Study of Indications and Early Complications of Bronchoscopy at TUH- Lattakia During 2020 – 2021

Abstract

Flexible bronchoscopy is a major diagnostic and therapeutic tool employed largely in respiratory medicine. This study was designed to determine the indications and outcome of a bronchoscopic workup at Tishreen University Hospital during the period from March 2020 to March 2021. All patients undergoing flexible bronchoscopy were subjected to full history and clinical examination, and data about patient's demographic details, indications for bronchoscopy, sedation given, specimen obtained and results of the investigation, and complications encountered were recorded. The study results revealed that of 176 bronchoscopies, 171 (97.2%) were diagnostic, and the remaining five (2.8%) were therapeutic. The mean age of patients was 54.3 ± 11.8 years, with males constituting the majority, 71.6%. Malignancy and hemoptysis were the two main indications for bronchoscopy (34.1% and 27.8%, respectively). The overall complication rate was 5.7%. The complications included bleeding in five cases, hypoxemia in three cases, laryngeal spasm in two cases, and hypertension in one case. There were no deaths related to the procedures. The overall diagnostic yield was 61.4%. Malignancy was confirmed in 70% of suspected cases; endobronchial malignancies were diagnosed in 30 patients (93.7%) out of 32 who had a macroscopically visible tumor. Tuberculosis was diagnosed in 69.2% of suspected cases, whereas bacterial pneumonia was diagnosed in 62.5%. Bronchoscopy diagnosed 81.8% of patients with lobar atelectasis. The diagnostic yield was 47% for hemoptysis. Our results confirm that flexible bronchoscopy is a valuable diagnostic tool, with a low rate of complications, particularly in patients with lung cancer. The diagnostic yield in our locality is almost similar to that reported in other series.