Objective To summarize our experience of using rigid bronchoscopy in the managent of patients with tracheobronchial disease. Methods From Sep.2002 to Nov.2007, 44 patients of tracheobronchial disease（31 men，13 women, median age 51.9 years) underwent rigid bronchoscopic operations. All procedures were carried out under general anesthesia with high frequency jet ventilation. After the rigid bronchoscope was placed in the main trachea through the mouth , the airway was checked out firstly, and then the lesion was removed by repeated freezing, argon plasma coagulation, cauterization or mechanical ablation, and a stent maybe implanted while needed. Results All 54 procedures were accomplished endoscopically without mortality or major morbidity (16 clearence,19 core out,8 scar clearance,3 foreign body removal, 8 stent insert or removal).The lesion located at trachea in 19 cases, at carina in 4 cases,at left main bronchus in 11 cases and at right main bronchus in 10 cases. There were 17 benign diseases and 27 malignant diseases. There were 3 slight complications. 16 patients compliating with benign disease were followed-up and 1 patient was missed,there was no tumor recurrence except 3 patients complicating with tracheal scar who received reoperations during 4-44 (mean 23.0) months follow-up period. Of the 27 malignant cases,23 patients were followed-up and 4 patients were missed, the follow-up period were 5-58(mean 27.1)months.3 patients died in one months after operation of other disease; the other patients all survived more than one month,especially 7 patients who received radical resection of the tumor survived more than one year. Conclusions These data show that rigid bronchoscope can be applied safely and effectively in the management of tracheobronchial disease.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value and utility of flexible bronchoscopy in the preoperative assessment in patients with solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). Methods A total of 111 patients with SPNs of unknown origin treated between January and June 2016 were retrospectively enrolled. The clinical characteristics, bronchoscopy findings and surgical strategies were collected. Results In the total 111 cases, malignant and benign SPNs were 79 and 32 cases, respectively. The mean diameter of malignant SPNs was larger than that of benign SPNs [(2.04±0.58) vs. (1.70±0.75) cm, P<0.05]. Bronchoscopy identified 9 cases (8.1%) unsuspected findings. Surgeries were modified or cancelled in 3 patients (2.7%) because of bronchoscopy findings. Transbronchoscopy biopsies were performed in 26 patients, 9 of whom were diagnosed lung cancer preoperatively, with a sensitivity of 45% (9/20) and a specificity of 100% (6/6). Conclusions Flexible bronchoscopy can be contributed to diagnosis of SPN before surgery and determination of surgical strategies. It is suggested that flexible bronchoscopy could be included in the routine preoperative work-up of SPN.
The coming out of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy gives exciting solution for diagnosis and even treatment of peripheral pulmonary nodules. It breaks the barriers of traditional bronchoscopy, and gives live visible imaging guidance for operators during biopsy of peripheral pulmonary nodules. The electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy system can intelligently recognize and reconstruct the bronchial tree of the patients, and generate visible data and virtual guidance for the operators. It can perceive real-time magnetic localization of the signal, so as to precisely guide the navigational or biopsy tools. This review introduced the artificial intelligence configuration of the electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy system based on the Veran system, and gave some improvement advices based on the defects of the system. In this way, we hope to promote the development and better clinical application of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy system.
The present study was to develop and design a new sonography rigid bronchoscopy and corollary vacuum-assisted biopsy device system with less injury and complication. The system combined ultrasonic-probe with ultrasound catheter, a new medical ultrasound technique, and rigid bronchoscopy (RB) which is improved with an auxiliary vacuum-assisted biopsy device. The principle of the device is vacuum suction and rotary knife. The reduced outer diameter of the RB led to less pain and lower complications for the patient. With the help of ultrasonic-probe (30 MHz), lesions and blood vessels can be identified clearly and unintentional puncture and damage to blood vessels can be avoided. Plenty of lesions can be obtained quickly through the vacuum-assisted biopsy device without getting puncture needle in and out repeatedly. The novel endobronchial sonography rigid bronchoscopy and matched vacuum-assisted biopsy device has many remarkable advantages. It can enlarge the applied range of the RB from endobronchial to mediastinal lesions, avoiding unintentional puncture of vessels. Obtaining multiple samples with a higher accuracy rate than that by other sampling techniques, minimizing operation time, alleviating pain and decreasing the complication rate, the system makes up the technical deficiency for the diagnosis and treatment of the mediastinal lesions, to a certain degree.
Objective To explore the safety and efficacy for patients with central airway-pleural fistula (APF) treated by atrial septal defect (ASD) occluder. Methods This was a retrospective study. Between January 2017 and October 2021, a total of 16 patients with postoperative APF were treated with ASD occluder through bronchoscope under local anesthesia combined with sedation. The efficacy and complication were recorded during and after the procedure. Results Sixteen patients were recruited in this study and the average age was 60.7 years (range 31 - 74 years). The main etiology for APF was lobectomy/segmentectomy (n=12), pneumonectomy (n=2), radical esophagectomy (n=1) or decortication for chronic empyema (n=1). Totally, 4 fistulas were located in right main bronchus, 3 in left main bronchus, 3 in right upper bronchus, 1 in right middle bronchus, 2 in right lower bronchus and 3 in left upper bronchus. The median diameter of APF was 7.8 mm (ranged from 4 to 18 mm) and the median diameter of ASD occluder inserted was 10.0 mm (ranged from 6 to 20 mm). Successful occlusion of APF was observed in 15 patients (15/16) and 1 patient died of multiple organ failure caused by bacteremia 14 days after the procedure. Fourteen patients were recruited for long-term follow-up, on a median follow-up period of 16.2 months (ranged from 3 to 46 months). There were 12 patients of complete remission and 2 patients of partial remission and only one patient took a second operation due to the enlargement of fistula and translocation of occluder. At follow-up, 4 patients died and the reasons were directly related to the primary etiology, and no patient died due to APF recurrence. Conclusion Endobronchial closure of central APF using ASD occluder is a minimally invasive but effective modality of treatment with satisfactory long-term outcome.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the difference between the tracheal intubation connected to conventional ventilation (TI-CV) and rigid bronchoscopy connected to high frequency ventilation (RB-HFV) under general anesthesia on patients with transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB).MethodA prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in interstitial lung disease patients with TBCB from August 2018 to February 2019 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. According to the different methods of intubation, the patients were divided to a TI-CV group and a RB-HFV group randomly. The operating duration, extubation duration, total anesthesia time, heart rate, blood pressure and arterial blood gas analysis were collected and analyzed.ResultsSixty-five patients were enrolled. There were 33 patients with an average age of (48.0±15.0) years in TI-CV group and 32 patients with an average age of (48.8±10.8) years in RB-HFV group. The basic line of body mass index, pulmonary function (FEV1, FVC and DLCO), arterial blood gas (pH, PaO2 and PaCO2) and heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP) had no significant differences between two groups. At the first 5 minutes of operation, the pH was (7.34±0.06) and (7.26±0.06), and the PaCO2 was (48.82±9.53) and (62.76±9.80) mm Hg in TI-CV group and RB-HFV group respectively, with significant differences (P=0.000). At the end of operation, the pH was (7.33±0.06) and (7.21±0.08), the PaCO2 was (48.91±10.49) and (70.93±14.83) mm Hg, the HR were (79.6±21.1) and (93.8±18.7) bpm, the MAP were (72.15±13.03) and (82.63±15.65) mm Hg in TI-CV group and RB-HFV group respectively, with significant differences (P<0.05). There were no differences in the operating duration and extubation duration between two groups. The total anesthesia time was (47.4±8.8) and (53.3±11.6) min with significant difference (P=0.017). Five minutes after the extubation, there were no significant difference in the pH, PaO2, PaCO2, HR and MAP between two groups. No serious complications occurred in either group.ConclusionsCompared with rigid bronchoscopy, TI-CV under general anesthesia is more conducive to maintain effective ventilation, and maintain the HR and MAP stable during the TBCB procedure. TBCB procedure should be performed by TI-CV under general anesthesia in patients with poor cardiopulmonary function.
The robotic bronchoscopy system is a new technology for lung lesion location, biopsy and interventional therapy. Its safety and effectiveness have been clinically proven. Based on many advanced technologies carried by the robotic bronchoscopy system, it is more intelligent, convenient and stable when clinicians perform bronchoscopy operations. It has higher accuracy and diagnostic rates, and less complications than bronchoscopy with the assistance of magnetic navigation and ordinary bronchoscopy. This article gave a review of the progress of robotic bronchoscopy systems, and a prospect of the combination with artificial intelligence.
ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy and safety of computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous versus electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB)-guided microwave ablation (MWA) for the treatment of pulmonary nodules. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of high-risk pulmonary nodule patients who underwent MWA at the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital between 2022 and 2023. The pathological diagnosis rate, complications, and progression-free survival (PFS) rate were compared between the CT group and the ENB group. ResultsThere were 61 patients in the CT group, including 30 males and 31 females, with an average age of (67.22±9.13) years. There were 53 patients in the ENB group, including 29 males and 24 females, with an average age of (65.29±13.76) years. The pathological diagnosis rate in the CT group was slightly higher than that in the ENB group (88.52% vs. 71.69%, P=0.03). However, the ENB group exhibited a lower incidence of perioperative complications, including pneumothorax (16.39% vs. 3.77%, P=0.03), hemoptysis (19.67% vs. 5.66%, P=0.05), and pain (22.95% vs. 7.55%, P=0.03). There was no statistically significant difference in PFS rate between the two groups [HR=1.17, 95%CI (0.23, 5.81), P=0.85]. ConclusionBoth CT-guided and ENB-guided MWA are effective treatment modalities for high-risk pulmonary nodules.
Objective To investigate the clinical significance of lateral position ventilation in the treatment of invasive ventilation in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods From October 2014 to December 2016, 60 eligible patients with AECOPD who meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=30) or a control group (n=30). Expectorant, antiasthmatic, anti-infective, invasive ventilation, bronchoscopy, analgesic sedation, invasive-noninvasive sequential ventilation, nutritional support, intensive care and other treatment were conducted in two groups, but lateral position ventilation was subsequently performed in the intervention group and the control group used half lateral position. Outcome measurements included pH, PaO2/FiO2, arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (R) and air way resistance (Raw) before and one day after invasive ventilation, and duration of control of pulmonary infection (PIC), invasive mechanic ventilation (IMV), mechanic ventilation (MV) and intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Results Compared with before ventilation, the levels of PaO2/FiO2, PaCO2, HR, R and Raw were significantly changed in two groups after ventilation (P<0.05). One day later after ventilation, pH [interventionvs. control: (7.43±0.07) vs. (7.37±0.11)], PaO2/FiO2[(253.52±65.33) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa) vs. (215.46±58.72) mm Hg] and PaCO2 [(52.45±7.15) mm Hg vs. (59.39±8.44) mm Hg] were statistically significant (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found in HR, R or Raw between two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, PIC [(3.7±1.4) daysvs. (5.3±2.2) days], IMV [(4.0±1.5) days vs. (6.1±3.0) days], MV [(4.7±2.0) days vs. (7.3±3.7) days] and ICU stay [(6.2±2.1) days vs. (8.5±4.2) days] were significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the intervention group. Conclusions In AECOPD patients, invasive ventilation using lateral position ventilation can significantly improve arterial blood gas index, decrease Raw, shorten the time of PIC, IMV, MV and ICU stay.
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.