Patient No. 1 A 15-yr-old girl weighing 50 kg presented for direct laryngoscopy and excision of a laryngeal web. She had previously received multiple surgical and laser treatments for recurrent laryngeal polyps. Her presenting complaints were shortness of breath and inspiratory stridor after walking up a flight of stairs. At indirect laryngoscopy before operation, the ENT surgeons failed to see...

Background Traditionally, non-cuffed tubes have been used for tracheal intubation of children under eleven years of age. The evidence is now strongly supportive of cuffed tubes in this population. Objectives We aimed to ascertain the patterns of tracheal tube usage in paediatric anaesthesia in Ireland. Materials and methods A self-structured questionnaire was distributed at anaesthesia conferen...

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a major healthcare-associated complication with considerable attributable morbidity, mortality and cost. Inherent design flaws in the standard high-volume low-pressure cuffed tracheal tubes form a major part of the pathogenic mechanism causing VAP. The formation of folds in the inflated cuff leads to microaspiration of pooled oropharyngeal secretions int...

BACKGROUND Endotracheal intubation increases the risk for microaspiration of secretions around the tube cuff. Pepsin has been used as a biomarker for gastric aspiration. Amylase is a newer proposed biomarker for aspiration of oral contents. OBJECTIVE To assess the presence of pepsin and amylase in paired oral-tracheal secretions of adult patients treated with mechanical ventilation. METHODS...

The zero deadspace tracheal tube (ZEDS-TT) is a double-lumen endobronchial tube with a truncated bronchial limb. Functionally it is unrelated to the familiar endobronchial tube used in lung isolation surgery. It is placed in the same position as a regular tracheal tube and, by means of special connectors, one limb is used for inspiration and the other for expiration, thereby greatly reducing an...

BACKGROUND The EndoFlex is a new type of tracheal tube with an adjustable distal tip that can be bent without the use of a stylet. The aim of this study was to compare a standard endotracheal tube with the EndoFlex tracheal tube for intubation in patients with simulated cervical spine injury. METHODS A group of 60 patients without any kind of the cervical spine injury, classified as the ASA p...

Background: The bevel position of tracheal tube (TT) affects the success rate while using intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA). present study compared intubation on basis anterior and posterior conventional polyvinylchloride (PVC) through an ILMA. Methods: Two hundred adult ASA I or II patients, having Mallampati class 1 2 airway, undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia were inc...

Cells at the tips of budding branches in the Drosophila tracheal system generate two morphologically different types of seamless tubes. Terminal cells (TCs) form branched lumenized extensions that mediate gas exchange at target tissues, whereas fusion cells (FCs) form ring-like connections between adjacent tracheal metameres. Each tracheal branch contains a specific set of TCs, FCs, or both, bu...