title: Therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy at a tertiary care center in North India: Initial experience and systematic review of Indian literature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rigid bronchoscopy is often an indispensable procedure in the therapeutic management of a wide variety of tracheobronchial disorders. However, it is performed at only a few centers in adult patients in India. Herein, we report our initial 1-year experience with this procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective observational study on the indications, outcomes, and safety of various rigid bronchoscopy procedures performed between November 2009 and October 2010. Improvement in dyspnea, cough, and the overall quality of life was recorded on a visual analog scale from 0 to 100 mm. A systematic review of PubMed was performed to identify studies reporting the use of rigid bronchoscopy from India.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-eight rigid bronchoscopies (50 procedures) were performed in 19 patients during the study period. The commonest indication was benign tracheal stenosis followed by central airway tumor, and the procedures performed were rigid bronchoplasty, tumor debulking, and stent placement. The median procedure duration was 45 (range, 30-65) min. There was significant improvement in quality of life associated with therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy. Minor procedural complications were encountered in 18 bronchoscopies, and there was no procedural mortality. The systematic review identified 15 studies, all on the role of rigid bronchoscopy in foreign body removal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rigid bronchoscopy is a safe and effective modality for treatment of a variety of tracheobronchial disorders. There is a dire need of rigid bronchoscopy training at teaching hospitals in India.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India ; Department of Pulmonary Medicine, and Sleep Disorders, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Karan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Madan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Ritesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Ashutosh N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Dheeraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
keywords: Airway stents; bronchoscopy; central airway obstruction; interventional pulmonology; lung cancer; tracheal stenosis