KUMJ | VOL. 24 | NO. 3 | ISSUE 96 | JULY-SEPTEMBER, 2026

A Retrospective Study on Bronchoscopic Findings among Patients Undergoing Bronchoscopy in a Tertiary Care Center in Nepal
Vaidya N, Poudel P, Sapkota P, Adhikari R, Pathak S

Abstract:
Background Bronchoscopy is an invaluable tool utilized for diagnostic as well as therapeutic purposes in pulmonary medicine. It allows direct visualization of the tracheobronchial tree and helps clinicians to investigate suspected malignancies, infections, and other lung diseases. Bronchoscopy findings in Nepalese healthcare settings play an important role in decision-making, where infectious diseases such as tuberculosis often coexist with the increasing burden of lung cancer and chronic obstructive respiratory disease. Objective To study the demographic profiles, indications, and bronchoscopic findings observed during flexible bronchoscopy in a tertiary care center of Nepal. Method A descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary health care center among patients undergoing bronchoscopy from July 2022 to June 2024, following ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. A total population sampling technique was used. The data were entered in Microsoft Excel 2016 and analyzed using IBM Statistical Program for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Version 25.0). Result A total of 70 patients underwent bronchoscopy during the study period. The mean age was 60.2 years ± 10.4. Among them, 55.71% were males and 44.29% were females. The most common indication was suspicion of malignancy (48.57%), followed by chronic cough or hemoptysis (27.14%). Among the various bronchoscopic abnormalities, visible endobronchial masses were found in 34.29% of patients, bronchial narrowing in 2.86%, and mucosal inflammation in 18.57%. A normal bronchoscopic finding was observed in 26 (37.14%) cases. Most visible lesions were on the right side. No procedure-related complications were reported among study participants. Conclusion Bronchoscopy remains a valuable diagnostic tool in resource-limited settings to find pulmonary abnormalities. Most patients had abnormalities on direct visualization, especially endobronchial masses or inflammatory disease. However, many also had normal findings, highlighting the limitations of bronchoscopy for the detection of peripheral or early lesions.
Keyword : Bronchoscopy, Bronchogenic carcinoma, Lung, Nepal