In smoke inhalation or CO poisoning, bronchoscopy is used for what purpose?

• A. HBO therapy
• B. Airway clearance and direct visualization
• C. ABG measurement
• D. Administration of bronchodilators

Answer: (B)

Bronchoscopy in smoke inhalation or CO poisoning is used to clear the airway and directly visualize what’s happening inside the tracheobronchial tree. Soot, secretions, and mucous plugs can accumulate and obstruct airways, so suctioning and removing debris with a flexible scope helps improve airflow and oxygenation. It also allows the clinician to inspect the mucosa for burns, edema, or sloughing and to obtain airway samples for culture if infection or pneumonia is a concern. This procedure is diagnostic and therapeutic for inhalation injuries, but it is not the method for providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which is a separate treatment for CO poisoning. It isn’t used to measure ABGs, which require arterial blood sampling, and bronchodilators are given by inhalation or systemic routes rather than through bronchoscopy.