We read with interest the recent Critical Care review of post-extubation laryngeal edema and stridor resulting in respiratory failure [1]. We mostly agree with the authors’ opinion in that article except that the cuff leak test (CLT) was proposed as a standard extubation algorithm. We have two reasons to disagree. First, although the CLT has been widely used for the prediction of post-extubatio...

BACKGROUND The efficacy of corticosteroids in reducing the incidence of postextubation laryngeal oedema is controversial. We aimed to test our hypothesis that methylprednisolone started 12 h before a planned extubation could prevent postextubation laryngeal oedema. METHODS We did a placebo-controlled, double-blind multicentre trial in 761 adults in intensive-care units. Patients who were vent...

BACKGROUND C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) replacement therapy is the treatment of choice for acute edema attacks in patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE). STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Our retrospective, observational study assessed the efficacy and safety of home therapy with a human plasma-derived C1-INH concentrate (pC1-INH) in 20 pediatric patients with HAE who had previously been treated ...

Stimulation of laryngeal receptors is the natural starting point of defensive airway reflexes including the cough reflex, expiration reflex, spasmodic panting, and apnoea with laryngospasm. Although several different types of laryngeal receptors have been reported, the laryngeal irritant receptors are considered to play the most essential role in elicitation of defensive airway reflexes. Based ...

UNLABELLED Reinke's edema is chronic laryngeal disease in which the superficial layer of the lamina propria is expanded by thick mucus, giving it a gelatin aspect. The disease is directly related to smoking and more frequent in women, who end up having a lower tone of voice. Its histological characteristics cannot always distinguish it from other benign lesions of the larynx for which additiona...

AIMS To determine the frequency at which classic manifestations of anaphylaxis are present at necropsy after fatal anaphylactic reactions. METHODS A register has been established of fatal anaphylactic reactions in the UK since 1992, traced from the certified cause of death and other sources. Details of the previous medical history and the reaction suggest anaphylaxis as the cause of death for...

OBJECTIVE We retrospectively investigated treatment outcomes in patients with glottic T1 carcinoma treated with 65 Gy in 26 fractions four times a week and discuss the importance of the overall treatment time. METHODS Two hundred one patients with glottic T1 carcinoma were evaluated. Sixty-five Gray in 26 fractions were delivered for 200 patients, whereas 1 patient received 62.5 Gy in 25 frac...

The authors present an extremely rare case of a 48-year-old female who developed repeated perianeurysmal edema at 2, 9, and 16 weeks after endovascular coil embolization for the ruptured intracranial aneurysm. Interestingly, the mechanism for this edema could be different at each time point in this case; acute thrombosis formation, chemical inflammation, and aneurysm recanalization. We have to ...

The aim of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between pre-operative peritumoral edema and survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). We searched for studies involving patients with GBM who underwent pre-operative imaging (magnetic resonance imaging and/or computed tomography) in which the peritumoral edema was assessed as a prognostic factor for survival. 7 ret...

OBJECTIVES To present to report the first case of ureteral lithiasis resolved using a new endoscopic approach, which we call microureteroscopy (m-URS) and attempts to reduce the ureteral damage caused by conventional instrumentation. MATERIAL AND METHODS We selected a 53-year-old patient with a 16-mm calculus in the right distal ureter. For endoscopic access, we used a 4.8 Fr sheath from the ...