ObjectiveTo explore the rescue value of emergency bronchoscopic interventional therapy in patients with malignant airway stenosis and to share the treatment experience. MethodsThe critical patients with malignant airway stenosis who needed urgent bronchoscopic interventional therapy from January, 2007 to January, 2022 in Beijing Tiantan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University were selected. The demographic and clinical data of intra-and-post the operation were collected. The rescue value and safety of emergency bronchoscopic intervention in the critical patients with malignant airway stenosis were evaluated, and the rescue process was summarized. ResultsForty-three patients were enrolled in the study, including 26 males and 17 females, with an average age of (61.6±11.4) years, including 20 cases of primary lung cancer and 23 cases of other malignant tumors; The main type of stenosis was endogenous (26 cases, 61.90%), followed by external pressure (12 cases, 28.57%) and mixed (4 cases, 9.52%) type. The stenosis site was almost the central airway (41 cases, 95.35%), and the main anesthesia method was general anesthesia (37 cases, 86.05%); Emergency bronchoscopic interventional therapy included local resection in 27 cases (62.79%), stent implantation in 12 cases (27.91%), exploration in 2 cases (4.65%), tumor biopsy in 1 case (2.33%), and adjustment of stent position in 1 case (2.33%); The dyspnea score and the degree of airway stenosis decreased significantly after interventional therapy (P<0.01); intraoperative complications occured in 21 cases and bleeding (19 cases) was the commonest one, short term postoperative complications occurred in 3 cases, including respiratory depression, glottic edema and airway spasm, respectively. ConclusionsEmergency bronchoscopic interventional therapy can quickly and effectively alleviate the severe airway obstruction caused by malignant tumor, and win time for the follow-up comprehensive treatment of tumor, but it needs close team cooperation and standardized rescue process.
