Introduction: Flexible bronchoscopy and its new methods have revolutionized the era of the diagnosis, staging, and restaging of lung cancer. A rare late complication is post-bronchoscopy respiratory infection, but it is critical due to treatment delays, treatment cancellation, and death. The aim of this study is to identify risk factors for respiratory tract infection after bronchoscopy in patients with lung cancer. Methods: A retrospective single-center observational study of 182 hospitalized patients was conducted at U.G.H. “ATTIKON” who underwent bronchoscopy for diagnosis/staging/restaging of lung cancer from January 2022 to April 2023. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether or not they developed post-bronchoscopy respiratory infection. Results: Analyzing the data between the groups, several potential risk factors for infection were identified, including recent hospitalization for COVID-19 within the last month (OR: 6.16; p = 0.01), history of COPD (OR: 8; p = 0.03), presence of emphysema on CT scan (OR: 8; p = 0.03), endobronchial lesions causing ≥ 50% bronchial obstruction with inability to advance the bronchoscope (OR: 9.6; p < 0.01), increased white blood cell count (≥8.5 K/μL) before bronchoscopy (OR: 8; p = 0.03), and advanced stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer (OR: 9.67; p = 0.02). Conclusions: Comparing our results with previous studies on risk factors for respiratory infections after bronchoscopy, we found that recent hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2 infection was a unique finding in our study. With the increasing incidence of lung cancer worldwide and the critical role of bronchoscopy in diagnosis/staging/restaging, large multicenter studies are needed to identify these risk factors and develop strategies for early detection, treatment, and prevention.

The present study takes place in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Greek economic crisis, in which the health systems reached their limit and the physical and psychological exhaustion of professionals increased, testing supportive leadership in hospitals. An ex post facto, descriptive, and correlational study was designed, with non-probabilistic sampling, applied to 741 health professionals from public and private hospitals located in Attica and Piraeus. An 18-item ad hoc questionnaire was used, validated through an exploratory factor analysis (KMO = 0.805; 4 dimensions) and with a high reliability (α = 0.87). The staff showed a moderately positive assessment of the leadership and the supervisor dynamics, but a low enjoyment of work during the crisis. The hypothesis of generalized stress was discarded, with differences found according to gender (more conflict and less recognition perceived by women) and age (more conflicts between the supervisors and younger staff), without important differences according to level of education or work position. It can be concluded that support, psychological capital, and work relations, appeared as relatively independent constructs, modulated by organizational and personal factors, which underlines the need for specific interventions oriented towards the well-being and recognition of health professionals in contexts of crisis.