Endoscopic cryoprobes in the pediatric airway: Initial experience.
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INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Endoscopic cryotherapy has been shown to be an effective and safe technique for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary and airway pathologies in adults. However, its application in children remains limited. Therefore, we present our initial experience with this technique in three pediatric patients to describe its safety and efficacy in our setting. CLINICAL CASES: The first case corresponds to a 4-year-old boy with recurrent left basal pneumonia secondary to the inadvertent aspiration of a nut. Flexible bronchoscopy revealed an obstructive endobronchial mass, and complete removal of the foreign body was performed using a cryoprobe. The second is a 20-month-old infant girl with persistent atelectasis of the right middle and lower lobes due to an endobronchial granuloma. Cryobiopsy and complete excision of the lesion were performed using cryotherapy, resolving the obstruction and allowing the diagnosis of a mycobacterial infection. The third patient is a 17-year-old male adolescent with refractory relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma, bilateral pleural effusion, and an enlarged mediastinal mass. Flexible bronchoscopy identified an endoluminal lesion in the segmental bronchus of the left upper lobe suggestive of tumor infiltration, which was confirmed by cryobiopsy. CONCLUSION: The use of endoscopic cryoprobes improved diagnostic and therapeutic yield without recorded complications, in addition to facilitating the procedure compared to classic bronchoscopy equipment. These results align with recent pediatric literature, although additional studies are needed to define indications, efficacy, and long-term safety in children.