A comparative evaluation of two fiberoptic bronchoscopy catheters: the plugged telescoping catheter versus the single sheathed nonplugged catheter.

We prospectively evaluated the ability of the plugged telescoping catheter (PTC) brush and the single sheathed nonplugged catheter brush to provide sterile lower respiratory tract samples during fiberoptic bronchoscopy in 19 noninfected patients with cancer. Both brushes were evaluated, in random order, in each of the 19 patients. The PTC brush and the single sheath brush were sterile in 12 and 5 patients, respectively, and in 7 patients, the PTC brush alone was sterile (p = 0.016, two-sided). Patients were anesthetized by lidocaine administered through the bronchoscope (6 patients), via an aerosol (3 patients), or by transtracheal injection (10 patients). The advantage of the PTC brush was evident only when aerosol or transtracheal anesthesia were used; the PTC brush was sterile in 9 of 13 patients, whereas the single sheathed brush was sterile in only 2 of these 13 (p = 0.016, two-sided). The plugged telescoping catheter brush is therefore more suitable than the single sheathed brush catheter for delivering sterile brushes to the lower respiratory tract during fiberoptic bronchoscopy.