Safety of interventional bronchoscopy through complication review at a cancer center

Background and AimsThere have been rapid advances in the area of interventional bronchoscopy over the past 15 years, but associated complications have been rarely discussed. A longitudinal evaluation of the same operator's performance at a cancer center is reported. MethodsA detailed record review of diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy between January 1997 and March 2013 was conducted. ResultsAmong the 1358 diagnostic bronchoscopies, there were nine major complications requiring premature termination and three pneumothoraces found during follow-up (0.88%). An escalation in the level of care was required for four patients with massive bleeding, asthma attack, sedation intoxication and myocardial ischemia, respectively. Six cases occurred after brushing (0.71%), and five cases before any sampling procedure was conducted. The complication rate was highest for peripheral lesions (1.03%). Among the 109 therapeutic bronchoscopies, no major patient-specific complication occurred except for excessive granulation tissue formation following metallic stenting in one patient with benign tracheal stenosis. ConclusionThe complication rate with regard to bronchoscopy is comparable with historical controls according to the related literature, and their occurrence appears to be sporadic, not relevant to patient characteristics and mostly related to the bronchoscopy itself rather than the introduction of new techniques. Bronchoscopy remains safe along with technical innovations. However, risk recognition and effective prevention is essential.