Foreign body aspiration (FBA) - Which bronchoscopy should you do? Flexible or rigid?
#TLDR:
Life threatening - Rigid bronchoscopy
Diagnosis not clear - Flexible bronchoscopy
Children - Rigid bronchoscopy
Adults - Flexible bronchoscopy
Mnemonic: childRen thReatening - Rigid bronchoscopy
So first ask - is this a life threatening FBA? Yes - Rigid bronchoscopy (after airway stabilization of course)
Then ask - Is the diagnosis clear? No - Flexible bronchoscopy
If the diagnosis is clear and the FBA is not life threatening - See the age.
If it is a child - Rigid bronchoscopy
If it is an adult - Flexible bronchoscopy
Here's a looooong copy paste explanation from UpToDate:
#TLDR:
Life threatening - Rigid bronchoscopy
Diagnosis not clear - Flexible bronchoscopy
Children - Rigid bronchoscopy
Adults - Flexible bronchoscopy
Mnemonic: childRen thReatening - Rigid bronchoscopy
So first ask - is this a life threatening FBA? Yes - Rigid bronchoscopy (after airway stabilization of course)
Then ask - Is the diagnosis clear? No - Flexible bronchoscopy
If the diagnosis is clear and the FBA is not life threatening - See the age.
If it is a child - Rigid bronchoscopy
If it is an adult - Flexible bronchoscopy
Here's a looooong copy paste explanation from UpToDate:




