Background/objectives: Plummer-Vinson syndrome also known as sideropenic dysphagia is a disease characterized by chronic iron-deficiency anemia, dysphagia and esophageal web. It commonly affects white female in the 4th to 7th decade. Most of the dysphagia and iron deficiency can be treated by iron supplementation and rarely web dilatation is needed. Setting: Department of ENT, Head and Neck Sur...

Editor’s key points † The recovery of the swallowing reflex is key to weaning from tracheostomy. † A cuffed tracheostomy tube anchors the tracheal to the anterior neck tissues and interferes with swallowing. † This study in intensive care patients demonstrated that the presence of a cuffed tube interferes with both the latency and magnitude of the swallowing reflex. † The effect increased with ...

Nasogastric (NG) tube misplacement into the airways is a rare complication. The presence of a cuffed endotracheal or tracheostomic tube often gives primary care providers a false sense of security. This report presents a case of inadvertent NG tube insertion into the right lower lobe bronchus of a 79-year-old patient with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, resulting in pneumonia an...

We compared three different tracheal wall pressure measuring techniques in vitro. Using a high-volume, low-pressure, cuffed tracheal tube with an internal diameter of 7.5 mm and a model trachea, the pressure difference technique, the wall pressure membrane technique and the microchip sensor probe technique with and without lubrication were studied. Wall pressures were measured after sequential ...

BACKGROUND The use of cuffed tracheal tubes (TTs) in small children is still controversial. The aim of this study was to compare post-extubation morbidity and TT exchange rates when using cuffed vs uncuffed tubes in small children. METHODS Patients aged from birth to 5 yr requiring general anaesthesia with TT intubation were included in 24 European paediatric anaesthesia centres. Patients wer...