Feasibility of fiberoptic bronchoscopy for small infants including newborns

In pediatric practice, the application of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FBS) has been limited to infants and children, primarily because the caliber of the available fiberscopes was too large for application to small babies including newborns. Recently, fiberscopes with thinner calibers were generated, prompting application of FBS to newborn patients. In the recent five years, we have utilized narrow-caliber FBS at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Tokai University Hospital. Through 21 FBS applications on newborn patients for various indications, we conclude that given careful monitoring of the patient's systemic conditions and management of ventilation, FBS can be safely applied on small babies including newborn patients and facilitate treatment of the airway problems.