Do brushings taken during bronchoscopy for suspected primary lung cancer increase diagnostic yield? An audit of real-world clinical practice.

We reviewed clinical records to determine whether the use of bronchial brushings improved diagnostic yield in a setting where bronchoscopy for suspected primary lung cancer is routinely guided by prior chest computed tomography but endobronchial ultrasound-guided sampling is unavailable. For 29% of cases who had brushings and at least one other test taken (bronchial biopsies or washings), the histological diagnosis was made solely on the basis of samples obtained by brushings.