Importance of Pre-Procedure Counselling in Patients Undergoing Flexible Bronchoscopy

Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy is performed very frequently in pulmonology and cardiothoracic services where the patients are most critically ill. This study aims to assess the degree of satisfaction, duration, and level of cooperativeness among patients undergoing flexible bronchoscopy. A quasi-experimental study with 128 flexible bronchoscopy patients was carried out with two groups of patients (control and study group). All the steps of the procedure were discussed with the patient. The anxiety level score, patient satisfaction, cooperation, and duration of the procedure were assessed in both groups. A total of 128 patients were included. They were divided into two groups (study group and control group). In both groups, the majority were illiterate: study group 40 (62.5%), and control group 41 (64.1%). The hospital anxiety scale was statistically better in the study group than in the control group (p-value of 0.0001). The patients' satisfaction rate in the study groups was significantly higher (p-value 0.001, chi-square test 120.508). The duration of the procedure was significantly shorter in the study group (Mean ± SD 4.45, 1.381 min). Patients with better knowledge of bronchoscopy were more comfortable with the procedure and the duration of the procedure was significantly shorter.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-03767-5.