Objective To study the application of virtual reality bronchoscopy stimulation in novice trainees. Methods Four novice bronchoscopists entered the training programby using a VR bronchoscopy in the clinical skill center. After the program, the dexterity, speed, and accuracy of all the four doctors were tested using the virtual simulation models. Results were compared to four skilled physicians as control group who had performed at least 50 bronchoscopies. Before-training and after-training test scores were compared using paired t tests. For comparisons between after-training novice and skilled physician scores, unpaired twosample t tests were used. Results All of the four trainees finished the training program. The novices significantly improved their dexterity, speed and accuracy. The percentage of observed segments increased from ( 74. 0 ±5. 1) % to ( 89. 3 ±4. 0) % . The number of contacts with the bronchial wall decreased from 87. 5 ±13. 2 to 30. 5 ±9. 3, and total time spent shortened from ( 700. 8 ±56. 6) s to ( 607. 0 ±17. 8) s. There were no statistically significant differences between novice accuracy ( the percentage of observed segments) after training and skilled physician accuracy [ ( 89. 3 ±4. 0) % vs ( 91. 3 ±3. 0) % , P = 0. 456] . Conclusion Practice using a virtual bronchoscopy simulator help novice trainees to attain a level of skill at performing diagnostic bronchoscopy, and it might play an important role in the training of chest physicians.
Objective To investigate the diagnostic value and complications of fibrobronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage in immunocompromised patients with pulmonary infiltrates. Methods Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was performed in 31 immunocompromised patients. The clinical data and results of bronchoalveolar lavage were collected. In addition to conventional microbiological methods, molecular detection for cytomegalovirus( CMV) and respiratory viruses were performed. Results In all cases BAL was performed. The overall diagnostic yield of fibrobronchoscopy was 65% . The diagnosis was more likely to be established by fibrobronchoscopy when the lung infiltrate was due to an infectious agent( 86%) than to a noninfectious process( 25% ) . By molecular detection, CMV was identified in 4 cases, and other respiratory viruses were identified in 3 cases. Fever ( 23% ) was the most common complication. Conclusions Fibrobronchoscopy and BAL are effective and safe for the diagnosis of pulmonary infiltrates in immunocompromised patients. The molecular technique may help to enhance the diagnostic yield of BAL.
Objective To improve the knowledge on dynamic benign central airway stenosis through two typical cases. Methods The clinical features, imaging findings, and bronchial morphologic changes of two cases characterized by dynamic benign central airway stenosis were retrospectively analyzed. The etiologies for the two cases were tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) and excessive dynamic airway collapse (EDAC), respectively. Results Central airway stenosis and reversible airway obstruction were common clinical characteristics for the two cases. However, there were identifiable differences on imaging findings and bronchial morphologic changes between the two cases. Multidetector computed tomography showed sabre-sheath trachea and narrowed trachea in coronal position for TBM, while small sized trachea in exhalation phase and narrowed trachea in sagittal position for EDAC. Bronchoscopy displayed narrowed airway, swelling mucosa, and the absence of annular cartilage for TBM, while crescent airway with membranacea part protruding to lumen in inspiration phase, and the integrity of annular cartilage for EDAC. Conclusion Multidetector computed tomography and bronchoscopy examinations are valid methods to distinguish TBM and EDAC, which are both characterized by dynamic benign central airway stenosis.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical effects of nebulized lidocaine anesthesia and anesthesia with lidocaine and midazolam in patients with preoperative bronchoscopy. MethodsTotally, 136 inpatients between May 2002 and June 2013 with preoperative bronchoscopy were included in the study. The patients were randomly assigned to experimental group and control group with 68 patients in each. For patients in the experimental group, 8 mL of 2% lidocaine was administered through inhalation anesthesia, followed by 2-3 mg bolus of midazolam, and subsequently 0.5 mg of midazolam was administered every 2 minutes depending on patients' awareness. Patients in the control group accepted lidocaine alone for anesthesia. The clinical efficacy and adverse effects of both the two ways of anesthesia were observed. ResultsThe time of sustained and effective anesthesia was (24.5±2.8) minutes in the experimental group, as compared with (16.8±2.1) minutes in the control group (P<0.01). The average amount of consumption of lidocaine was (12.4±1.3) mL in the experimental group, as compared with (16.8±1.5) mL in the control group (P<0.01). The heart rate at 5 min after operation was (81.5±19.5) beats/min in the experimental group, as compared with (94.6±34.6) beats/min in the control group (P<0.01). The mean pulse oxygen saturation at 5 min after operation was (93.5±3.6)% in the experimental group, as compared with (88.2±13.3)% in the control group (P<0.01). ConclusionCombined application of lidocaine and midazolam before bronchoscopy is simple and feasible for anesthesia, which has higher success rate, lesser side effects and other reactions such as body movement and coughing.
ObjectiveTo analyze the clinic characteristics and the flexible bronchoscopic findings of 1 221 cases of endobronchial tuberculosis,and try to find out some useful clues for the diagnosis of endobronchial tuberculosis. MethodsThe clinic characteristics and the bronchoscopic findings of 1 221 cases of endobronchial tuberculosis were summarized and analyzed. ResultsIn the 1 221 cases of bronchial tuberculosis,there were 491 males and 730 females with mean age of 45.5±16.8 years(ranged between 6 and 84 years). The peak incidence of endobronchial tuberculosis in females was between 20 and 50 years old,and in males was between 45 and 70 years old. The lesions were more common in the right lung (757 cases,62.00%). The most susceptible segment involved was the right upper lobe(316 cases,25.88%). The cases of left main bronchus tuberculosis (270 cases,22.11%) were more than right main bronchus tuberculosis(247 cases,20.23%). The most common bronchoscopic appearances were oedematous-hyperaemic and necrosis. The typical changes include caseous necrosis(117 cases,14.50%),fibrostenotic(130 cases,10.65%),and granuloma(92 cases,7.53%),which often occurred in the left main bronchus. The most common endoscopic classification of endobronchial tuberculosis was type Ⅱ(531 cases,43.49%)and type Ⅲ(505 cases,41.36%). ConclusionsBronchial tuberculosis occures in females more of ten than males. Female patients were mainly under the age of 50 years,while male patients was mainly above the age of 45 years. The most susceptible segments are the right upper lobe and the left main bronchus. The most common endoscopic classification is necrotizing ulcerative and granulation proliferative.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical features and relationship of anthracosis and bronchial anthracofibrosis (BAF).MethodsA retrospective study among 591 patients who did bronchoscopy in this hospital from January 2016 to December 2018 was performed. Of them, 71 patients had anthracosis, including 39 BAF. Their clinical data, bronchoscopic results, CT scan and pulmonary function tests were analyzed and compared.ResultsThe prevalence of anthracosis was 12.0% (71/591), while 54.9% (39/71) of anthrocosis were BAF. BAF patients shared features of old age (77.0±10.4), female domination (59.0%), low smoking ratio (25.6%) and high prevalence of tuberculosis (41.0%). Upper lobe bronchi and right lobe bronchus were the predominant sites of involvement. Right lobe bronchus was the most common site of stenosis or occlusion in BAF. According to CT scan, 69.0% of all anthrocasis cases had enlarged or calcificated lymph node in mediastinal or hilar positions. Paratracheal, parahilar, subcarinal lymph nodes were most frequently involved. Compared BAF with non-BAF patients, BAF patients had significantly more cough and expectoration. There was no statistical differences in age, sex, smoking history, infection with tuberculosis, the distribution of anthracosis and abnormal lymph nodes. Though only 26 of 71 patients performed respiratory function tests, there were significantly more cases of obstructive ventilation function disturbance in BAF than in non-BAF patients.ConclusionsAnthracosis occurs at regular locations in lung, usually accompanied with abnormal mediastinal/hilar lymph nodes and associated with tuberculosis. BAF might be a more severe type of anthracosis.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the role of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) in the diagnosis of lung space-occupying lesions.MethodsFrom June 1, 2017 to December 30, 2017, transbronchial biopsies were performed in patients with lung space-occupying lesions on chest CT, and biopsies were taken for ROSE and subsequent routine pathological examination. ROSE interpretation was performed by a pulmonologist who had been trained in cytopathology for 3 months. The interpretation was correlated with the follow-up routine pathological examination. The contemporary cases with lung space-occupying lesions who underwent transbronchial biopsies without ROSE were retrospectively reviewed. The quality assessment of biopsy specimens recorded in pathological reports were compared between cases with and without ROSE.ResultsA total of 101 patients underwent transbronchial biopsies in parallel with ROSE. The interpretation results of the pulmonologist were compared with the follow-up routine pathology, which showed that the consistency rate of malignant lesions was 84.1% and the consistency rate of benign lesions was 93.8%. Consistency test showed good agreement between the ROSE conducted by the pulmonologist and the routine pathological examination by pathologists (κ=0.66, P<0.01). The quality assessment of biopsy specimens showed that there was no significant difference on rate of satisfied biopsy specimens between cases with and without ROSE (98.0%vs 94.5%, P=0.14).ConclusionsThe use of ROSE combining with bronchoscopy allows good preliminary assessment of lung space-occupying lesions. Pulmonologists trained in short-term formal cytopathology are fully capable of performing ROSE, thereby obviating the need for cytopathologists to participate in on-site evaluation.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of selective large volume broncholavage by bronchonscopy in treatment of patients with acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis. MethodsA single-center randomized control,non-blind clinical trial was conducted.A total of 65 patients were randomly divided into Group A(large volume broncholavage group,n=21),Group B (mini- large volume broncholavage group,n=22) and Group C (control group,n=22).All patients received routine therapy of acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis while additional broncholavage was administered in the treatment groups for only once.Warm normal saline solution was instilled for Group A at volume of 500 to 2 000 mL and for Group B at volume of 100 to 200 mL.The baseline characteristics,Simplified Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score(CPIS) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were recorded at the first and on 7th day.The duration of antibiotic use,the length of hospital stay and total effective rate were compared among three groups. ResultsThe lavage volume was (1 250.0±403.3)mL for Group A and (141.0±41.2)mL for Group B.The length of hospital stay and duration of antibiotic use were (8.4±1.0)d and (7.9±1.1)d respectively,shorter than those in Group B[(13.5±1.6)d,(11.6±2.4)d] and Group C[(15.3±3.2)d,(13.3±2.6)d] with significant difference between three groups(all P<0.05).The total effective rates was 95.23% in Group A,higher than those in Group B (81.82%) and Group C (68.19%)(all P<0.05).The CPIS on the 7th day of Group A was 1.9±1.4,lower than that in Group B (2.7±0.8) and Group C (3.7±0.9)(P<0.05).The CRP of Group A decreased more quickly than Group B and Group C.The adverse events occurred in Group A and Group B including transient hypoxemia (23.81%,9.09%, respectively),tarchycardia(100%,68.18%, respectively),airway mucosal injury(38.09%,13.64%, respectively) and elevated blood pressure (19.05%,13.64%, respectively). ConclusionSelective large volume broncholavage through bronchonscopy is an effective and safe treatment for patients with acute exacerbation or bronchiectasis.
Lung cancer management is complex and requires a multi-disciplinary approach to provide comprehensive care. Interventional pulmonology (IP) is an evolving field that utilizes minimally invasive modalities for the initial diagnosis and staging of suspected lung cancers. Endobronchial ultrasound guided sampling of mediastinal lymph nodes for staging and detection of driver mutations is instrumental for prognosis and treatment of early and later stage lung cancers. Advances in navigational bronchoscopy allow for histological sampling of suspicious peripheral lesions with minimal complication rates, as well as assisting with fiducial marker placements for stereotactic radiation therapy. Furthermore, IP can also offer palliation for inoperable cancers and those with late stage diseases. As the trend towards early lung cancer detection with low dose computed tomography is developing, it is paramount for the pulmonary physician with expertise in lung nodule management, minimally invasive sampling and staging to integrate into the paradigm of multi-specialty care.
ObjectiveTo observe the relationship between ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and changes in bronchial mucosa and sputum in critically ill patients. A prediction model for SEH score was developed according to the abnormal degrees of airway sputum , mucosal edema and mucosal hyperemia , as well as to analyze the diagnostic value of the SEH scores for VAP during bronchoscopy. MethodsA collection of general data and initial bronchoscopy results was conducted for patients admitted to the department of intensive care unit at West China Hospital from March 1, 2024, to July 1, 2024. Patients were divided into infection group (n=138) and non-infection group (n=227) according to diagnostic criteria for VAP based on the date of their first bronchoscopy. T-tests were used to compare baseline data between groups, while analysis of variance was employed to assess differences in airway mucosal and sputum lesions. A binary logistic regression model was constructed using the SEH scores for predicting VAP risk, with receiver operating characteristic curve area under the curve (AUC) utilized to evaluate model accuracy. ResultsA total of 365 patients were included in this study, among which 138 cases (37.8%) were diagnosed with VAP. The AUC for using SEH scores in diagnosing VAP was found to be 0.81 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76-0.85], with an optimal cutoff value set at 6.5. The sensitivity and specificity of SEH scores for diagnosing VAP were determined as 79.7% (95% CI: 72.2%-85.6%) and 73.1% (95% CI:67.0%-78.5%). Patients with SEH scores over 6.5 exhibited a significantly higher rate of VAP infection (64.3% vs.14.4%, P<0.0001), elevated white blood cell count levels (WBC) [(13.3±7.5 vs.1.8±6.2), P=0.04], as well as increased hospital mortality rates (39.8 % vs.24.2 %, P=0.002). ConclusionsThe SEH scores has a certain efficacy in the diagnosis of VAP in patients with mechanical ventilation. Compared with the traditional VAP diagnostic criteria, SEH scores is easier to obtain in clinical practice, and has certain clinical application value.