INTRODUCTION The development of postextubation swallowing dysfunction is well documented in the literature with high prevalence in most studies. However, there are relatively few studies with specific outcomes that focus on the follow-up of these patients until hospital discharge. The purpose of our study was to determine prognostic indicators of dysphagia in ICU patients submitted to prolonged...

Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) refers to the delivery of mechanical respiratory support without the use of endotracheal intubation (ETI). The present review focused on the effectiveness of NPPV in children > 1 month of age with acute respiratory failure (ARF) due to different conditions. ARF is the most common cause of cardiac arrest in children. Therefore, prompt recognition ...

INTRODUCTION This double-blind, randomized, multicentre study was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of remifentanil and fentanyl for intensive care unit (ICU) sedation and analgesia. METHODS Intubated cardiac, general postsurgical or medical patients (aged >/= 18 years), who were mechanically ventilated for 12-72 hours, received remifentanil (9 microgram/kg per hour; n = 77) or fen...

BACKGROUND Timely ventilator liberation is crucial in the pediatric ICU. In many pediatric ICUs, the decision to initiate weaning is driven by the physician, which may lead to delays in ventilator liberation. The objectives of this quality improvement project were to develop and implement a respiratory therapist (RT)-led protocol for screening for spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) readiness, to...

We read with interest the recently published review in Critical Care about post-extubation laryngeal edema and stridor by Pluijms et al. [1]. The review considers in detail the risk factors for post-extubation respiratory failure and describes a post-extubation algorithm for its prevention and reduction. We recently published a case report describing the occurrence of post-extubation stridor le...

OBJECTIVES Study the use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in patients with acute respiratory failure in intensive care units (ICUs) in Spain. METHODS A questionnaire was sent to 254 ICUs, after which, they were invited to participate in a multicenter, retrospective study, providing detailed information on ventilated patients. RESULTS Answers were received from 123 hospitals. Of these, 119 ...

OBJECTIVE The effects of sevoflurane general anesthesia and bupivacaine selective spinal anesthesia on QT dispersion (QTd) and corrected QT (QTc) interval were investigated. METHODS AND MATERIALS This prospective, randomized, double-blind study was conducted between July and September 2009 in the Urology and General Surgery operating rooms. Forty ASA I-II patients undergoing noncardiac surger...

Pulmonary edema secondary to postextubation laryngospasm is a potentially life-threatening problem, demanding early diagnosis and prompt treatment. We believe that this problem has been grossly underestimated in its incidence, as only seven adults have been reported in the English literature, whereas seven adults have been observed at our institution in only a 24 month period. All were young, h...

INTRODUCTION Post-Operative Sore Throat (POST) is an undesirable side effect ofendotracheal intubation. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures have been utilized for minimizing the morbidity caused by POST. We have tested whether medicated lozenges of Licorice provides efficacy in decreasing POST in smokers presenting for surgery under general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation. ...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and conventional O2 therapy (OT) in paediatric cardiac surgical patients; the primary objective of the study was to evaluate whether HFNC was able to improve PaCO2 elimination in the first 48 h after extubation postoperatively. METHODS We conducted a randomized, controlled trial in pediatric cardiac surgical patien...