Eiichi Kohda

Fiberoptic Evaluation of Peripheral Airways of Two Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure during Mechanical Ventilation

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is an useful examinations to evaluate the patients airway in intensive care unit because this technique is relatively non-invasive and can be repeated. A conventional fiberoptic bronchoscope, however, is too large in diameter to observe the peripheral airways. Recent technological development in fiberoptic bronchoscope has enabled us to observe more peripheral airways. To evaluate the changes and the courses of the peripheral airways of acute respiratory failure during mechanical ventilation, we observed the peripheral airways by using a fiberscope of 1.8 mm outer diameter (BF-1.8T; Olympus) in two patients who needed artificial ventilation due to acute respiratory failure. Patients were informed of the study before the examination.