The Safety of Aerodigestive Tract Flexible Endoscopy as an Outpatient Procedure in Young Children

BackgroundFlexible endoscopy (FE) for the pediatric aerodigestive tract is an invasive and complicated procedure; therefore, it is usually performed under an inpatient setting. We investigated whether FE could be a safe procedure for outpatient young children (< 5 years old) and analyzed the findings.MethodsOutpatient FE records were retrospectively reviewed between 1996 and 2003. Patients aged less than 5 years were enrolled and allocated to 3 age groups: group A (≤ 3 months), group B (4–12 months), and group C (1–5 years). Patients with or without previously known major airway anomalies were also grouped for analysis.ResultsA total of 728 children (479 boys, 249 girls) who underwent 834 FE procedures were collected. Of those without previously known airway anomalies, stridor was the most common symptom in group A (60.2%), and snoring in group B (34.1%) and group C (74.2%). Laryngomalacia was the most common FE finding in group A (60.2%) and group B (34.1%), and nasal adenoid hypertrophy in group C (69.6%). After FE, there were 57 admissions (6.8%), and higher in those aged less than 1 year or in those with major airway anomalies. Seven (0.7%) were complication-associated admissions.ConclusionFrom this study, we conclude that FE is a safe, effective and tolerable outpatient procedure in the majority of young children, and serious complications were uncommon.