Information for patients Having a Bronchoscopy Endoscopy Unit Tel: 01473 702653 DPS ref: 06284-14(RP) Issue 5: March 2015 Review date: February 2018 The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, 2003-2015. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced in whole, or in part, without the permission of the copyright owner.
Patient s name: You are due to have a bronchoscopy on: Please report directly to the Endoscopy Unit at: The Endoscopy Unit is situated on the first floor and is accessed via South Wards (Entrance 2). On the morning of the bronchoscopy you may have breakfast and then nothing to eat after 8.30 am or to drink after 11 am, until the procedure has been carried out. You may be given sedation. Please make arrangements for a friend or relative to collect you from the Endoscopy Unit as you will be unable to drive. You will need to have someone at home with you for four hours after you leave hospital. Please ask the person collecting you to telephone the Endoscopy Unit on 01473 702352. They will then be advised when to collect you.
What is a bronchoscopy? A bronchoscopy is a test that allows the doctor to look directly at the trachea (windpipe) and the bronchial tree (the airways). A bronchoscope is a long flexible tube, about the width of a thin pencil, which the doctor looks through. The bronchial tree larynx (voice box) trachea (windpipe) right lung left lung During the test different procedures may be performed including the removal of secretions or samples for analysis. A biopsy may also be taken. This involves the painless removal of a small piece of tissue using tiny forceps passed through the bronchoscope. Sometimes the biopsy is of the airway and sometimes of the lung (a transbronchial biopsy). For a transbronchial biopsy X-rays may be used to guide the forceps to the correct site.
What should you expect? Before the test You will need to come to the Endoscopy Unit on the day of the test at your appointment time. The majority of people are able to go home the same afternoon but occasionally you may need to stay in overnight. You may have breakfast and then nothing to eat after 8.30 am or to drink after 11 am, until after the procedure has been carried out. On your arrival you will be assessed by a nurse and meet a doctor who will explain the procedure. They will ask you to sign a consent form, if you have not already done this. This is to ensure you understand the test and its implications. If you have any questions please ask. Please tell the nurse or doctor if you have had any change in your condition or medications since you were last seen in the Chest Clinic and inform them of any allergies you may have. Do tell the nurse or doctor if you use inhalers or are asthmatic. During the test The procedure varies according to your condition. You will be taken into the examination room where you will sit or lie on a couch. You may be given a sedative injection into a vein, which will help you relax. A local anaesthetic will be sprayed into your nose and mouth. Oxygen tubes will
be placed under your nose and an oxygen monitor will be placed on your finger. As the bronchoscope is usually passed, through the nose but sometimes through the mouth. Further anaesthetic will be given. This may cause you to cough briefly before the anaesthetic works. The bronchoscope will then be passed into the lungs. Once in the lungs samples may be taken which may involve an X-ray machine to guide the forceps. To examine the lungs takes 15 20 minutes with further time needed for sampling. Potential problems Most patients tolerate the test very well with no problems. You may notice a slight nosebleed or if a biopsy is taken you may cough up blood but this usually settles within a day. Significant bleeding after a biopsy happens in less than one person in 100. You may have a sore throat or hoarse voice which will also settle within a day or so. With transbronchial biopsies there is a risk, in around one person in every 30, of the lung deflating. Around half of these people (one in 60) need to stay in hospital to have the lung re-inflated. Most patients can go home the same day but may need a repeat X-ray. Some patients get wheezy after the test and may need a nebuliser (inhaled medication). Other rare complications include a reaction to the sedative drug, a fast heart rate or a chest infection.
After the test If you have had sedation you will feel sleepy and will be left to rest. You will not be able to eat or drink for about one hour as the anaesthetic can temporarily impair your ability to swallow. If you have had a transbronchial biopsy you will need an X-ray before you can go home. Going home If you are going home on the same day, it is essential that someone with transport collects you from the Endoscopy Unit. Once home, it is important to rest for the remainder of the day. You will need to have someone at home with you for four hours after you leave the hospital. In some cases we recommend someone stays with you overnight. Sedation lasts longer than you think and so you should not: drive a car; operate machinery; drink alcohol; or make any financial or legal decisions.
The effects of the test and injection should have worn off by the next day and most patients are able to resume their normal activities. Getting the results You will usually be told how the test went before you leave the hospital. If you had sedation you may not remember the test or details of what was said after the test. Full discussion of the results will happen once the samples have been processed and you will usually be given an appointment to see the doctor in clinic within a week or two. If you have any questions regarding your bronchoscopy please ask a member of the team.
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