Fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FBS) is a relatively safe procedure, commonly used in intensive care, both to monitor and maintain airways and for the diagnosis the pathology of the pulmonary parenchyma [1, 2]. It is usually practiced in emergency conditions on critically ill patients, who are intubated by controlled ventilation or by non-invasive assisted ventilation. In the latter case bronchoscopy ...

A 56-year-old diabetic man presented with left upper lobe collapse and postobstructive pneumonitis. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed an endobronchial mass obstructing the left mainstem bronchus. The lesion resembled a bronchial adenoma; however, cytologic and histologic examination revealed invasive mucormycosis. The patient was treated with intravenous amphotericin B followed by endoscopic las...

We read with interest the letter by Doctor Sanders (Chest 1983;83:935-56) regarding separation of the wire cytology brush from its attachment to the wire guide during bronchoscopy, and the letters by Doctors Malik and Behera (Chest 1984;85:837-38 and Chest 1985;86:147), Masa-Jimenez et al, and Weissberg (Chest 1985;86:156) regarding breakage of alligator forceps during bronchoscopy. We have exp...

Dental foreign body aspiration is a known complication in patients with maxillofacial trauma. Although diagnosis may be delayed, especially in elderly people with radiolucent dental appliances, clinician must be aware of dental tracheobronchial aspiration to minimize potentially serious consequences. We present a 50-year-old man with three months history of progressive dyspnea due to foreign bo...

OBJECTIVES Foreign body aspiration into the lower airway in adults is uncommon. We designed this study to investigate the clinical presentations, precipitating factors, management choice, and complications of foreign body aspiration in Chinese adults. PATIENTS AND METHODS We analyzed 43 consecutive adult patients with foreign body aspiration between February 1980 and December 1995 from the me...

Multiple papillomas ofthe tracheobronchial tree are rare in children and adults. We describe a 42-year-old woman with multiple papillomatous-like tumors involving the trachea and bronchi. The limited tissue samples obtained during fiberoptic bronchoscopy initially lead to a benign histopathologic diagnosis; concurrent cytology studies strongly suggested oat cell carcinoma. The biopsy specimen o...

A patient with advanced mycosis fungoides developed neurologic and respiratory symptoms and signs following multiple courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Various repeated diagnostic procedures--including cranial computerized tomography and fiberoptic bronchoscopy with transbronchial lung biopsy--failed to demonstrate an unusual involvement of the brain and lungs by mycosis fungoides. Radio...

The authors report a case of pulmonary aspergilloma in which a fungus ball was visualized and a biopsy specimen was obtained at fiberoptic bronchoscopy. The fungus ball was successfully treated with bronchoscopic instillation of ketoconazole. It appears that this approach can be useful in the treatment of patients who are high-risk candidates for pulmonary resection.