In modern medicine, there are many ways to study the respiratory tract and identify their diseases. The question of what bronchoscopy can be answered as follows: this is a procedure that makes it possible to thoroughly examine the lungs using a special thin hose (bronchoscope). The diagnostic device is equipped with a light and small camera, which provides video fixation of the mucous organ. A bronchoscope through the mouth or nose gently moves to the throat, trachea and respiratory tract, after which the specialist examines the gaps between the branches of the organ.
The essence of the procedure
There are two types of diagnostic devices: flexible and hard type. They can vary in width.
The use of a flexible bronchoscope is more common. The instrument is able to move into smaller branches in the depths - the bronchioles. It is used for the following procedures:
- Organization of access of oxygen.
- Collection of fluid secretions and sputum.
- Deliveries of drugs to the organs.
Bronchoscopy under anesthesia is performed with a rigid type apparatus, which is used to check wide air gaps. Scope of its application:
- Removal of excessive fluid and blood secretions.
- Exercise control of bleeding.
- The release of the respiratory tract from foreign particles (including in children).
Bronchoscopic examination is carried out in the operating unit with the introduction of anesthetics.
When is the procedure scheduled?
What is bronchoscopy and when is it indicated? The method under consideration is appropriate for the following cases:
- Identification of benign tumors.
- When diagnosing an oncological disease of the bronchi.
- Detection of obstruction of the airways (scientifically - obstruction).
- The narrowing of the area in the bronchopulmonary site.
- Diagnosis of inflammatory and infectious processes, including tuberculosis, interstitial diseases.
- Identify the causes of chronic cough and blood discharge.
- Confirmation or exclusion of the diagnosis in the reflection of spots during chest x-ray.
Lung bronchoscopy - what is it and how is it done?
Before carrying out this procedure, you must completely get rid of jewelry, jewelry, false jaw prostheses, contact lenses and the like. It is preferable to visit the toilet. Diagnosis is carried out with a minimum amount of clothing on the patient.
When conducting a study with a flexible bronchoscope, general anesthesia is not needed . Local anesthesia is sufficient by administering the drug by spraying in the mouth or nose. The patient is lying or reclining. The specialist introduces the device, moves it further through the throat to the organ under investigation.
Features
What is bronchoscopy in the process? The display shows a picture of the covered area with its gradual advancement to the bronchi and lungs. If the procedure is also aimed at cleaning the bronchial mucus, at the same time, a therapeutic saline solution is sprayed onto this organ.
With the introduction of a rigid type bronchoscope, the paramedic proceeds with manipulations after the patient has received general anesthesia. The whole operation takes no more than 40-50 minutes. The invasive (alien) nature of the procedure requires a certain short rehabilitation. After bronchoscopy, you need to refrain for 2-3 hours from eating food, water, cigarettes. Also, do not sit behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Risks and Prohibitions
What is bronchoscopy and what are its consequences? This question can be answered almost unambiguously: manipulation is not pleasant, like most medical studies, but pathological complications are extremely rare.
Possible adverse effects:
- The appearance of bleeding most often occurs with a biopsy.
- There is a small percentage of the occurrence of an infectious disease.
- Sometimes there is difficulty breathing.
- During the procedure, the level of oxygen in the blood may decrease.
Contraindications for bronchoscopy:
- Serious narrowing or blockage of the trachea (stenosis).
- High blood pressure in the pulmonary blood vessels (hypertension).
- A violent cough or severe vomiting.
A patient who has a high level of carbon dioxide in the blood may need a special breathing machine before manipulation. This technique allows direct oxygen supply to the lungs.
Preparatory process
First of all, you need to consult a profile doctor about all the possible consequences, objectivity and reliability of the results of this procedure. The specialist should adequately navigate in the terminology, the name of the drugs, have a concept of the patient’s history and information about the presence of allergic reactions to drugs.
An absolutely normal phenomenon is the direction before the diagnosis for blood donation or other tests. This practice is quite common before most diagnostic manipulations. For 10-12 hours before undergoing bronchoscopy, you should refuse to eat food.
Patient Reviews
Lung bronchoscopy - what is it? Patient reviews are divided polar. Given all the nuances, it should be understood that few procedures in medicine can be called pleasant. The objective advantages of this study are seen by many in the following aspects:
- The ability to study the condition of the lungs from the inside and to accurately assess their condition.
- Help in establishing the final and correct diagnosis.
- Short duration of the procedure without the need for general anesthesia.
Judging by the reviews of patients, in 80% of cases, the detection of early oncological pathologies of the respiratory system occurs due to bronchoscopy in conjunction with a biopsy.
The main negative consequences include discomfort, rather unpleasant sensations, a moral fear of manipulation.
Minuses
Bronchoscopy, reviews of which are not uncommon in a negative way, allows you to solve many diagnostic problems that are difficult to identify without detecting or can be determined at an advanced stage of the disease. However, complaints about the consequences of this operation include the following:
- Pain in the throat, nose, chest, which can last from several hours to a week or more.
- Breathing problems during the procedure.
- An unpleasant sensation of a foreign body in the body for several hours after bronchoscopy.
Very rarely, truly significant complications can occur. Isolated cases are known when a patient with oncological disease bleeds after bronchoscopy. After this, hoarseness, tonsillitis, weakness persisted for several years.
Conclusion
Be that as it may, lung bronchoscopy is an effective modern technique for examining the respiratory organs, without which it is quite difficult to make an accurate diagnosis in time and identify malignant tumors at an early stage. The procedure allows you to detect a variety of pathologies in the respiratory tract, which can save a person not only health but also life.