Efficacy of bronchoalveolar lavage and positive pressure ventilation in treatment of traumatic atelectasis

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of bronchoalveolar lavage and positive pressure ventilation in treatment of traumatic atelectasis. Methods Sixty-eight patients with traumatic atelectasis, who were hospitalized in our department between January 2014 and December 2015, were included in the study, and randomly divided into the study group (n=34) and the control group (n=34). The control group received conventional treatment. The study group was given bronchoalveolar lavage on the basis of conventional treatment. The findings of blood gas analysis and the changes of vital signs were recorded before and after treatment. The clinical efficacy in the two groups was compared. The complications related to the bronchoalveolar lavage were recorded. The dyspnea score, tracheal intubation rate, noninvasive ventilation time, invasive ventilation time, ICU stay time, total length of hospital stay, medical costs, and mortality were compared between the two groups. Results At 3 d after treatment, the evaluation for the clinical efficacy showed that 19 cases were significantly effective (55.9%) , and the total effective rate was 97.1% (33/34) in the study group; 7 were significantly effective (20.6%) , and the total effective rate was 76.5% (26/34) in the control group. The significantly effective rate and total effective rate in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (both P 0.05). At 1 h and 24 h after treatment, the levels of PO2 and SaO2 in the study group were significantly increased as compared with the control group (all P 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the vital signs between the two groups before and after treatment (all P>0.05). No severe treatment-related complications were found in the study group. The dyspnea score at 3 d after treatment, tracheal intubation rate, noninvasive ventilation time, invasive ventilation time, ICU stay time, total length of hospital stay, medical costs, and mortality in the study group were significantly better than those in the control group (all P<0.05) . Conclusion The clinical efficacy of bronchoalveolar lavage is satisfactory for the treatment of traumatic atelectasis. Key words: Bronchoscopes; Lavage; Atelectasis; Lung injury, acute