title: [Flexible bronchoscopy as it is lived by the patient].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Flexible bronchoscopy is an indispensable complementary exam in respiratory medicine for both diagnosis of many pulmonary diseases and their treatment. Only a few studies in literature have been conducted to evaluate the safety and acceptability of this act.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, mono-center, non-comparative study involving 120 patients who underwent a flexible bronchoscopy for diagnostic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study, flexible bronchoscopy has caused neither deaths nor major complications. However, minor incidents have been deplored: hemoptysis (13.3%), epistaxis (3.3%), desaturation less than 90% (4.2%), laryngospasm (3.3%) and vagal discomfort (1.7%). 56.7% of patients were anxious before the exam and 24% of patients preferred to have general anesthesia. The patients reported cough in 78.3% of cases, difficulty in breathing in 55% of cases and pain in 13.3% of cases. The occurrence of nausea, noted in 15.8% of cases, was correlated with the pathway of the bronchoscope (P=0.002). At the end of the endoscopy, 67.5% of patients agreed to repeat the examination, if necessary, under the same conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study confirm that many complications during a flexible bronchoscopy are rare and generally mild failing in life-threatening. However, the occurrence of discomfort (cough, pain, vomiting, dyspnea) or incidents (asphyxia, vagal discomfort, laryngeal spasm) are likely to alter patient comfort during the exam.
authors.affiliation: Service de pneumo-allergologie, CHU Hédi Chaker, Tunisie. wajdi.ketata@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ketata
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ayadi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Msaad
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Feki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bahloul
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Derbel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ayoub
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D004844:Epistaxis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006469:Hemoptysis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007826:Laryngismus / Q000209:etiology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology