Therapeutic bronchoscopy for malignant central airway obstruction: Introduction to the EpiGETIF registry

• Published in: Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) Vic.), 2024-06, Vol.29 (6), p.505-512
• Main Authors: Guibert, Nicolas, Roy, Pascalin, Amari, Lyria, Legodec, Julien, Escarguel, Bruno, Fournier, Clément, Wallyn, Frederic, Cellerin, Laurent, Lorut, Christine, Usturoi, Daniela, Egenod, Thomas, Favrolt, Nicolas, Schlossmacher, Pascal, Bourinet, Valerian, Loïc, Perrot, Lachkar, Samy, Camuset, Juliette, Briault, Amandine, Kessler, Romain, Gut‐Gobert, Christophe, Mangiapan, Gilles, Carnot, Nicolas, Briens, Eric, Crutu, Adrian, Marceau, Armelle, Toublanc, Bénédicte, Deslée, Gaëtan, Dewolf, Maxime, Dutilh, Julien, Tronchetti, Julie, Astoul, Philippe, Vergnon, Jean‐Michel, Dutau, Hervé
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Airway management; Airway Obstruction - diagnosis; Airway Obstruction - etiology; Airway Obstruction - therapy; Bronchoscopy; Bronchoscopy - methods; bronchoscopy and interventional techniques; Dyspnea; EpiGETIF registry; Female; Humans; Implants; Life Sciences; lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - complications; Male; malignant central airway obstruction; Mechanical ventilation; Middle Aged; Patients; Prospective Studies; Registries; Respiration; Respiratory tract; Silicones; Stents
• ISSN: 1323-7799; 1440-1843; 1440-1843
• DOI: 10.1111/resp.14697

Background and Objective EpiGETIF is a web‐based, multicentre clinical database created in 2019 aiming for prospective collection of data regarding therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy (TB) for malignant central airway obstruction (MCAO). Methods Patients were enrolled into the registry from January 2019 to November 2022. Data were prospectively entered through a web‐interface, using standardized definitions for each item. The objective of this first extraction of data was to describe the population and the techniques used among the included centres to target, facilitate and encourage further studies in TB. Results Overall, 2118 patients from 36 centres were included. Patients were on average 63.7 years old, mostly male and smokers. Most patients had a WHO score ≤2 (70.2%) and 39.6% required preoperative oxygen support, including mechanical ventilation in 6.7%. 62.4% had an already known histologic diagnosis but only 46.3% had received any oncologic treatment. Most tumours were bronchogenic (60.6%), causing mainly intrinsic or mixed obstruction (43.3% and 41.5%, respectively). Mechanical debulking was the most frequent technique (67.3%), while laser (9.8%) and cryo‐recanalization (2.7%) use depended on local expertise. Stenting was required in 54.7%, silicone being the main type of stent used (55.3%). 96.3% of procedure results were considered at least partially successful, resulting in a mean 4.1 points decrease on the Borg scale of dyspnoea. Complications were noted in 10.9%. Conclusion This study exposes a high volume of TB that could represent a good source of future studies given the dismal amount of data about the effects of TB in certain populations and situations. The EpiGETIF registry has so far prospectively collected data from 2118 patients treated with therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy (TB) for malignant central airway obstruction (MCAO). This first report gives a picture of this population's epidemiological characteristics', anatomical presentations of MCAOs, techniques used during TB and main outcomes. See related editorial