A persistent post-operative pulmonary expiratory air leak after an anatomical pulmonary resection is usually managed conservatively, but can be associated with significant morbidity and increased costs. The use of bronchial valves is a minimally invasive method that may be an effective and safe treatment in this setting. In a prospective study, the clinical efficacy of intrabronchial valve trea...

INTRODUCTION Idiopathic systemic capillary leak syndrome is a rare and fatal disease due to the unexplained episodic attacks of capillary leakage of plasma from the intravascular into the interstitial space. The attack consists of three phases, a prodromal phase, peripheral leak phase and recruitment phase. During the peripheral leak phase, generalized edema, mainly in the trunk and extremities...

BACKGROUND External pleural suction is used after lung resection to promote lung expansion and minimize air leak duration. Published randomized trials failed to prove this advantage but they are limited in number and underpowered in many cases. The aim of the AirINTrial study was to test the hypothesis that external pleural suction may reduce the rate of prolonged air leak in a large, randomize...

The cuff-leak test was widely used for the prediction of post-extubation stridor, but controversial results limit its clinical application. The current study used real-time ultrasonography to evaluate the air-leak and hypothesised that the air-column width, measured by ultrasonography, may be correlated to the development of post-extubation stridor. From June 1, 2001 to March 1, 2002, a total o...

1 McManigle JE, Fletcher GL, Tenholder MF. Bronchoscopy in the management of bronchopleural fistula. Chest 1990; 97:1235–1238 2 Williams NS, Lewis CT. Bronchopleural fistula: a review of 86 cases. Br J Surg 1976; 63:520–522 3 Abouasaleh R, Halaweh O, Pichurko B. Barrett’s esophagitis related bronchoesophageal fistula: the diagnostic value of persistent air leak in the ventilated setting [abstra...

BACKGROUND Despite widespread use of neonatal hospital discharge data, there are few published reports on the accuracy of population health data with neonatal diagnostic or procedure codes. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of using routinely collected hospital discharge data in identifying neonatal morbidity during the birth admission compared with data from a statewide audit of...

BACKGROUND The objective of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the association between the airflow and intrapleural pressures digitally recorded during the immediate postoperative period after lobectomy and their ability to predict the risk of subsequent prolonged air leak (PAL). METHODS A total of 145 consecutive patients underwent pulmonary lobectomy in two centers. All pa...