Prevalence of anemia and its impact on mortality in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a developing country setting.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is going to be the third most common cause of death worldwide. The natural course of COPD is interrupted by acute exacerbations (AECOPD) with an overall mortality rate of 10%. Anemia is a well-known independent predictor of mortality in several chronic diseases.

[Comparison of hot versus cold biopsy forceps in the diagnosis of endobronchial lesions].

Introduction: Traditionally cold biopsy forceps were used for endobronchial biopsy, and recently electrocautery (hot) bronchoscopy biopsy forceps are introduced. It is hypothesized that hot biopsy forceps may decrease procedure related bleeding and also may decrease the quality of obtained samples.

Patients And Methods: Patients with different indications for endobronchial biopsy during fiberoptic bronchoscopy underwent three hot and three cold biopsies with a random fashion.