Advances in diagnostic & therapeutic bronchoscopy

It is with great pleasure that we present this series in AME Medical Journal on advances in diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy. This collection of review articles focuses on recent advances in routine procedures as well as evolving novel techniques. Leading providers from the USA offer comprehensive reviews on pertinent topics and provide best practice recommendations from both comprehensive literature reviews and personal experience. Data are incorporated into management algorithms when available. Individual providers will need to adopt best practices based on equipment and personnel support available at an institutional level.

While malignant disease has historically dominated therapeutic bronchoscopy, many of the latest developments in this field pertain to benign disease. Bronchoscopic management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is reviewed in detail by Dr. Kevin Ma from the University of Pennsylvania. Management of complications after bronchoscopic lung volume reduction is also discussed in detail by Dr. Bobby Mahajan from Inova Fairfax Hospital. As cryoprobe technology continues to evolve, utilization continues to increase for evaluation of both mediastinal and parenchymal disease as outlined by Dr. Aruthur Romero from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Dr. Bryan Benn from the Cleveland Clinic, respectively. Both authors emphasize techniques and strategies to optimize patient safety. Finally, as technology and sophistication of single-use scopes improve, utilization will increase for complex procedures. Dr. Jonathan Kurman from the Medical College of Wisconsin discusses the pros and cons of single-use scopes for interventional cases.

Together, this collection of articles represents an excellent resource for contemporary information on some of the most dynamic areas in our field. We hope that the readers of AME Medical Journal find the information to be thorough and practical. We welcome any feedback so that we can continue to meet the needs of providers who rely upon this journal for accurate and timely information.

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, AME Medical Journal for the series “Diagnostic & Therapeutic Bronchoscopy”. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://amj.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/amj-24-54/coif). The series “Diagnostic & Therapeutic Bronchoscopy” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. J.S.K. and B.S.B. served as the unpaid Guest Editors of the series. J.S.K. is a consultant for Ambu, Biodesix, Boston Scientific, Cook, Erbe, Explorer Surgical, Galvanize, Level Ex, Medtronic, Merit, Noah Medical, Novascan, Pentax, Pinnacle Biologics, Pulmonx, Verathon, and Veracyte. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Jonathan S. Kurman

Bryan S. Benn