Broncoscopia flexible en un servicio de neumonología infantil

introduction. flexible bronchoscopy is a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tool. the objective of the study is to describe the experience with flexible bronchoscopy in a pulmonology section of a pediatric tertiary care hospital associated to the university. population and methods. studies performed between 01/2002 and 12/2005 were reviewed. olympus？ bronchoscopes (external diameters 2.8 and 4.8 mm) were used. bronchoalveolar lavage was performed with 3 aliquots of 1 ml/kg of warmed sterile saline solution. results. one hundred and two fiberoptic bronchoscopies (49 males, 42 outpatients) and 77 bronchoalveolar lavage were performed. patient's age ranged from 2 months to 18 years. fifty one studies were done in an endoscopy suite, 47 in the operating room and 4 in the intensive care unit. patient's diagnosis were: chronic lung disease (recurrent/ persistent pneumonia, bronchiectasis, primary ciliary dyskinesia) 65% (n: 66); immune deficiencies 18% (n: 18); cystic fibrosis 7% (n: 7), difficult airway 5% (n: 6) and noisy breathing 5% (n: 5). ten patients developed mild complications (7 hypoxemia, 2 upper airway obstruction, 1 cardiac arrhythmia), and 1 patient a severe one (severe bronchial obstruction). eighty five (65/77) bronchoalveolar lavage samples, 100% (12/12) bronchial brushing and 100% (6/6) endobronchial biopsies were representative. procedures helped the decision-making process in 75% (76/102) of the patients studied. conclusions. in this carefully selected population, flexible bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage were useful for their diagnosis and treatment.