Plastic bronchitis, a condition associated with widespread mucous plugging of the tracheobronchial tree, is an increasingly recognised bronchoscopic finding in acute chest syndrome of sickle cell disease. Removal of casts by bronchoscopy is technically challenging. We describe a child with acute chest syndrome where bronchoscopic removal of extensive tracheobronchial plastic casts was facilitat...

1 Blanchs L, Fernández R, Artigas A. The effect of autoPEEP on the PaCO2-PetCO2 gradient and expired CO2 slope in critically ill patients during total vemstilatory support. J Crit Care (in press) 2 Marini JJ. Should PEEP be used in airflow ol)struction? Am Rev Respir Dis 1989; 140:1-3 3 Smith TC, Marini JJ. Impact of PEEP o)n lung mechanics and wo)rk of breathing in severe airflow o)l)structio...

OBJECTIVE To report a case of broncholithiasis with different types of calculi in the tracheobronchial tree. CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTION A 50-year-old male who suffered from hemoptysis presented with recurrent broncholith expectoration due to past tuberculous middle lobe syndrome. Bronchoscopic examination revealed loose and embedded broncholiths located at two different bronchi. A...

The expiration reflex (ER) is a forced expiratory effort against a closed glottis that subsequently opens to eject laryngeal debris and prevent aspiration of material. It is distinct from the cough reflex. Its source is usually assumed to be restricted to the larynx and vocal folds, and its possible origin from the tracheobronchial (TB) tree has been suggested but never studied. The current aut...