Endobronchial Involvement in Miliary Tuberculosis

SUMMARY. Endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB) is the tuberculous infection of the tracheobronchial tree. It has been reported in patients with parenchymal infiltrations and cavities in the lung and intrathoracic tuberculous lymphadenopathy. The occurrence of bronchial lesions in miliary tuberculosis is most likely to be a result of hematogenous dissemination of tubercle bacilli. We report six patients with endobronchial involvement in miliary tuberculosis. Bronchoscopic examination with histopathological evidence is essential to exclude or confirm endobronchial involvement in miliary tuberculosis. Chest computed tomography (CT) may be a useful diagnostic adjunct for evaluating bronchial stenosis, but does not show the mucosal changes of endobronchial inflammation if the lesions are superficial or mild. Local steroid injection appears to be useful for the treatment of superficial mucosal lesions involving less than one quarter of the bronchial lumen, but for advanced inflammatory lesions local treatment is ineffective. Local steroid injection for the treatment of bronchial narrowing is contraindicated by the finding of significant bronchial or segmental stenosis on CT scan. The evolution of airway involvement in miliary tuberculosis indicates that hematogenous dissemination of the bacilli is the primary mechanism for endobronchial tuberculosis. Pneumon 2010, 23(2):135-140.