Abstract
Bacterial infection is a common cause of acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB). Interest in identifying the causative agent has led us to evaluate the role and efficacy of invasive diagnostic tests for culture in patients with AECB. We performed bronchoscopy on 10 patients with AECB. During bronchoscopy, four samples were obtained for semiquantitative culture: endotracheal aspirate, protected specimen brush, bronchial lavage, and bronchoalveolar lavage. All four techniques identified potential pathogens in some patients. The protected brush specimen had the highest yield, with at least one organism at >100 colony forming units/mL of sample from all 10 patients. Of the 10 patients, 6 had recognized pathogens recovered by protected brush, whereas only three of these were detected by endotracheal aspirate or bronchial lavage. In comparing various invasive diagnostic techniques, protected brush specimens had the highest diagnostic yield. Journal of Bronchology7:221-225, 2000 AECB, acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis; PSB, protected specimen brush; BAL, bronchoalveolar lavage; CFU, colony-forming units; BronL, bronchial lavage
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
