Update on airway stents.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The current review describes the latest evidence regarding the use of stents for malignant airway obstruction.

RECENT FINDINGS: Therapeutic bronchoscopy, including stenting, can restore patency in up to 93% of patients with malignant central airway obstruction. The patients that benefit the most are those with worse baseline dyspnea, higher American Society of Anesthesiology score, poorer functional status, and central obstruction (rather than lobar). Early complications are relatively rare with stent placement, whereas late complications are not. Stents are a risk factor for lower respiratory tract infection, which, in turn, is a negative prognostic factor in terms of survival. Recent research has seen the development of personalized stents via three-dimensional printing, mini stents for more distal airways, and stents with drug-eluting and biodegradable properties.

SUMMARY: Airway stents must be judiciously used, but we now have data that help guide patient selection and that inform us of what potential complications may occur and when. Stents are under development with newer properties that may extend the therapeutic reach of these interventions.