Significance of early bronchoscopic airway abnormalities after lung transplantation

Abnormal bronchoscopic allograft airway appearance with erythema, friability and sloughing - presumed to be ischemic - has been described early after lung transplantation, but its association with post-operative spirometry or other outcomes is largely unknown. We conducted a prospective cohort study to assess the impact of such airway changes in all lung transplant recipients from January 1997 to July 2000. Twenty-four (59%) of 41 patients were classified as having ischemic-appearing airways. Timing and value of peak pulmonary function tests, mortality, incidence of infection, rejection, anastomotic stricture and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome were not significantly different when compared to patients with normal-appearing airways over a mean follow-up period of 761.2 ± 412.4 days.