The role of local anaesthetic inhalation during premedication before bronchoscopy

In a prospective randomized study, the efficacy of local anaesthetic inhalation during premedication before bronchoscopic examination was evaluated. Eighty patients with chronic nonproductive cough were inhaling either nebulized anaesthetics (10 ml of 1% trimecain; 40 patients--group A) or an isotonic chlorine solution (40 patients--group B). This was followed by topical anaesthesia using spray and laryngeal syringe. Comparing the score of cough and episodes of gagging, the inhalation of local anaesthetics appeared to make the procedure slightly more comfortable for some patients. Additional anaesthesia was less frequently needed in group A than in group B (12 vs. 19 patients). However, none of the observed differences reached statistical significance. In conclusion, the inhalation of local anaesthetics at the beginning of premedication before bronchoscopy was not confirmed as a useful method that made the examination more comfortable for patients with chronic non-productive cough, but did produce a moderately beneficial effect in some of them.