Bronchoscopy in some tertiary grade A hospitals in China： two years＇ development

• Published in: Chinese medical journal Vol. 125; no. 12; pp. 2115 - 2119
• Main Authors: Nie, Xiao-Meng, Cai, Gang, Shen, Xian, Yao, Xiao-Peng, Zhao, Li-Jun, Huang, Yi, Han, Yi-Ping, Bai, Chong, Li, Qiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Department of Respiratory Diseases,Changhai Hospital,Second Military Medical University,Shanghai 200433,China%Department of Clinical Laboratory,Ruijin Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University,Shanghai 200025,China 01.06.2012
• Subjects: Bronchoscopy - methods; Bronchoscopy - utilization; China; Hospitals - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Surveys and Questionnaires; 中国; 临床应用; 医院; 呼吸系统疾病; 支气管; 检查过程; 监测方法; 脉搏血氧饱和度; China; survey; clinical research; diagnostic and therapeutic bronchology; bronchoscopy
• ISSN: 0366-6999; 2542-5641
• DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0366-6999.2012.12.007

Background Although bronchoscopy has been widely performed in China, little has been known about its current state and development. In order to investigate the clinical application of bronchoscopy and make instructions for future education and development, the Chinese Society of Respiratory Diseases conducted postal surveys in both 2008 and 2010 in China. Method Questionnaires were sent to 40 tertiary grade A hospitals in 2008 and 58 tertiary grade A hospitals in 2010 to investigate bronchoscopies performed in 2007 and 2009 respectively. Results Thirty （75%） hospitals returned the completed questionnaires in 2008 and forty-one （71%） hospitals in 2010. All the respondents possessed flexible bronchoscopes. Fifty percent of the respondents had less than five in 2007, while more than 50% of the respondents had 5-9 bronchoscopes in 2009. All the respondents performed a radiograph or CT scan before bronchoscopy. Percentage of general anesthesia and no pre-medication before bronchoscopy increased, while atropine usage decreased in 2009 compared to 2007. During bronchoscopy, pulse oximetry was the most widely used monitoring method. Most respondents used the nasal route to perform routine bronchoscopy. After the procedure, they used sinks to wash and glutaraldehyde to disinfect the bronchoscopes. The total number of flexible bronchoscopies performed during 2007 was 37 874 and the average was 1262. Whereas in 2009, the total number was 60 178 and the average was 1468. Diagnostic bronchoscopy was more widely used than therapeutic bronchoscopy. The mortality rate was 0.076%0 in 2007 and 0.032%0 in 2009. Conclusions The two surveys, to some extent, reflected the current status and development of bronchoscopy in China. The results are worthy of future education and developing of new guidelines. Regular surveys and monitoring of bronchoscopies across China are needed.