[Usefulness of intraoperative bronchial lavage in infant patients of bronchial foreign bodies with subsequent pneumonia].

OBJECTIVE

To observe the effect of bronchial lavage (BL) on infant bronchial foreign bodies with pneumonia during the bronchoscopic surgery, and assess its clinical value.

METHOD

One hundred and twenty-three cases aged between 1-3 years were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (n=58) underwent rigid bronchoscopic retrieval of foreign bodies under general anaesthesia, and the BL group (n=65) received an additional BL using 1% lidocaine (2 ml) with 1:100000 epinephrine, and 0.125% metronidazole (5 ml) during the bronchoscopic procedure. We compared intraoperative complications and postoperative recovery time between the two groups.

RESULT

The incidence rate of complications in the BL group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). An earlier recovery after surgery was achieved in the BL group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Intraoperative BL is a safe and effective therapy for reducing the incidence of complications and improving the recovery in infant patients of bronchial foreign bodies with subsequent pneumonia.