Does sedation help in fibreoptic bronchoscopy?
M Q F Hatton, M B Allen, A S Vathenen, E Mellor, N J Cooke Departments of Respiratory Medicine and Pharmacy, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds LS1 3EX Correspondence to: Dr M B Allen, Chest Clinic, St Luke’s Hospital, Bradford BD5 0NA. Although sedation is associated with major complications1,2 sedative drugs are often given immediately before fibreoptic bronchoscopy in the belief that patients’ comfort is improved. Uncontrolled studies have shown that fibreoptic bronchoscopy is well tolerated without sedation.3,4 Most comparative studies of premedication have looked at different drug regimens; we are aware of only one study that included an unsedated control arm.5 Opiates and benzodiazepines are frequently used for sedation during fibreoptic bronchoscopy; we compared two such regimens with placebo. Patients, methods, and results Of 184 patients undergoing routine diagnostic fibreoptic bronchoscopy without transbronchial biopsy, 182 consented to enter a consecutive double blind comparison
