Effect of Suctioning by Bronchoscope on Postoperative Pulmonary Complications Among Patients With SCI in the PACU

Respiratory failure and dyspnea are common in spinal cord injury (SCI), and in acute situations, any spinal cord lesion above T11 can cause abnormal respiratory function and impair the airway clearance. Although surgical decompression is one of the key early neuroprotective therapies, surgery and general anesthesia disrupt many aspects of respiratory function and may cause a series of postoperative pulmonary complications. Endotracheal suction is important to reduce the risk of lung consolidation and atelectasis. But for patients with respiratory insufficiency such as SCI, ordinary suction is not enough to clear secretions in the deeper airways. And repeated intratracheal suction may even cause some serious complications. Bronchoscopy can generally penetrate into the bronchus of grade 3-4, and fully attract the secretions in it under visual conditions. Its curative effect on pneumonia and atelectasis in the ICU has been affirmed, but no one has yet explored the application in the postoperative care unit .