OBJECTIVE The present prospective randomized trial compared surgical tracheostomy (ST) and percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients in terms of outcomes and complications. METHODS Between January 2003 and December 2005 tracheostomies were performed on critically ill ICU patients in Medical Faculty Hospital in Prague, with a random allocation of 105 pa...

Endotracheal intubation plays a key role in the management of upper airway obstruction in emergency situations. It is non-invasive and easily learned technique by medical professionals as compared to other more skilled, surgical procedures, e.g., tracheostomy and cricothyrotomies etc. But prolonged intubation may result in numerous complications, most notorious being tracheoesophageal fistula a...

All percutaneous tracheostomies performed in the general intensive care unit (ICU), Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, from July 1999 to June 2002 were studied. The tracheostomies were performed as an elective bedside technique in the ICU. A total of 352 percutaneous tracheostomies were performed. Eighty-eight percent of the tracheostomies were completed within 15 minutes. The mos...

BACKGROUND Tracheostomy is a frequent, and at times semiurgent, surgical procedure. It is performed in close proximity to the thyroid gland, and in many cases requires division of its isthmus, putting a patient in danger of significant bleeding. OBJECTIVES To examine prospectively the feasibility of vessel sealing in tracheostomy. METHODS A vessel-seating device was used in 24 consecutive p...

A series of sixty-one cases of prolonged pernasal intubation in children for conditions which would otherwise need tracheostomy is presented. One serious complication, namely subglottic cicatricial stenosis of the trachea, has occurred and is discussed. There is a definite place for prolonged pernasal intubation in children under 5 years of age as an alternative to tracheostomy. The most import...

Intermaxillary fixation (IMF) is an essential guide to optimize the reduction and fixation of most facial fractures associated with occlusal alterations. To allow IMF, nasotracheal intubation is used in most cases. When nasotracheal intubation is not possible, a tracheostomy may be indicated, but this carries significant morbidity. Submental endotracheal intubation allows IMF to be used without...

Background: Evidence on aerosol delivery via tracheostomy is lacking. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of aerosol device and administration technique on drug delivery in a simulated spontaneously breathing pediatric model with tracheostomy. Methods: Delivery efficiencies during spontaneous breathing with assisted and unassisted administration techniques were compared using t...