In the intensive care unit (ICU), due to its safety and portability ( 3), bronchoscopy plays a significant diagnostic and therapeutic role in critically ill patients who cannot be transported to the remote imaging or diagnostic units ( 1). In this review, we discuss indications, techniques, complications, and yield associated with bronchoscopy in critically ill hypoxic patients.Д«ronchoscopy is an important tool for pulmonary and critical care physicians to diagnose as well as treat various pulmonary diseases ( 1- 3). Staying focused, monitoring vital signs closely, limiting the scope time in the airway, and understanding patientвЂ™s physiology may help decrease risk of complications. On the other hand, bronchoscopy in mechanically ventilated patients is not contraindicated and has been widely used. In patients with hypoxic respiratory failure, the use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) during bronchoscopy has been shown to reduce the risk of intubation. However, bronchoscopy in hypoxic patients can have diagnostic as well as therapeutic implications. Bronchoscopy is relatively contraindicated in patients with severe hypoxemia and coagulopathy. The hypoxic patients in ICU pose a challenge as hypoxemia is one of the known complications of bronchoscopy, and this risk is exacerbated in patients with hypoxic respiratory failure. However, the risks and benefits of bronchoscopy should be carefully considered in critically ill patients. Sedation, topical or intravenous, usually helps better tolerate the procedure. The utilization of bronchoscopy in the intensive care unit (ICU) has made the diagnosis and treatment of many conditions more feasible to intensivists. It is increasingly being used by the intensivist due to its safety and portability. Bronchoscopy is one of the important tool for the pulmonary and critical care physicians to diagnose and treat various pulmonary conditions.

Postbronchoscopy itpv