BACKGROUND Few studies have reported the effects of early tracheotomy in acute severe asthmatic patients. We report two patients with acute severe asthma who were successfully treated with early tracheotomy. METHODS The two patients with acute severe asthma were retrospectively reviewed. They had been treated at the Department of Emergency and Critical Care, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong ...

BACKGROUND An unanticipated difficult airway is very uncommon in infants. The recommendations for managing the cannot ventilate-cannot intubate (CVCI) situation in infants and small children are based on difficult airway algorithms for adults. These algorithms usually recommend placement of a transtracheal cannula or performing a surgical tracheotomy as a last resort. In this study, we compared...

Patients presenting with advanced aerodigestive malignancy and respiratory compromise often undergo tracheotomy as initial airway management. Tumor debulking is a potential alternative. We present a case series with chart review to communicate our institutional experience with this technique. T3/4 glottic and supraglottic cancers treated between 2004 and 2014 underwent review, and 14 patients w...

Tracheotomy is a commonly performed surgical technique used for long-term mechanical ventilation, upper airway obstruction, need for pulmonary toilet, and as an adjunct to surgery where ventilation is anticipated. Urgent tracheotomy may be performed when difficulty is encountered during an elective tracheotomy, or when cricothyroidotomy is impossible or contraindicated due to distorted anatomy ...

BACKGROUND Patients with upper aerodigestive tract tumors can have development of airway compromise both before and during chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Tracheotomy is the classic method for securing a safe airway, but tumor debulking may also be used. METHODS This was a retrospective review of locoregionally advanced tumors of the base of tongue, larynx, or hypopharynx undergoing CRT between 1995...

BACKGROUND Maxillectomy defects require complex 3-dimensional reconstructions often best suited to microvascular free tissue transfer. Postoperative airway management during this procedure has little discussion in the literature and is often dictated by surgical dogma. The purpose of this article was to review our experience in order to evaluate the effect of airway management on perioperative ...

INTRODUCTION Tracheotomy is widely performed in the intensive care unit after long-term oral intubation. The present study investigates the immediate influence of tracheotomy on respiratory mechanics and blood gases during mechanical ventilation. METHODS Tracheotomy was performed in 32 orally intubated patients for 10.5 +/- 4.66 days (all results are means +/- standard deviations). Airway pre...

OBJECTIVES Solid-organ transplant recipients may require percutaneous dilational tracheotomy because of prolonged mechanical ventilation or airway issues, but data regarding its safety and effectiveness in solid-organ transplant recipients are scarce. Here, we evaluated the safety, effectiveness, and benefits in terms of lung mechanics, complications, and patient comfort of percutaneous dilatio...

BACKGROUND Patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) are common in intensive care units (ICU). In patients with aSAH, sedation is used as a neuroprotective measure in order to secure adequate cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP). Compared with the use of an endotracheal tube, a tracheotomy has the advantage of securing the airway at a much lower level of distress, and aSAH patients c...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS The objective of this study was to determine if there are differences in decannulation rates and duration of cannulation between pediatric patients undergoing tracheotomy for different indications. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective chart review. METHODS Medical records for pediatric patients (age 0-18 years) undergoing tracheotomy between January 1, 2003, and May 31, 2012, we...