Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in diagnosing intrathoracic tuberculous lymphadenitis.

Aims: Patients with suspected tuberculosis without pulmonary lesions and with intrathoracic lymphadenopathy often pose a diagnostic challenge. The aim of this study was to describe the diagnostic utility of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in patients with isolated intrathoracic lymphadenopathy due to tuberculosis (TB). Materials and methods: Cases with tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLA) as the final diagnosis were analysed among patients in whom EBUS-TBNA had been performed. All patients underwent routine clinical assessment and a CT scan prior to EBUS-TBNA. Demographic data, pathological findings, and microbiological results were recorded. All patients received 6-month antituberculous treatment, followed-up regularly and recovered both on clinical and radiological basis. Results: Fourty-four patients were included. EBUS-TBNA diagnosed TB intrathoracic lympadenopathy in 42 (95.4%) patients. In 2 patients, EBUS-TBNA was not able to confirm a diagnosis and additional procedures were required. Cytopathological findings alone revealed TB in 32 (72.7%) patients. One of the patients (2.2%) was smear positive while microbiological investigations provided a positive culture of TB in 22 (50%) patients. TB culture was positive in 10 of 12 patients in whom cytopathologic evaluation was not able to diagnose. Addition of mycobacterium culture to cytopathologic investigation has improved the diagnostic yield from 72.7% to 95.4%. Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA is a safe and effective first line investigation for evaluat- ing isolated intrathoracic tuberculous lympadenopathy. Addition of mycobacterium culture to cytopathologic investigation improves the sensitivity of EBUS-TBNA.