Abstract: Objective To evaluate the safety of bronchoscopy under intravenous anesthesia with propofol combined with sulfentanyl(painless bronchoscopy) in elderly patients with pulmonary dysfunction. Methods Seventy-six elderly patients who undergoing painless bronchoscopy were enrolled and divided into two groups according to pulmonary function. Group A had 42 cases with normal or slight dysfunction and group B had 34 cases with significant hypofunction. Their blood pressure, heart rate(HR), respiration rate(RR) and oxygen saturation by pulse oxymetry(SpO₂) were checked before giving the anaesthetic, before the examination under anesthesia, during the examination, completely conscious from anesthesia and 24 h after the examination. The adverse reaction and analepsia time were recoded. Oxygen was given by nasal catheter during the examination. Results After giving anaesthetic, the systolic pressure(SP), diastolic pressure(DP) and HR tended to go down significantly in patients of group A and group B compared with those recorded before giving anaesthetic. Only group B showed significance in RR and SpO₂ before the examination and after giving anaesthetic. For RR and SpO₂ there were no significant difference between the two groups during the examination and after becoming completely conscious. There were no significant difference in HR, SP, DP, RR and SpO₂ before vs. 24 h after the examination. The time of palinesthesia and adverse reaction were similar in both groups. Conclusion Under careful monitoring it is relatively safe to perform painless bronchoscopy for elderly patients with pulmonary dysfunction. Attention should be paid to respiratory depression and respiratory management should be strengthened early.

Key words: elderly patients, painless bronchoscopy, pulmonary hypofunction