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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is Bronchoscopy Advised In An Elderly Person?

hi. my mom, a 71 year old woman, was diagnosed with acute kidney failure. She started dialysis treatment for three times a week. in the past month, she had on going low grade fever. She had x-rays and CT scan. Result came back with a high number of nodules in her lung. Blood test showed TB positive. But sputum samples came back negative. They went ahead with the TB treatment. After three days, the fever came back. She is weak and considering her age, hospital recommend Bronchoscopy. what should i do next?
Tue, 23 Dec 2014
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello and thanks for your question. It would be a good idea for her to have the bronchoscopy. With the uncertainty of diagnosis (neg. sputum for TB), it would be good for the doctors to have some lung tissue to examine to make the diagnosis. While bronchoscopy is an invasive procedure it is much less invasive than an open lung biopsy. It is very important to get tissue to be certain about the diagnosis and to guide treatment.
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Is Bronchoscopy Advised In An Elderly Person?

Hello and thanks for your question. It would be a good idea for her to have the bronchoscopy. With the uncertainty of diagnosis (neg. sputum for TB), it would be good for the doctors to have some lung tissue to examine to make the diagnosis. While bronchoscopy is an invasive procedure it is much less invasive than an open lung biopsy. It is very important to get tissue to be certain about the diagnosis and to guide treatment.