Context: Cytopathological assessment of bronchoscopy specimens plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of bronchopulmonary lesions. Aim: Our study was aimed to assess the diagnostic efficacy of cytological techniques in bronchopulmonary lesions in correlation with histopathological examination findings. Settings and Design: Correlative study. Methods and Material: 250 patients with symptoms and signs of pulmonary lesions were selected for the study and bronchoscopy was performed. Specimens from bronchial brush followed by bronchioalveolar lavage were collected and routinely stained with Papanicolaou, Hematoxylin & eosin and Giemsa stains and studied. Special stains like Per-iodic acid Schiff and Ziehl-Neelson were performed as per requirement. Endobronchial biopsy specimens were processed as per routine histopathological techniques and stained. Statistical analysis used: Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive value, Negative Predictive value and Diagnostic Accuracy. Results: The age of the patients ranged from 20 to 87 years. The male to female ratio was 3.2:1. Out of 250 cases, neoplastic lesions were seen in 48 cases and non-neoplastic lesions were observed in 202 cases. Bronchoalveolar lavage cytology showed 36 true positive cases and 202 true negative cases, Bronchial brushing cytology showed 46 true positive cases and 202 true negative cases as confirmed by Bronchial biopsy. Conclusion: Diagnostic efficacy levels of cytological techniques in pulmonary lesions have acquired sensitivity levels high enough to be recommended for use as routine and definitive diagnostic tools in the evaluation of bronchopulmonary lesions.

Keywords: Bronchoscopy; Endobronchial Biopsy; Cytopathological Assessment; Sensitivity; Specificity.