Evaluation of cellular and microbial components of sputum samples in patients attending pulmonary clinic of specialist hospital, Sokoto, Northwest, Nigeria

Background Pulmonary diseases remain a major cause of morbidity in Nigeria, frequently associated with chronic cough and airway irritation, and sputum cytology offers a non-invasive and reliable diagnostic approach for detecting inflammatory and infectious cellular changes. The study aimed to evaluate the cellular and microbial components of sputum samples from patients attending the pulmonary clinic of Specialist Hospital, Sokoto. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional design was used, involving 40 participants presenting with productive cough, from whom early-morning sputum samples were collected and processed using Papanicolaou stain for cytomorphology, Gram stain for bacterial identification, and Ziehl–Neelsen stain for the detection of acid-fast bacilli. Results Findings showed that 47.5% of samples were within normal limits, while 27.5% and 15% demonstrated mild and moderate inflammation respectively, and 10% were acellular. Gram staining revealed Gram-positive organisms as the predominant isolates (47.5%), followed by Gram-negative organisms (30%), whereas 22.5% showed no detectable organisms. All samples were negative for acid-fast bacilli, indicating an absence of smear-positive tuberculosis among the study population. Conclusions The findings suggest that non-tuberculous inflammatory conditions remain the major cause of respiratory symptoms in the population studied. Routine sputum cytology, microbial analysis, and improved diagnostic follow-up are recommended to enhance early identification and management of pulmonary infections.