Rapid Identification of Infectious Pathogens in Severe Pneumonia Guided by Bronchoscopic Imaging and Lung CT

Severe pneumonia requires rapid and accurate diagnosis for targeted treatment, but single lung CT has limitations in identifying pathogens and distinguishing infectious/non-infectious etiologies. This is a retrospective self-controlled study enrolling patients diagnosed with severe pneumonia at the institution between 2024 and 2025 (recruitment will be extended 6-12 months if fewer than 400 patients are enrolled), all of whom underwent both single lung CT and bronchoscopy-combined CT examinations. Clinical data will be collected retrospectively, including demographic information, bronchoscopic mucosal findings (e.g., congestion, exudation), lung CT lesion characteristics (e.g., consolidation, ground-glass opacity), and gold standard diagnostic results (pathogenic detection or clinical comprehensive diagnosis). The core objective is to compare the diagnostic precision between single lung CT and bronchoscopy-combined CT, focusing on accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity across three etiological subtypes (bacterial/fungal, viral, non-infectious). Bronchoscopy complements CT by directly visualizing airway mucosal changes, while CT provides panoramic views of pulmonary lesions. Their combination is hypothesized to improve diagnostic accuracy. The findings aim to optimize diagnostic strategies for severe pneumonia, guiding clinicians to select more effective imaging approaches.

NCT Number	NCT07308340
Lead Sponsor	The First Hospital of Jilin University
Conditions	Severe Pneumonia
Enrollment	400 participants
Start Date	2026-05-01
Primary Completion	2026-12-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-12-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-02-09