Anaesthesia for fibreoptic bronchoscopy.

Fibreoptic bronchoscopy is a useful diagnostic aid but may result in difficulties when associated with endotracheal anaesthesia. As a result, adequate ventilation may be difficult in patients with impaired pulmonary function and, in particular, in female patients because of the smaller size of the laryngeal opening. In a trial of three methods of endotracheal anaesthesia in a series of 39 patients, a direct catheter inflation technique gave satisfactory ventilation without circulatory depression.