Bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with negative sputum smear microscopy results.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of bronchoscopy in patients with clinical or radiological suspicion of tuberculosis who were unable to produce sputum or with negative sputum smear microscopy results.

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study involving 286 patients under clinical or radiological suspicion of having pulmonary tuberculosis and submitted to bronchoscopy-BAL and transbronchial biopsy (TBB). The BAL specimens were submitted to direct testing and culture for AFB and fungi, whereas the TBB specimens were submitted to histopathological examination.