Tracheoscopy is generally not a necessary part of a pulmonary examination, but is usually performed when there is unexplained hemoptysis, unexplained chronic cough, unexplained sudden wheezing, prolonged illness, or abnormal imaging tests.
1. Unexplained hemoptysis: If there is no obvious abnormality in the imaging examination of unexplained hemoptysis, bronchoscopy can be used to clarify the cause of the disease.
2. unexplained chronic cough: bronchoscopy is usually needed when there is unexplained chronic cough, and the cough is recurrent or persistent, and when there is suspicion of tracheal, bronchial, or lung tumors, or to determine the pathological stage of the tumor lesions, or when there is a foreign body in the airway, and so on.
3. unexplained sudden wheezing: when unexplained sudden wheezing or rumbling occurs in a fixed part of the lungs, bronchoscopy can be performed to exclude airway stenosis or obstruction.
4. prolonged illness: recurrent illness, persistent symptoms despite treatment, and failure to make a definitive diagnosis.
5. Abnormal imaging: Chest X-ray, chest CT, etc., and tracheoscopy is needed to make a definitive diagnosis of unilateral lung atelectasis or suspected airway injury and esophageal fistula.
Tracheoscopy may also be indicated for other lung pathologies, and it is recommended to perform the relevant tests and standardize the treatment under the guidance of a doctor.