The Fourth National Audit Project (NAP4) was set up by the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Difficult Airway Society to provide an insight into major complications of airway management in the United Kingdom. The NAP4 found that one serious airway complication such as death, brain damage, the need for surgical airway or unexpected intensive care admission, was reported for every 5500 general a...

Background: Malignant airway-esophageal fistulas are a serious complication of advance esophageal or lung cancers. Aims: To assess the quality of life pre and post stent insertion and to examine the role of treatment and location of AEF as factors influencing survival in patients with AEF managed with airway and/or esophageal stent insertion Methods: 112 patients with airway–esophageal fistula ...

We report here a case of coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia in 40-year-old Caucasian woman with Down syndrome admitted to the Internal Medicine Unit. She was initially treated hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. When respiratory conditions dramatically worsened, she not intensive care unit because impaired cognitive function. Thus helmet-based continuous positive airway pressure started. The p...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This article defines the indication for airway-securing measures and describes the actual state of knowledge about the available techniques. Various modes of ventilation and their rationale are presented. RECENT FINDINGS New techniques in airway management and ventilation strategy are presented, explained and evaluated. SUMMARY Respiratory failure is a major confounding fa...

N Engl J Med 2014;370:e4. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMvcm1300964 Copyright © 2014 Massachusetts Medical Society. Overview Endotracheal extubation refers to the removal of an endotracheal tube from the trachea. This procedure is commonly performed in operating rooms, postanesthesia care units, and intensive care units. This review focuses on extubation of the trachea after general anesthesia and short-term...

Background: The decision to extubate the patient is crucial and challenging. The use of corticosteroids to reduce airway edema and extubation failure in intensive care patients is debatable. Methods: In an observational prospective cohort study from April 2021 to July 2021, 110 patients undergoing head and neck surgery at Imam Khomeini Hospital's special wards were enrolled. Inclusion criteria...

Tracheal intubation (TI) is a routine procedure in the intensive care unit (ICU), and is often life saving. However, life-threatening complications occur in a significant proportion of procedures, making TI perhaps one the most common but underappreciated airway emergencies in the ICU. In contrast to the controlled conditions in the operating room (OR), the unstable physiologic state of critica...

Despite many recent innovations in equipment for difficult airway management, it remains the leading cause of the most devastating adverse outcomes in anesthesia. Fiberoptic airway management is among the most versatile of techniques for difficult airway management. It requires a greater degree of skill than most other techniques, however. Training, practice, and adherence to a few basic princi...

A significant proportion of trauma patients require tracheostomy during intensive care unit stay. The timing of this procedure remains a subject of debate. The decision for tracheostomy should take into consideration the risks and benefits of prolonged endotracheal intubation versus tracheostomy. Timing of tracheostomy is also influenced by the indications for the procedure, which include relie...