De Blic J
Service de Pneumologie et d'Allergologie Pédiatriques, Hôpital Necker, Enfants Malades, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris. jacques.
Rev Mal Respir. 2001 Sep;18(4 Pt 1):396-404.
Airway endoscopic exploration in children has benefited from miniaturization of flexible bronchoscopes, allowing examination in young and even premature infants. Whether endoscopy is performed under conscious sedation and topical anesthesia or under deep sedation, the painlessness of the procedure are very important for the child's comfort. Bronchoscopy may provide direct anatomical information or indirect information from secretions sampling, bronchoalveolar lavage, or bronchial and transbronchial biopsies. Indications are wide, mainly detection of airway obstruction via an intrinsic or extrinsic mechanism, identification of an infectious agent in immunocompromised patients, exploration of chronic interstitial pneumonitis, and interventional endoscopy.
