What have we learned in interventional pulmonology in the past decade?

Abstract

Background/aim: The increasing number of lung diseases and particularly pulmonary malignancies has intensified the need fordiverse interventions in the field of interventional pulmonology. In recent years we have seen many new developments and expandingapplications in the field of interventional pulmonology. This has resulted in an increased number and variety of performed proceduresand differing approaches. The purpose of the present study is to provide information on patient characteristics, range of interventions,complication rates, and the evolving approach of an experienced center for interventional pulmonology.Materials and methods: We retrospectively examined the records of 1307 patients who underwent a total of 2029 interventionalprocedures in our interventional pulmonology department between January 2008 and December 2017.Results: About half of the interventional procedures (47.2%) were performed on patients with airway stenosis due to malignant disease.Among patients with benign airway stenosis, the most frequent reason for intervention was postintubation tracheal stenosis. Thenumber of patients who developed complications was 81 (6.2%), and the most common complication was hemorrhage (n = 31, 2.99%);94.9% (n = 1240) of interventional procedures were performed under general anesthesia, without complications or deaths associatedwith anesthesia. Only one death (0.076%) occurred in the perioperative period. A total of 18 patients (1.38%) died in the 30-dayperioperative and postoperative period. None of the patients with benign airway stenosis died.Conclusion: Interventional bronchoscopy is an invasive but considerably safe and efficient procedure for selected cases and effectivetreatment modality for airway obstructions, massive hemoptysis, and foreign body aspiration. Interventional pulmonology is a fieldof pulmonary medicine that needs effort to progress and provide an opportunity to witness relevant developments, and increase thenumber of competent physicians and centers.