Experience of a tertiary paediatric bronchoscopy service in the UK

Introduction: Fiberoptic flexible bronchoscopy(FB)is frequently performed to evaluate children with known or suspected airway and lung parenchymal disorders. Aims: To retrospectively collect information on indications, clinical outcomes and complications of all flexible bronchoscopies performed at Sheffield Children’s Hospital over one year period (2017). Method: The clinical files of 158 children (aged 16 years or less) were reviewed. Demographic data, types of procedure, operator findings, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) reports and complications were analysed. Results: 161 FB were done, 51% in children aged 3 years or less. 48(30%) were normal but 113 had positive findings (Figure 1). The incidence of airway abnormalities was lower (36.6%) compared to other studies (57%). BAL results are presented in Figure 2. Conclusions: FB is an important investigation in the assessment of complex respiratory problems in children, with good diagnostic yield and low complication rate. BAL results could have significant implications on the choice of antibiotics in the context of antibiotic stewardship. References: 1. A Faro et al, AJRCCM 2015, 191: 1066 2. F. De Baets et al, ERJ 2012, 39: 392