Risk factors and management of bleeding associated with transbronchial lung biopsy in lung transplant recipients

The aim of this study was to assess specific risk factors associated with bleeding during transbronchial biopsy (TBBx) in lung transplant recipients. Risk factors analyzed included gender, type of transplant, acute rejection, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) status, infections, number of biopsies obtained per procedures, serum creatinine level and post-operative day since transplantation. The bronchoscope was not wedged to obtain TBBx and associated bleeding was managed using the “back-and-forth” technique. The severity of bleeding is shown to be independent of any specific risk factor and the back-and-forth technique described herein can be safely employed in lung transplant recipients to manage bleeding associated with TBBx performed without wedging of the bronchoscope.