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How Are Bronchial Scrapings Obtained?

To obtain bronchial scrapings, a physician inserts a bronchoscope down into the lung and uses a cytology brush to gather specimens. According to Pallav L. Shah, MD, Consultant Physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital, the procedure has a well-established safety record.

  1. Indications

    • A physician may want to obtain bronchial scrapings to investigate symptoms such as recurrent lung infection, or persistent cough with or without blood, according to Pallav L. Shah, MD. Preparation of the patient before the procedure includes obtaining relevant data and consent, blood tests, lung function tests and giving antibiotics if necessary.

    Flexible Bronchoscope

    • The bronchoscope has different channels for instruments as well as lights. According to Pallav L Shah, MD, flexible bronchoscopy represents an outpatient procedure which requires only local anesthesia, sometimes accompanied by intravenous sedation.

    Scrapings

    • The physician uses a specially designed brush to scrape cells from suspicious areas, and then transfers the cells to a microscope slide for lab analysis. According to McLendon Clinical Laboratories, the brush can also go directly into a vial with a preservative like PreservCyt. Adverse effects of flexible bronchoscopy occur at a low rate of about two percent. Patients may react to the anesthetic, sedative or the procedure itself.

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