Comparative Study of efficacy of Broncho-alveolar lavage, bronchial brush and bronchial biopsy in diagnosis of lung tumours

Background: Lung carcinoma is oneof the most common malignancies in the industrialized countries and now a leading cause of death in developing countries like India. There are different methods to diagnose lung carcinoma. Broncho-alveolar lavage cytology, bronchial brush cytology and bronchial biopsy are three important techniques which are becoming more popular. The aimof the study is to compare the efficacy of these three methods. Materials and methods: This is a retrospective study in known patients with lung cancer, during a period of 18 months from July 2016 to December 2017. The materials obtained from Broncho-alveolar lavage, bronchial brush and bronchial lung biopsy are studied and their efficacy in diagnosing lung malignancy is compared. Results: The present study showed that sensitivity of Broncho-alveolar lavage, Bronchial brush and bronchial biopsy are 44%, 74% and 84% respectively. Conclusion: Bronchial biopsy and bronchial brush cytology are more sensitive than broncho-alveolar lavage cytology. However, combination of these three techniques helps to increase the rate of positive diagnosis.