Part of the "work-up" of chronic pulmonary disease has been, traditionally, a bronchogram. In 1955, Flake and Ferguson1 wrote "The use of contrast studies in the younger age groups . . .has steadily increased as improvement in medical and surgical technique for care and treatment has demanded more accurate diagnosis." Has it increased unnecessarily? Is the present utilization too great? The procedure usually requires hospitalization; in some centers a general anesthetic, in some a recent prior bronchoscopy, and in all a finite risk and degree of morbidity. It seems pertinent to ask first: When is bronchography indicated? The Committee on Therapy of the American Thoracic Society has recently offered instructive answers to this question.2
展开▼
