clinical Course of Endobrochial Tuberculosis Diagnosed by Flexible Bronchoscopy in Children

Purpose : The incidence of endobronchial tuberculosis in children is unknown, due to the inconsistent implementation of bronchoscopy in pediatric patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.In this study, our aim was to determine the incidence and clinical course of endobronchial tuberculosis in children.Methods : We performed a retrospective chart review of patients less than 18 years of age, who was diagnosed with endobronchial tuberculosis via fiberoptic bronchoscopy.Results : Out of the 101 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 16 patients had endobronchial tuberculosis.The median age at diagnosis was 11.2 years (range, 5 months to 16.1 years).Tuberculin skin test was positive in 9 cases (56.2%), and 6 patients (37.5%) had a history of household contact with tuberculosis.Consolidation lesion was common in the simple chest radiographs of patients with endobronchial tuberculosis.According to the bronchoscopic finding, actively caseating type was most common (43.8%).Nine of the 16 patients of endobronchial tuberculosis progressed to bronchial obstruction and 4 patients underwent pneumonectomy or lobectomy.Fibrostenotic and tumorous type tend to progress to endobronchial obstruction compared with actively caseating type. Conclusion :The incidence of endobronchial tuberculosis in pediatric pulmonary tuberculosis was 15.8%.Early detection and effective treatment of endobronchial tuberculosis are important to decrease the secondary complication, such as bronchial obstruction.[