title: Unusual complication of bronchoscopy.
abstract: In the last twenty years, the field of bronchoscopy has become increasingly more complex and invasive. It is now widely used in the management of pulmonary diseases and has the benefit of low mortality and complication rates. Overall incidence of complications and mortality reported ranges around 1% and 0.02% respectively. Common complications of bronchoscopy include pulmonary haemorrhage, desaturation, pneumothorax, and pulmonary oedema. However, facial and neck petechiae associated with subcutaneous hemorrhage post-bronchoscopy has not been reported before in the literature. We hereby report two novel cases of facial/neck petechiae post-bronchoscopy as a complication to be recognized by bronchoscopists. It is essential that bronchoscopists recognise such phenomenon as the clinical presentation is visually alarming to both the patient and clinician. It is usually self-resolving. However such presentation after bronchoscopy may trigger extensive and unnecessary investigations from the physician.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Darius Kang Lie
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Aw
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Matthew Zhen Wei
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Anthony Chau Ang
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Yii
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Dorothy Hui Lin
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Ng
keywords: BAL, Bronchoaveolar lavage; Bronchoscopy; COX, Cyclooxygenase; CT, Computed Tomography; Complications; FBC, Full blood count; Facial petechiae; Hb, Haemoglobin; INR, International normalised ratio; NSAID, Non Steriodal Anti – Inflammatory Drug; OGD, Oesophageal-gastro-duodenoscopy; PT, Prothrombin time; PTT, Partial thromboplastin time