Over the last two years from Nov 2015- Oct 2017 in the Dept. of Respiratory Medicine at Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College examine 43 patients with unexplained hemoptysis with normal chest roentgenograms underwent diagnostic fiberoptic branchoscopy (FBO). Ten patients were females with a mean age of 43.02 yrs. Normal findings were found in 26 patients and abnormal findings were observed in 17 patients with branchoscopy. Final diagnosis of malignancy in 3 patients, tuberculosis in 6 patients and pulmonary microfilariasis in 1 patient were found. All 3 malignancies were variety of squamous cell carcinoma. Above 3 patients were smokers and above 40 years of age. One of the carcinoma case was female passive smoker. However in any patients with persistent cryptogenic hemoptysis or who has no history of bronchitis elderly with high smoking index. FBO should be performed.

The interesting aspect of our study is an elderly female passive smoker was suffering from squamous cell carcinoma. Furthermore microfilaria was detected in bronchial washing of an young male patients, whose peripheral blood smear study was normal. All tuberculosis cases were above 40 years of age. On follow up one patient developed tubercular pleural effusion right-side. Hence on the basis of our result and findings we concluded that the FOB as a diagnostic aid for cryptogenic hemoptysis is useful.       

Keywords: FBO, branchoscopy, hemoptysis, microfilariasis

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Dr Karan Singh Chandrakar

Assistant Professor Dept. of Pathology,

CCM Medical College Kachandur, Durg (CG)