Abstract: Objective To evaluate the diagnostic significance of rapid culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for atypical pulmonary tuberculosis.Methods Bronchial brushing,and rapid culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were performed for 49 cases with atypical pulmonary tuberculosis who had no sputum or negative sputum acid-fast staining,of them 15 cases underwent transbronchial lung biopsy.Results Of the 49 cases,67.4%(33/49) were confirmed by bronchial brushing,83.7% (42/49) were confirmed by rapid culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in BALF.Among the 15 cases who underwent transbronchial lung biopsy,pulmonary tuberculosis was confirmed in 10 cases (66.7%).Conclusion Rapid culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in BALF is of significant value for the diagnosis of atypical pulmonary tuberculosis with no sputum or negative sputum acid-fast staining.

Key words: Tuberculosis,pulmonary/diagnosis, BALF, Culture