This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and severity of post-bronchoscopy airway complications in pediatric patients, assess the impact of targeted nursing interventions, and identify prognostic risk factors, including procedure-related thresholds, influencing postoperative recovery. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 216 pediatric patients who underwent flexible bronchoscopy at a tertiary referral center from February 2023 to February 2025. Airway complications, including hypoxemia (SpO₂ 0.05), though saline aerosols were not evaluated. Patients with laryngeal edema had a markedly higher need for oxygen supplementation compared with those without (85.71% vs. 28.21%, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified younger age (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.12–1.77, p = 0.003), pre-existing respiratory disease (OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.39–3.42, p = 0.001), and prolonged procedure duration (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.08–1.47, p = 0.004) as independent risk factors. ROC analysis further indicated a cut-off of 7 min for procedure duration, above which the risk of severe complications increased significantly (18.6% vs. 7.2%, p = 0.003). Airway complications following pediatric bronchoscopy are frequent in high-risk populations, with most events being transient but clinically relevant. Individualized nursing interventions—particularly standardized pre-procedural nebulization and optimized oxygenation strategies—can effectively reduce complication rates. Younger age, pre-existing respiratory disease, and prolonged procedure duration (especially beyond 7 min) are key prognostic factors. These findings underscore the importance of risk stratification and structured perioperative nursing protocols to enhance safety and optimize recovery in pediatric bronchoscopy.
Tian et al. (Mon,) studied this question.