Bronchoscopy

A new single-use bronchoscope designed by Boston Scientific has received FDA clearance for use in ICU and operating room bedside procedures, according to a press release.

Results from a prospective, multicenter study demonstrate feasibility and safety of robotic bronchoscopy in patients with peripheral pulmonary lesions, researchers reported in Chest.

Nearly 30% of bronchoscopes at five U.S. hospitals were positive for “high-concern organisms or actionable levels of microbial growth,” including mold and gram-negative bacteria, because of inadequate reprocessing, which may lead to bronchoscopy-associated transmission of COVID-19 or other pathogens that could cause secondary infections, according to a letter to the editor in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Storing endoscopes in a cabinet with an automated drying system reduced the time needed to dry the external surfaces and internal channels of the scopes while reducing bacterial growth, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, from the University of California, Los Angeles, told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease that these automated drying cabinets (ENDODRY Cabinet, Medivators) were developed to address residual moisture present on endoscopes after reprocessing, which could potentially allow environmental contamination to take hold on the scopes. 

Researchers linked a bronchoscopy-associated pseudo-outbreak of Mycobacterium mucogenicum to contaminated ice used for bronchoalveolar lavage in 15 patients.

This year’s CHEST Annual Meeting, held from Oct. 19 to 23 in New Orleans, highlighted important research and issues in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.

NEW ORLEANS — When compared with existing technologies, robotic bronchoscopy increased the ability to localize and successfully puncture small peripheral pulmonary nodules, researchers reported.

NEW ORLEANS — New data from a small study showed that patient-specific silicone airway stents made using a 3D printer were associated with fewer adverse events than commercially available stents in patients with underlying complex airway disease, researchers reported at the CHEST Annual Meeting.