Application of bronchoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral pulmonary lesions in China: a national cross-sectional study

Haidong Huang; Ning Wu; Sen Tian; Dongchen Shi; Changhui Wang; Guangfa Wang; Faguang Jin; Shiyue Li; Yuchao Dong; Michael J Simoff; Qiang Li; Chong Bai

doi:10.7150/jca.84220

Application of bronchoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral pulmonary lesions in China: a national cross-sectional study

J Cancer. 2023 May 15;14(8):1398-1406. doi: 10.7150/jca.84220. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Haidong Huang¹, Ning Wu¹, Sen Tian¹, Dongchen Shi¹, Changhui Wang², Guangfa Wang³, Faguang Jin⁴, Shiyue Li⁵, Yuchao Dong¹, Michael J Simoff⁶, Qiang Li⁷, Chong Bai¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University, Xian, China.
⁵ Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁶ Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA.
⁷ Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background: Bronchoscopy has gradually become valuable armamentarium in evaluating and applying endoscopic therapy to peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs) around the world. We aimed to make a comprehensive understanding of the application of bronchoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of PPLs in China. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in China between January 2022 and March 2022. The survey was in the form of an online questionnaire which was filled in with real-time data by the respondents. Results: A total of 347 doctors from 284 tertiary hospitals (81.8%) and 63 secondary general hospitals (18.2%) were included in the data analysis. More than half of the surveyed doctors (55.0%) had independently performed respiratory endoscopy for 5-15 years. Higher proportions of hospitals with a fixed nursing team, anesthesiologists and rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) during bronchoscopic procedures were performed in tertiary hospitals than those in secondary general hospitals (P<0.001 each). There were 316 hospitals (91.7%) eligible for performing biopsies of PPLs less than 30mm, while more than 300 PPLs biopsies were performed in only 78 hospitals (24.7%) per year. Radial probe endobronchial ultrasound (r-EBUS) (50.3%) was the commonest type of technique used in the guidance of a bronchoscope to PPLs, followed by navigational bronchoscopy (30.3%) and cone beam CT (CBCT) (17.0%). Although two thirds of the surveyed hospitals had at least one bronchoscopic guidance devices, the actual utilization of these devices was not high due to high capital costs and absence of training. To note, more diagnostic procedures and allocated devices were concentrated in the southeast region and coastal cities. Furthermore, therapeutic bronchoscopic interventions for peripheral lung cancer and/or high-risk PPLs could be performed in 124 (35.7%) of the 347 involved hospitals. Conclusions: Bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of PPLs has been carried out in most hospitals in China and yields in different hospitals and regions varied greatly. To date, only a few hospitals in China can develop therapeutic bronchoscopy for PPLs.

Keywords: bronchoscopy; diagnosis; endobronchial ultrasound; navigational bronchoscopy; peripheral pulmonary lesions; treatment.