The use of dexamethasone in pediatric bronchoscopy

The beneficial effect of intravenous corticosteroids in preventing traumatic laryngeal edema is controversial. Between 1968 and 1971, a controlled clinical study was conducted, at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, of 70 children who underwent bronchoscopy for removal of foreign bodies from the tracheobronchial tree. The patients were divided into two randomized groups; one group was given intravenous dexamethasone while the second was kept as a control. The length of hospitalization and the development of complications attributable to tracheobronchial edema were compared. Intravenous corticosteroids do not seem to reduce the incidence of post-bronchoscopy laryngeal edema.