Critically ill children often require mechanical ventilation on the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for indications such as severe pneumonia,atelectasis,airway abnormalities,and the presence of a foreign body in the airway.The correct management of the airway is a crucial determinant of a successful outcome.We performed fiber-optic bronchoscopy (FOB) 70 times for 51 mechanically ventilated children between June 2009 and December 2011,and present our results below.