Comparison of microbial profiles of sputum and bronchial washes in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis using PCR data

Objective. To compare microbiota profiles of sputum and bronchial washes in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis obtained using PCR and to assess clinical significance of obtained microbial profiles. Materials and Methods. We compared the results of sputum and bronchial washes using PCR-based test systems «Backscreen UPM» and «Femoflor 16» (DNA-Technology, Russia) in 51 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Results. The analysis revealed that the following dominant taxa of microorganisms were detected both in sputum and bronchial washes in the majority of patients: representatives of the genera Streptococcus, Veillonella, Prevotella, and Haemophilus. In most cases, the presence or absence of microorganisms in bronchial flush samples corresponded to their presence and abundance in sputum. The presence of opportunistic microorganisms in bronchial washes at levels exceeding those in sputum may indicate their proliferation in the lungs, highlighting their clinical significance. Cluster analysis revealed that in the case of localization of the tuberculosis process in the lower lobes of the lungs, the profiles of sputum and bronchial washes do not coincide more often than in the case of upper lobe localization of the process. A lower proportion of “dominant” taxa in bronchial washes was associated with a longer duration of tuberculosis treatment. Conclusions. Bronchial washes are the preferred type of clinical material for searching the relationship between microbiota characteristics and variants of the clinical course of tuberculosis.