Endobronhial Tuberculosis: A report of Three Cases

The researchers of the current study aimed to evaluate the clinical, radiological, and bronchoscopic findings, and the therapeutic outcome of the disease in three patients with endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB). Two females and one male were included in the study, and their ages were younger than 45 years. Computed tomography of the thorax showed cavity in one patient, a mass lesion and atelectasis in one patient, and multiple parenchymal nodules and enlargement mediastinal lymph nodes in the other patient. Smear examinations of sputum samples were negative for acid-fast-bacilli in all patients. Flexible bronchoscopy revealed microbial and histopathological diagnosis of endobronchial tuberculosis in three patients. While the bronchial lavage smear was positive for acid-fast-bacilli in two cases, the culture examination for tuberculosis bacilli was positive in all patients. The patients were started on anti-tuberculosis treatment. Bronchoscopy was repeated after treatment and revealed complete resolution of the endobronchial lesions in the patients. In conclusion, the eradication of tubercle bacilli and prevention of bronchostenosis are two important goals of EBTB treatment. Early diagnosis and effective treatment of this disease are required to achieve these objectives.

Endobronþiyal Tüberküloz: Üç Olgunun Sunumu

Endobronþiyal tüberkülozlu üç olgunun klinik, radyolojik ve bronkoskopik bulgularý ile tedavi sonuçlarýnýn incelemeyi amaçladýk. Olgularýn ikisi kadýn, biri erkek olup, yaþlarý 45 yaþýn altýnda idi. Bilgisayarlý toraks tomografisi bir olguda kavite, bir olguda kitle ve atelektazi ve diðer olguda multipl parenkimal nodül ve mediasten lenf bezi büyümesi gösteriyordu. Hastalarda balgam yayma incelemeleri aside-dirençli basil açýsýndan negatif bulundu. Fiberoptik bronkoskopi ile hastalarda endobronþiyal tüberkülozun mikrobiyolojik ve histopatolojik tanýsýný elde edildi. Bronþ lavaj yayma incelemesi tüberküloz basili açýsýndan iki olguda pozitif iken kültür incelemesi tüm hastalarda pozitif bulundu. Hastalara antitüberküloz tedavi baþlandý. Tedavi sonunda bronkoskopi tekrarlandý ve hastalarda endobronþiyal lezyonlarýn tam olarak düzeldiði saptandý. Sonuç olarak, tüberküloz basilinin eradikasyonu ve bronkostenozun önlenmesi, endobronþiyal tüberküloz tedavisinin iki önemli amacýdýr. Bu amaçlara ulaþmak için hastalýðýn erken tanýsý ve etkin tedavisi gerekir.