The Incremental Value of Bronchoalveolar Lavage for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in a High-Burden Urban Setting

Summary Objectives we prospectively evaluated the use of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) specimens to assess their added incremental value to pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic strategies used currently in a high-burden urban setting in China. Methods A prospective study was conducted of patients with presumptive pulmonary TB registered at the Fifth Hospital of Suzhou between March 2018 and July 2018. BALF samples from patients with initial Xpert-negative sputum results were tested to diagnose TB. Results Of 440 participants, 316 (71.8%) were initially diagnosed with TB from sputum, including 245 (55.7%) definitive TB cases based on a positive culture and/or Xpert result(s) and 71 (16.1%) positive cases based on clinical diagnosis. Of 153 patients with initial positive cultures, a significantly higher proportion were confirmed as TB-positive using Xpert (94.1%) versus smear microscopy (45.8%, P P Conclusions BALF samples added incremental value to pulmonary TB diagnostic strategies for patients with Xpert-negative sputum. Xpert outperformed smear microscopy for tubercle bacilli detection in both sputum and BALF.