CONCORDANCE OF BRONCHOSCOPIC AND RADIOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN SUSPECTED LUNG CANCER AND ITS OUTCOME- A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Background Bronchoscopy and CT thorax are the most common investigations utilized to screen and diagnose lung cancer. Their individual utility in diagnosing lung cancer has been described affirmatively in existing literature. Studies correlating the airway characteristics of the two modalities in lung cancer are few. Objectives To analyze and characterize lung lesions bronchoscopically and correlate the same radiologically by CT of the thorax and thus assess its positive predictive value. Methods 56 consecutive adults who presented to Respiratory Medicine Department at a tertiary care hospital in South India from November 2018 to June 2020, having Clinico-radiological suspicion of malignancy and fulfilling study criteria were recruited. They were subjected to CECT of thorax and bronchoscopy. All bronchoscopic procedures were performed using a protocolized number of passes for biopsy. The baseline demographic and clinical data, findings of bronchoscopy and CT and biopsy reports were recorded. Cohens kappa coefficient was used to estimate the agreement of findings on the two modalities. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Results Bronchoscopy was normal in 22.14 % of cases, the corresponding CTs also revealed normal airway. Bronchoscopy revealed airway lesions in 78.6 % cases; the corresponding CT revealed airway abnormalities in only 46.41 % of cases, among these 52.1 % of cases revealed an exophytic growth. There was fair strength of agreement for the two modalities in the detection of airway lesions of lung cancer. [k= 0.38, p =