A stable breathing pattern during unassisted ventilation through an endotracheal tube (ETT) prior to extubation is an important factor in determining whether a patient can be successfully extubated. Proper interpretation of changes in the breathing pattern requires knowledge of the normal variability of the breathing pattern in critically ill, intubated patients. To establish these guidelines, ...

Background Minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS), via minithoracotomy, is thought to be a fast track to extubation and recovery after surgery. For this, good coverage analgesia is essential. Epidural anesthesia, a standard technique for thoracic surgery, has high risk of complications, such as epidural abscess and spinal hematoma in open-heart surgery. Based on the hypothesis that continuou...

BACKGROUND Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) may be useful after extubation in children. Our objective was to determine postextubation NIV characteristics and to identify risk factors of postextubation NIV failure. METHODS A prospective observational study was conducted in an 8-bed pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Following PICU protocol, NIV was applied to patients who had been mechanicall...

background and aims: laryngospasm and vomiting occurring after tracheal extubation in children is potentially dangerous. the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of preoperative 0.5 mg/kg i.v. dexamethasone on the incidence of postextubation laryngospasm, and vomiting in children after tonsillectomy.material and methods : this study was performed at the ilam imam khomeini hospital, ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of prophylactic corticosteroid therapy in preventing postextubation laryngeal edema (PELE) and the need for reintubation in adults. DATA SOURCES Literature was accessed through MEDLINE (1966-January 2008) and the Cochrane Library using the terms laryngeal edema, airway obstruction, postextubation stridor, intubation, glucocorticoids, and corticost...

OBJECTIVE Compared with standard medical therapy (SMT), noninvasive ventilation (NIV) does not reduce the need for reintubation in unselected patients who develop respiratory failure after extubation. The goal of this study was to assess whether early application of NIV, immediately after extubation, is effective in preventing postextubation respiratory failure in an at-risk population. DESIG...