Health care workers safety.
In the published studies all bronchoscopies were performed in accordance
to current guidelines using appropriate personal protection equipment
(PPE) including gown, face shield, eye protector, shoe cover, double
gloves and filtering masks (FFP2/FFP3).18 Negative
pression rooms and disposable bronchoscopes weren’t universally
available although were used in the majority of centres (negative
pressure rooms in 57%, 4/7 studies; disposable scopes in 67%, 6/9
studies).18 Among all published studies (646 patients,
1,034 bronchoscopies), only Torrego et al reported one case of infection
in one bronchoscopist.18,43 Based on current evidence
we can conclude that, if performed with appropriate PPE, bronchoscopy
and BAL can be safely performed with minimal risk of infection for the
health care workers.