OBJECTIVE Leakage of fluid from the subglottic space to the lungs occurs along the longitudinal folds within the wall of an inflated high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP) cuff. The low-volume, low-pressure (LVLP) cuff does not have these folds yet allows for convenient and reliable control of tracheal wall pressure. Pulmonary aspiration during anesthesia has been linked with postoperative pneumonia ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of tracheostomy tube capping on swallowing physiology in stroke patients with dysphagia via videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS). METHODS This study was conducted as a prospective study that involved 30 stroke patients. Then, 4 mL semisolid swallowing was conducted with capping of the tracheostomy tube or without capping of the tracheostomy tube. The f...

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of interposed abdominal compressions (IAC) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on gastric insufflation when the airway is not secured with an endotracheal tube. A canine model was used in which a common ventilation pressure was applied to separate cuffed esophageal and tracheal tubes. Gas entering the stomach was collected by a pre-placed...

Whether cuffed tubes should be routinely used in infants and small children has been extensively discussed in the past. However, opinions and recommendations were not based on scientific evidence but rather on empiricism. The basic function of a tracheal tube is to provide a reliable connection between the patient’s lung and the bag or ventilator. Ideally, this connection should be leak-proof w...

We investigated the cellular behaviors that accompany the early stages of pharyngeal morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. The embryonic pharynx develops from a ball of cells into a linear tube connected anteriorly to the buccal cavity and posteriorly to the midgut. By using GFP reporters localized to discrete subcellular regions, we show that pharyngeal morphogenesis can be divided into thr...

Background The Auditory tube (AT) extends from the anterior wall of the middle ear to the lateral wall of the nasopharynx, approximately at the level of the inferior nasal concha. The pharyngeal orifice of AT being an important landmark for endoscopic avaliation in patients with chronic otitis and also for the transnasal approach to the infratemporal fossa, the present study was undertaken to l...

The pharyngeal airway is surrounded by soft tissues that are also enclosed by bony structures such as the mandible, maxilla, and cervical spine. The passive pharyngeal airway is therefore structurally analogous to a collapsible tube within a rigid box. Cross-sectional area of the tube is determined by transmural pressure, the pressure difference between intraluminal and extraluminal pressures. ...

The I-gel™ is a single-use supraglottic airway device introduced in 2007 which features a non-inflatable cuff and allows passage of a tracheal tube owing to its large diameter and short length of the airway tube. In this case, the authors experienced a difficult airway management on a 4-year-old boy with underlying Goldenhar syndrome who underwent a tonsillectomy. Intubation using a laryngoscop...