Complications of Paediatric Flexible Bronchoscopy with Six-Lobe Bronchoalveolar Lavage Performed Under General Anaesthesia

AIM: To undertake a prospective review to identify the intra-procedure complications in children undergoing flexible bronchoscopy with six-lobe lavage and a retrospective review to identify the rates of delayed discharge and readmission. METHODS: The prospective review analysed consecutive procedures from August 2023 to August 2024 and collected data on intra-procedure and immediate post-procedure desaturations, laryngospasm, bronchospasm/wheeze, tachypnoea, pyrexia, hypothermia, and vomiting. The retrospective review analysed consecutive paediatric flexible bronchoscopies from October 2014 to August 2023 identifying discharge delays and readmissions. All children underwent flexible bronchoscopy at a single tertiary paediatric centre under general anaesthesia (GA) with a single aliquot BAL obtained from all six lobes. When cytology was required, the BAL from the right middle or most affected lobe was changed to triple aliquot. RESULTS: Six hundred and twenty-two procedures performed on 540 children were analysed. This included 502 in the retrospective review and 120 in the prospective review. In the prospective group 4/120 (3.3%) children experienced a significant (