Background: A significant part of the budget of our bronchoscopy unit represents repair costs for damaged bronchoscopes. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency, type and cause of damage to the bronchoscope as well as the repair costs. Methods: Frequency, type and cause of bronchoscope damage and repair costs of 13 new bronchoscopes that were used between August 1, 2001, and December 31, 2006, were retrospectively studied. Results: We recorded 47 instances of bronchoscope damage during the study, which is 1 instance of damage/141.6 procedures. Six instances of damage (12.7%) were potentially preventable. The most frequent wear and tear damage was to the rubber sheath on the distal bending portion of flexible bronchoscopes, and the most frequently preventable damage was that of the suction channel of the bronchoscope. The repair costs totaled 34,950.00 EUR or 5.25 EUR/procedure. 17,781.00 EUR (50.9%) can be attributed to preventable damage. The use of bronchoscopes for educational purposes was not associated with a higher rate of bronchoscope damage at our institution. Conclusions: Only a small number of occurrences of bronchoscope damage in our unit are potentially preventable, but they still represent an important expense. The relatively low occurrence of preventable damage is a result of the successful bronchoscopy training program.

Background: Patients scheduled for bronchoscopic procedures are often anxious and frightened. Reduction in the state of anxiety during an invasive procedure may prevent some possible complications. Music has been proposed as a safe nonpharmacological antianxiety intervention. Objective: We followed up physiological indicators of anxiety (blood pressure, heart rate) during bronchoscopic examination to determine the effect of music on the level of anxiety. Methods: Two hundred adult patients were included in the study. Blood pressure, heart rate, procedures performed during bronchoscopy and duration of examination were monitored. Patients’ overall feelings during the procedure were rated from 0 (without unpleasant feelings) to 10 (unbearable). All patients used the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results: Two hundred adult patients referred for bronchoscopy were included in the study: 93 patients received music during the procedure and 107 served as control. Therewere no significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, sex, indications for bronchoscopy, procedures performed during bronchoscopy, duration of the examination and patients’ subjective perception of the procedure. The mean hart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly lower in the music group compared to the control group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the application of music reduces anxiety during bronchoscopic examination as physiological indicators of anxiety, the mean heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, were significantly lower in the music group.