BACKGROUND In trauma patients intubated in a physician-led pre-hospital trauma service we prospectively examined the rate of misplaced tracheal tubes, the presence and nature of gross airway contamination, and the value of 'quick look' airway assessment to identify patients with subsequent difficult laryngoscopy. METHODS Patients requiring pre-hospital intubation in a 16 month period were inc...

BACKGROUND Prevention of secondary prehospital risk factors such as hypoxia and hypotension is likely to improve patient prognosis in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Because the Dutch trauma care organization is characterized by fast access to specialized trauma care due to the geographical situation, we investigated whether and to what extend secondary risk factors, such as hypoxia and hy...

BACKGROUND Patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and acute respiratory failure (ARF) from central airway obstruction (CAO) may be offered end-of-life care rather than intensive care treatment and palliative bronchoscopic intervention. OBJECTIVES To determine whether bronchoscopic intervention could be immediately successful in restoring airway patency and obviate the need ...

lumen endotracheal tube or bronchial blocker with general anesthesia is the first anesthetic choice in thoracic surgery. However, general anesthesia with mechanical ventilation carries a risk of side-effects related to tracheal intubation and general anesthesia, such as airway complications, ventilation-induced lung injury, and residual neuromuscular blockade [1-3]. Thanks to advances in minima...

Background: Previous studies have shown that ICU patients receive only a fraction of their calculated nutritional goals, and that cumulative caloric deficit in the ICU has been correlated with poor outcome. One reason for this underfeeding is the frequent interruption of enteral nutrition. Many ICU patients receive enteral feeding formula via a nasogastric (NG) tube. Feeding is typically held f...

Autoinhaled nitric oxide (NO) is produced mainly in the upper airways. Orotracheal intubation disrupts the natural autoinhalation of NO from the naso- and oropharynx. The effect of disrupting and then replacing autoinhaled NO on arterial oxygenation was investigated in intubated patients. Two groups of nine patients without lung disease were examined during anaesthesia using an inspired oxygen ...

Personal use only. For copyright permission information: http://www.ajcconline.org Published online © 2009 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Am J Crit Care. 2009;18: 368-376 doi: 10.4037/ajcc2009621 Virginia Prendergast, Ingalill Rahm Hallberg, Heidi Jahnke, Cindy Kleiman and Peter Hagell Intubated Patients in a Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit Oral Health, Ventilator-Associated Pneu...

AIMS To compare serum concentrations and effects on respiratory mechanics and haemodynamics of salbutamol administered by small volume nebuliser (SVN) and metered dose inhaler (MDI) plus spacer. METHODS Blinded, randomised, crossover study in 12 intubated infants and children (mean age 17.8 months) receiving inhaled salbutamol therapy. Subjects received salbutamol as 0.15 mg/kg by SVN and fou...

To avoid tracheal wall damage or inadvertent falls of the endotracheal tube cuff pressure (Pcuff) in intubated and mechanically-ventilated patients, the authors devised a simple procedure for automatic and continuous regulation of Pcuff. The procedure, only requiring a simple aquarium air pump and conventional tubing, was first tested at the bench when applied to an intubated and ventilated lun...

(1) Background: In the last few years, many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have compared direct Macintosh laryngoscopy with McGrath videolaryngoscopy in order to assess potential benefits of latter; results were sometimes controversial. (2) Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search identify our articles according inclusion and exclusion criteria: be included, each study had p...