Are flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction practices an alternative to rigid bronchoscopy?

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction in the treatment of airw ay obstruction arise from mucus plugs and blood clots and present our experience. Materials and Methods: The present study evaluated patients who previously underwent unsuccessful flexible bronchoscopy for the removal of secretions and blood clots in the central airway and who underwent flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction between January 2013-November 2017. Results: The study included seven patients with a mean age of 58.29 +/- 18.56 years (28-76). Three patients underwent bedside intervention in the intensive care unit, and four patients underwent an intervention in the bronchoscopy unit. Seven patients underwent a total of nine sessions of cryoextraction. Severe complications or mortality did not occur during the cryoextraction sessions. Conclusion: Flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction offers a safe treatment strategy as an alternative to rigid bronchoscopy in patients in whom airway patency cannot be achieved using other flexible bronchoscopic interventions. and accuracy of PET was higher compared to CT with this cut-off value.