Airway intubation

INTRODUCTION: Currently, neoplasms of the trachea and lower airway demand open transcervical approach with or without thoracotomy. We describe here a novel, minimally invasive approach for an intraluminal lesion of the thoracic trachea, called percutaneous trans-tracheal endoscopic approach (PTEA). Apart from obvious advantages over potentially morbid open procedures, this technique has certain peculiar benefits over rigid or flexible bronchoscopic approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 43-year-old male patient had glomus tumor of thoracic trachea...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical profile and outcome of critically ill children presenting to a paediatric ED in a lower middle-income country. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of children (<14 years) presenting to the ED of the National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, between January and December 2014 who were assigned to acuity 1 (requiring immediate life-saving interventions) according to the Emergency Severity Index. Data included demographic variables, presenting complaints, interventions and outcomes in the ED...

A previously healthy 7-month-old male infant presented for evaluation of fever, deceased oral intake, and intermittent noisy breathing. Physical examination revealed neck tenderness. Soft tissue neck radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scan supported a diagnosis of retropharyngeal swelling with extension to the superior mediastinum. Surgical exploration was planned, and endotracheal intubation was performed in the operating room. Significant cardiorespiratory derangements developed immediately after the tracheal tube was inserted, including hypotension, hypoxia, and bradycardia with signs of cardiac ischemia...

Stenotic nares, edematous intranasal turbinates, mucosal swelling, and an elongated, thickened soft palate are common sources of airflow resistance for dogs with brachycephalic airway syndrome. Surgery has focused on enlarging the nasal apertures and reducing tissue of the soft palate. However, objective measures of surgical efficacy are lacking. Twenty-one English bulldogs without previous surgery were recruited for this prospective, pilot study. Computed tomography was performed using conscious sedation and without endotracheal intubation using a 128 multidetector computed tomography scanner...

OBJECTIVES: Post-obstructive pulmonary edema is thought to occur from hemodynamic changes secondary to forced inspiration against the closed airway due to acute or chronic airway obstruction. We report a case of a 13 month-old boy who developed pulmonary edema from aspirated foreign body, nuts. METHODS: He underwent emergency bronchoscopy to confirm the clinical diagnosis of aspirated nuts in the trachea and nuts were removed endoscopically. His trachea was then intubated and he was mechanically ventilated with oxygen...

Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) is characterized by the triad micrognathia, glossoptosis, and airway obstruction, commonly associated with cleft palate. This study reports the case of a patient with characteristics consistent with the diagnosis of PRS in the 1(st) week of life. To stabilize the airway, oro-tracheal intubation was performed without success, followed by tracheostomy and glossopexy and after a small improvement in symptoms, it was decided to perform the mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO). At the age of 6, her maxillofacial development was within expectations, with patent airway, the presence of deciduous teeth, and without neurological impairment...

BACKGROUND: Propofol is a widely-accepted medication for the successful insertion of laryngeal mask airway (LMA). When propofol is used alone, larger doses are required which can lead to cardiorespiratory distress resulting in hypotension and prolonged apnoea. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of premedication of midazolam on different doses of propofol for LMA insertion. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, eighty-six (86) patients who were scheduled to undergo elective surgery is supine position not requiring the need for tracheal intubation from September 2015 to 6 March 2016 were included...

BACKGROUND: At many academic institutions, anesthesiology residents are responsible for managing emergent intubations outside of the operating room (OOOR), with complications estimated to be as high as 39%. In order to create an OOOR training curriculum, we evaluated residents' familiarity with the content and correct adherence to the American Society of Anesthesiologists' Difficult Airway Algorithm (ASA DAA). METHODS: Residents completed a pre-simulation multiple-choice survey measuring their understanding and use of the DAA...

BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a fatal neuromuscular disorder characterized by progressive death of the upper and lower motor neurons in the central nervous system. Patients with this disease die mostly as a result of respiratory failure; however, owing to prolonged survival through assisted ventilation, cardiovascular causes are increasingly responsible for mortality. We report what is to the best of our knowledge the first case of type 2 Brugada syndrome causing ventricular tachyarrhythmia and cardiac arrest in a patient with upper limb onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) with bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) is commonly used to treat patients admitted to hospital with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) secondary to an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of NIV applied in conjunction with usual care versus usual care involving no mechanical ventilation alone in adults with AHRF due to AECOPD. The aim of this review is to update the evidence base with the goals of supporting clinical practice and providing recommendations for future evaluation and research...

Survival following trachea-esophageal transection is uncommon. Establishing a secure airway has the highest priority in trauma management. Airway management is a unique and a defining element to the specialty of emergency medicine. There is no doubt regarding the significance of establishing a patent airway in the critically ill patient in the emergency department. Cannot intubate and cannot ventilate situation is a nightmare to all emergency physicians. The most important take-home message from this case report is that every Emergency physician should have the ability to predict "difficult airway" and recognize "failed airway" very early and be skilled in performing rescue techniques when routine oral-tracheal intubation fails...

Large posterior mediastinal masses may lead threatening complications such as critical tracheobronchial compression. Airway management in these individuals is a challenge and being a lower airway obstruction; rescue strategies are limited. We encountered one such case of a large esophageal mucocele causing extrinsic tracheobronchial compression. We have described the anesthetic management of this case using awake fiber-optic assessment followed by intubation. Close communication with the surgical team, meticulous planning of airway management, and early drainage of the mucocele are the cornerstones of management in such patients...

INTRODUCTION: Bilateral hypoglossal palsy is a rare complication during airway management in surgery. CASE PRESENTATION: Isolated bilateral hypoglossal palsy was noted post-operatively in a patient who underwent multiple spinal surgeries associated with prone anaesthesia. DISCUSSION: Risk factors include difficult, multiple intubations, prolonged surgical time, throat pack, and hyperextension of the neck during intubation. CONCLUSION: We aim to create awareness about this complication which has a significant morbidity and negative effect on patient outcomes...

BACKGROUND: Flexible bronchoscopy (FB) in intubated patients on mechanical ventilation increases airway resistance. During FB, two ventilatory strategies are possible: maintaining tidal volume (VT) while maintaining baseline CO2 or allowing reduction of VT. The former strategy carries risk of hyperinflation due to expiratory flow limitation with FB. The aim of the authors was too study end expiratory lung volume (EELV) during FB of intubated subjects while limiting VT. METHODS: We studied 16 subjects who were intubated on mechanical ventilation and required FB...

BACKGROUND: The effective treatment of airway compromise in trauma and non-trauma patients is important. Hypoxia and hypotension are predictors of negative patient outcomes and increased mortality, and may be important quality indicators of care provided by emergency medical services. Excluding cardiac arrests, critical trauma and non-trauma patients remain the two major groups to which helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) are dispatched. Several studies describe the impact of pre-hospital hypoxia or hypotension on trauma patients, but few studies compare this in trauma and non-trauma patients...

Objective To describe the incidence of difficult and failed intubations in obstetric patients during a 6-year period monitored by a quality assurance program together with American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA PS) scores, and obesity (Body mass index > 30 kg/m(2)). Methods Following Institutional Review Board approval, data about obstetric patients who experienced unanticipated difficult or failed intubations from 2010-2015 were obtained from the quality assurance database of a large, community-based anesthesiology group practice...

BACKGROUND: To compare the application of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) versus continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in the treatment of patients with cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE) admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, controlled study performed in an ICU, patients with CPE were assigned to NIV (n=56) or CPAP (n=54). Primary outcome was intubation rate. Secondary outcomes included duration of ventilation, length of ICU and hospital stay, improvement of gas exchange, complications, ICU and hospital mortality, and 28-day mortality...

In case of impossible intubation /oxygenation because of an upper airways obstruction, a cricothyrotomy is indicated. It is a relative simple and safe procedure that may be life saving. A blade, a tube and one's index finger are the only tools needed. The procedure can be done anywhere and every physician should be able to perform it. Several devices have been developed to try to improve it's success rate ; on the contrary, they render the task more complicated and lead to double failure rates with associated lesions, as described in our comparative study...

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects up to 26% of US adults, is often undiagnosed, and increases perioperative morbidity. We hypothesized that patients screened on the day of surgery as moderate/high risk for OSA (S-OSA) present similar perioperative respiratory complications, hospital use, and mortality than patients with previously diagnosed OSA (D-OSA). Second, we hypothesized that both OSA groups have more respiratory complications than No-OSA patients. METHODS: The electronic medical database from 1 academic and 2 community hospitals was retrospectively queried to identify adults undergoing nonemergent inpatient surgery (January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2014)...

A 70-year-old African American man suffered anoxic encephalopathy following a choking episode. He had a history of hypertension, which was being treated with lisinopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI). Soon after the patient's admission to an intensive care unit, his tongue began to swell until it reached more than twice its normal size and extended almost 2 inches outside his mouth. When the swelling did not diminish after 2 weeks, a diagnosis of ACEI-induced angioedema was determined. ACEIs have the potential to cause angioedema through an uncommon effect on the angiotensin-renin vascular control system...