[Virtual bronchoscopy for follow-up investigation of main airway stenoses]

The aim of the study was to compare the utility and effectivity of conventional and virtual bronchoscopy in the follow up of patients with main airway stenosis. 23 patients with trachea or main bronchi stenosis were enrolled in the study. The causes of the stenosis were malignant or benign tumor, struma and stent. The stenoses were evaluated before and after the different interventions (i.e. mechanical dilatation, laser photocoagulation, stent implantation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgical resection.) The mean time between the first and second endoscopic and virtual bronchoscopic examinations was 140 days. The authors found good correlation between bronchofiberoscopy and virtual bronchoscopy findings. The data of virtual bronchoscopy were more exact. Based on this study the virtual bronchocopy can replace the traditional invasive method to follow-up patients with main airway stenosis.