Levels and Predictors of Patient Satisfaction during Flexible Bronchoscopy Procedures

Abstract

Background: Flexible bronchoscopy (FB) is a safe and commonly performed procedure in pulmonary medicine. Bronchoscopy literature mainly focusing on technical aspects. However, data on patients satisfaction and bronchoscopy is rare.

Aim: To evaluate levels and factors affecting patient satisfaction with flexible bronchoscopy (FB).

Subjects and Methods: This prospective study, conducted between June 2017 and May 2019 at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), included all consecutive diagnostic bronchoscopies for adult patients. Patient willingness to return for another bronchoscopy (definitely not, probably not, unsure, probably would, or definitely would) was used as the indicator of satisfaction. Patients ranked their experiences with doctors, nurses, and process of care using a 5-choice scale (poor, fair, good, very good, or excellent).

Results: A total of 351 patients participated in this study. Overall, patients were highly satisfied with their doctors, nurses, and process of care. However, only 34.1% of patients indicated that they would return for another FB if necessary. Predictors of return for FB were younger age (<65 years), university education, use of midazolam and higher doses of fentanyl >100 mcg, and inpatient setting. Logistic regression demonstrated that younger age (P = 0.005) and inpatient setting (P = 0.02) were significantly linked to willingness to return for bronchoscopy.

Conclusions: Patient satisfaction with bronchoscopy was lower in our study compared to other studies, despite high ratings of doctors’ and nurses’ skills. Elderly patients and patients with outpatient bronchoscopies were less likely to return and should therefore be approached with extra care. Physicians can improve FB-related patient experiences by decreasing discomfort during bronchoscope insertion and by improving topical anesthesia.