title: Flexible bronchoscopy as a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tool in pediatric intensive care patients: a report on 5 years of experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinical role of flexible bronchoscopy (FB) in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units (ICUs).
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of all patients receiving FB procedures between January 2005 and December 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pediatric and neonatal ICUs of a tertiary care multi-disciplinary teaching hospital located in northern Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 358 ICU patients (223 males) who received 725 FB procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The medical records were reviewed and analyzed. Mean age for the first time FB was 35.7 (±48.9 SD) months old and 68.2% of them were <3 years old. Among them, unexplained retraction or tachypnea (32.0%) and stridor (20.1%) were the two leading indications for FB. The positive finding rate of FB was 87.2%, with airway malacia (47.8%) being the most common, especially in patients <3 years old. Positive lesion sites were approximately equally distributed between the upper (51.1%) and lower (50.6%) airways. Concomitant findings in the esophagus were found in 15.4% of the patients. There were 518 interventional FBs (71.4%, 518/725 procedures) which were performed on 201 (56.1%, 201/358) patients; FB-aided endotracheal intubation (180/518, 34.7%) and laser therapy (109/518, 21.0%) were the two leading techniques used. No patient suffered from any long-term complications or mortality associated with the FB procedures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FB is a safe and valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tool for patients in pediatric and neonatal ICUs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yu-Yun
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Wen-Jue
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Soong
authors.forename: Yu-Sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Pei-Chen
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.forename: Chia-Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Mei-Jy
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Jeng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D020680:Bronchoscopes; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors