Bronchoscopy-Guided Pathogen Identification in Suspected Lower Respiratory Tract Infections

Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) continue to represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to their broad etiology and overlapping clinical features with non-infectious pulmonary diseases.This retrospective study evaluated the diagnostic contribution of bronchoscopy with bronchoaspirate analysis in 100 patients with suspected LRTIs between 2022 and 2025.Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and targeted microbiological testing led to pathogen identification in 20% of cases, isolating both common and atypical organisms.Among the 20 positive cases, pathogens such as Legionella pneumophila, Mycobacterium intracellulare, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were identified, highlighting the diagnostic superiority of bronchoscopic sampling compared to non-invasive techniques.The remaining 80% of cases had negative bronchoaspirate results, reinforcing bronchoscopy's value even in excluding infections.Timely and accurate identification of causative pathogens facilitated appropriate antimicrobial therapy and improved clinical outcomes.Our findings underscore bronchoscopy's essential role in the precise management of LRTIs.