Bronchoscopic foreign body extraction in a pulmonary medicine department: a retrospective review of egyptian experience.

Foreign body (FB) removal in our hospital was almost exclusively performed by surgeons through a rigid bronchoscope until the pulmonologists started getting involved in FB extraction. This study aimed to retrospectively review the results of 2 years of experience with 120 patients who presented or were referred to the Pulmonary Medicine Department, Ain Shams University Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, with clinical suspicion of FB aspiration during the period between December 2006 and December 2008. FBs were removed by either rigid and/or flexible bronchoscopy using either general or topical anesthesia. There were 54 male and 66 female patients with an age range between 3 months and 70 years and 68.5% of the patients were under the age of 10 years. Ninety patients (75%) presented with a definite history of FB aspiration, with a time interval between aspiration and presentation ranging between less than 6 hours and 12 months. The FB was visible on the chest x-ray in 42 cases. Aspirations were primarily into the right lung (53.2%). Seeds and scarf pins were the most common FB found, and were retrieved in 36 cases. Pulmonologists were successful in extracting 110 out of 111 (99.1%) bronchoscopically visualized FBs, and open thoracotomy was required in only 1 case for FB removal. In another 6 cases, only mucous plug was found to be the endogenous FB, whereas no FB could be found in 3 cases. No mortality or serious complications took place during or after the bronchoscopy. In conclusion, pulmonologists can extract FBs easily and safely either by using rigid and/or flexible bronchoscopes if they have the appropriate experience.

Endobronchial Ultrasound-directed Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in Diagnosis of Mediastinal Lesions: Initial Egyptian Experience.

Mediastinal lesions represent a diagnostic challenge and often require invasive approaches. We evaluated the role of radial probe endobronchial ultrasound-directed transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in the evaluation of mediastinal lesions. Between March 2005 to February 2006, 30 consecutive patients with enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes from unknown etiologies or suspicious for metastatic bronchogenic carcinoma and mediastinal masses underwent EBUS-TBNA and were clinically followed up. EBUS-TBNA was applied under topical anesthesia, midazolam sedation with a mean dose of 4.6+1.7 mg and prolonged the examination by 14.7 minutes on average. EBUS-directed TBNA was performed in 17 lymph nodes and 13 mediastinal masses, achieving specific diagnosis in 82.3% (14/17) and 84.6% (11/13) of examined lesions, respectively, with an overall yield of 83%. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA in distinguishing benign from malignant mediastinal lesions were 89.4%, 100%, and 93.3%, respectively. EBUS was well tolerated by most of the patients with no TBNA-related complications. In conclusion, EBUS-TBNA of mediastinal lesions is a minimally invasive safe diagnostic technique with high yield, even in the hands of those with initial experience. This initial study is convincing and stimulating for widespread application of EBUS-TBNA in Egyptian bronchoscopy practice.