Abstract
Background: To evaluate patient's (pts) fear of bronchoscopy (BRO), how the procedure itself is rated by the pts and whether the fear of BRO correlates with a suspected diagnosis of malignancy.
Methods: prospective evaluation of all pts undergoing BRO in our hospital during the year 2012 with a standardized questionnaire. The pts had to answer the question for the fear of BRO before the procedure and the question for discomfort they experienced during BRO after the procedure using a visual analog scale (vas: 0-10).
Results: 165 pts were enrolled, mean age 65 years (17-93, SD 15.8), 42% women, 58% men; 60% inpts, 40% outpts; 42% with suspected malignancy before BRO, 36% with proven malignancy by BRO. 23 pts were excluded (mechanical ventilation, missing data). Mean BRO duration was 18.2 min (3-44, SD 8.2), mean propofol dose was 160 mg (0-500, SD 95.5). Fear of BRO was rated 2.82 (SD 2.76) on the vas. Discomfort during BRO was rated 0.43 (SD 1.2) on the vas. Women rated their fear significantly higher than men: 3.82 (SD 2.98) versus 2.14 (SD 2.39) on vas (p=0.001) and we found an inverse correlation between age and rated fear, e.g. the older the pts the lower the rated fear (Pearson's correlation: -0.273; p=0.001). There was neither a correlation between the fear of BRO and the suspected diagnosis of malignancy, nor between the fear of BRO and the duration of BRO or the amount of propofol used.
Conclusion: younger pts are more anxious before BRO than older pts and women rate their fear of BRO higher than men. The fear experienced before BRO does not correlate with the suspicion of malignancy. BRO is tolerated very well in our institution.
- © 2013 ERS