Bonfils semirigid endoscope for guidance during percutaneous tracheostomy.

We report on the use of the Bonfils semirigid scope for endoscopic guidance during percutaneous dilational tracheostomy. Forty patients requiring percutaneous dilational tracheostomy on the General or Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit were enrolled in this study. We used the '45 degree curved distal tip' scope in the first 15 patients, evaluating its ease of use, optical quality of focus and image resolution as well as light intensity on a 10-point scale. We evaluated straight and curved versions of it in another 15 and 10 patients, respectively. We examined the impact on ventilation and cardiovascular parameters. In all patients (n = 40) visualisation of the procedure was satisfactory. There were no clinically significant changes in ventilatory or cardiovascular parameters. The image quality for most patients received a score of 7-10. The Bonfils scope provides a practical alternative to flexible bronchoscopes in this setting.