Chest roentgenographic guidelines in the selection of patients for fiberoptic bronchoscopy.

We conducted this study to define the value of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) in the evaluation of chest radiographic abnormalities and to provide guidelines for fiberoptic bronchoscopy on the basis of chest radiographic appearances. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy without fluoroscopy was carried out in 530 patients, 455 male and 75 female, aged 19 to 85 years, during a 1-year period at Chest Department, Veterans General Hospital, Taipei. Of 530 patients, 19 (3.6 percent) had normal chest radiographs, and the remaining 511 (96.4 percent) patients had abnormal chest radiographs. Overall diagnostic yield of FOB was 55.4 percent in patients with abnormal chest radiographs and 52.6 percent in patients with normal chest radiographs. On the basis of radiographic findings, patients with lobar collapse (87.0 percent), hilar abnormalities (81.8 percent), pericardial effusions (66.7 percent), mass lesions (> 4 cm) (65.7 percent), and pleural effusions (64.9 percent) were most frequent to obtain a positive diagnosis via bronchoscopy (p < 0.001). Of 530 patients; mass lesion was the most frequent abnormality on bronchoscopy and had the highest incidence of providing a positive diagnosis (36.2 percent) (p < 0.001). A predilection of mass lesion on bronchoscopy was seen for chest radiographic features of lobar collapse (64.8 percent) and mass (> 4 cm) (47.0 percent) (p < 0.001). Of 19 patients with normal chest radiographs, a correct diagnosis was made in 4 (21.1 percent) with bronchoscopic findings of mass lesions, 3 (15.8 percent) with endobronchial abnormalities, and 3 (15.8 percent) patients with abnormal bronchial mucosa. Indeed, the decision to perform bronchoscopy should be guided by many factors other than chest radiograph. In this study, however, emphasis has been placed on the incidence of positive diagnosis via bronchoscopy on the basis of chest radiographic patterns. In this respect, we believe that in patient with lobar collapse, hilar abnormality, pericardial effusion, mass lesion (> 4 cm), and pleural effusion on the chest radiograph bronchoscopy should be considered.