Post Bronchoscopy Fever – Bacteremia is not the Risk Factor

Abstract

Objectives:To asses the incidence, clinical characteristics of post bronchoscopy fever and possible risk of bacteremia after fiberoptic bronchoscopy.Setting:Institute of chest medicine Mayo Hospital Lahore – A Tertiary Care University Hospital affiliated with King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan.Design:Prospective clinico-pathological studyPatients and Methods;Ninety three adult patients (male – 70 & female – 23) between ages 38 to 83 years undergoing fiberoptic bronchoscopy between January 2005 – April 2007 were studied for bacteremic risk of postbronchoscopy fever.Results:Seven (7.5 %) patients out of ninety three developed fever after bronchoscopy. Mean onset time of fever was 6.5 hours after fiberoptic bronchoscopy and mean duration of fever was 14.5 hours. The fever subsided spontaneously within 24 hours. No micro-organisms were isolated from blood culture specimen, taken from those patients who developed fever after bronchoscopy.ConclusionFever is a relatively frequent and transient adverse effect after fiberoptic bronchoscopy and bacteremia is not the risk factor.