Bronchoscopy Test | Pulmonary Medicine | Procedure in Jaipur - Apex Hospitals

What is a bronchoscopy?

Bronchoscopy is a diagnostic procedure that enables your physician to examine your airways. During the procedure, one of two varieties of bronchoscopes is utilized:

• A flexible bronchoscope
• A rigid bronchoscope

The flexible form is more prevalent and can be used in the workplace after administering sedatives. If you have bleeding in your lungs or a large object is blocking your airways, a rigid mask is used. Rigid bronchoscopy is performed under general anaesthesia in a hospital setting.

Your doctor will thread the bronchoscope through your nose or mouth and down your oesophagus to your lungs during a bronchoscopy. On the extremity of the bronchoscope are a light source and a camera. The majority of bronchoscopes are compatible with colour video, allowing your physician to document the findings.

Why does a doctor order a bronchoscopy?

Using the bronchoscope, your physician can view all of the components of your respiratory system. These include your larynx, trachea, and the bronchi and bronchioles, which are the smaller airways of your lungs.

A bronchoscope examination can assist your doctor in diagnosing and treating any respiratory issues you may be experiencing. Additionally, your physician may collect biopsies of airway secretions or tissues to help in the diagnosis of lung and airway conditions.

The diagnosis

Bronchoscopy is capable of diagnosing:

• a lung disease
• a tumour
• a chronic cough
• an infection

In addition to detecting the source of pulmonary bleeding and identifying foreign bodies in young infants, the procedure can also be used to detect the cause of pulmonary bleeding. If you have an abnormal chest X-ray or CT scan that reveals evidence of an infection, a tumour, or a collapsed lung, your doctor may prescribe a bronchoscopy.

Treatment

The procedure is occasionally utilized as a treatment method.

A bronchoscopy enables your doctor to administer medication to your lungs or remove a foreign object, such as food, from your airways. Additionally, the procedure can be used to administer laser therapy to certain minor tumours.

Bronchoscopy can be used to place small stents in the airways to keep them open, if necessary.

Risks of a bronchoscopy

Bronchoscopy is generally safe for patients. However, as with any medical procedure, there are risks involved, such as:

• hoarseness
• bleeding, especially if a biopsy is done
• infection
• trouble breathing
• a low blood oxygen level during the test

Contact your doctor if you:

• develop a fever
• cough up blood
• have difficulty breathing

These symptoms may indicate a medically required complexity, such as an infection.

Rare complications associated with the use of topical anaesthesia during bronchoscopy include voice box or airway spasms, seizures, and cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms).

Heart attack and lung collapse are extremely rare but potentially fatal, complications of the procedure.

A collapsed lung can be caused by a pneumothorax, or increased lung pressure caused by the escape of air into the lung lining. This is the consequence of a lung puncture during the procedure and is more prevalent with a rigid bronchoscope than with a flexible fibre-optic scope.

If air collects around your lung during the procedure, your physician can remove it using a chest tube.

Who shouldn’t get a bronchoscopy?

Certain individuals cannot endure a bronchoscopy. Your physician may advise against the procedure if you have:

• tracheal stenosis (severe narrowing or blockage of the trachea)
• pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs)
• recently had a heart attack
• certain types of cardiac arrhythmias
• an untreatable bleeding disorders
• severe coughing or gagging
• low oxygen levels

Additionally, if you have hypercapnia (high levels of carbon dioxide in your blood) or severe shortness of breath, your doctor may place you on a breathing machine prior to the procedure. This is done to guarantee adequate oxygenation of the lungs during the bronchoscopy.

Bronchoscopy procedure

Once you are at ease, the procedure will commence with the following steps:

• The bronchoscope will be inserted into your airway by the doctor.
• Your doctor will guide the instrument from your nose to your throat until he or she reaches your bronchi. The bronchi are the airways in your lungs.
• Your doctor may have attached brushes or needles to the bronchoscope. If so, these will now be used to obtain tissue samples from your lungs. These samples can assist your physician in diagnosing any respiratory disorders you may have.
• In addition, your physician may use bronchial washing to collect cells. This involves spraying a saline solution onto the surface of the airways. The washed-off surface cells are then collected and examined under a microscope.

Depending on the specifics of your condition, your physician may discover one or more of the following:

• blood
• mucus
• an infection
• swelling
• a blockage
• a tumour

• If your airways become obstructed, you may require a stent to keep them accessible. A stent is a small tube that can be implanted into your bronchi with the bronchoscope.
• The bronchoscope will be removed when your physician is finished investigating your lungs.

Types of imaging used in a bronchoscopy

Sometimes, a bronchoscopy is performed using advanced imaging techniques. Innovative techniques can provide a more accurate depiction of the pulmonary interior:

• Your doctor uses CT imaging to see your airways in greater detail during a virtual bronchoscopy.
• During an endobronchial ultrasound, your physician employs an ultrasound probe connected to a bronchoscope to visualize your airways.
• During a fluorescence bronchoscopy, your physician employs a fluorescent light attached to the bronchoscope to see inside your lungs.

Recovery from a bronchoscopy

The duration of a bronchoscopy is between 30 and 45 minutes. You will recuperate in the hospital for a couple of hours because you will be sedated until you feel more alert and the numbness in your throat subsides. During your recovery, your respiration and vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen levels, will be monitored.

You will not be able to consume anything until the throat no longer feels numb. This may require 1 to 2 hours. You may experience soreness or scratch in your larynx for a couple of days, and you may become hoarse. This is very normal. Typically, it is short-lived and resolves itself without medication or treatment.