Postintubation Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) is a rare complication. Acquired TEF most commonly occurred following prolonged mechanical ventilation with an endotracheal or tracheostomy tube, cuff-related tracheal injury, post-intubation injury. We present a case of both tracheomegaly and tracheosephagial fistula following mechanical ventilation for 15 days, in the light of the literature.

Introduction Acute lung injury induced by mechanical ventilation [ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI)]is characterized by a particular metabolic profile in the lung and in the systemic compartment [1]. Also, VILI has been associated with an increase in intestinal permeability [2]. We hypothesized that selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) can modulate the metabolic profile as...

Nerve root deformation magnitude affects behavioral sensitivity and spinal cytokine expression in a lumbar radiculopathy model. Despite evidence suggesting spinal glia play a role in persistent pain, no study has examined the relationship between injury severity in painful radiculopathy and spinal glial activation. This study quantified local in vivo biomechanics for nerve root injury, describi...

PURPOSE The objective of this study was to identify predictors of death and mechanical ventilation in patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury. METHODS From 1981 to 1994, 72 patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury resulting in neurological deficits were identified in this retrospective study. For each patient, neurological and associated injuries, physiological variable...

Mechanical ventilation, a fundamental therapy for acute lung injury, worsens pulmonary vascular permeability by exacting mechanical stress on various components of the respiratory system causing ventilator associated lung injury. We postulated that MK2 activation via p38 MAP kinase induced HSP25 phosphorylation, in response to mechanical stress, leading to actin stress fiber formation and endot...

We review the current literature on the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of acute kidney injury induced by plasma mediators released by mechanical ventilation. A comprehensive literature search in the PubMed database was performed and articles were identified that showed increased plasma levels of mediators where the increase was solely attributable to mechanical ventilation. A...

Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, including the nociceptors that detect painful thermal, mechanical, and chemical stimuli, transmit information to spinal cord neurons via glutamatergic and peptidergic neurotransmitters. However, the specific contribution of glutamate to pain generated by distinct sensory modalities or injuries is not known. Here we generated mice in which the vesicular glutama...

In patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), supportive therapy with mechanical ventilation and oxygen is often life saving. Further acute lung injury however, is an unfortunate consequence of oxygen therapy as well as mechanical injury secondary to ventilator induced/associated lung injury (VI/ALI). In this issue of Critical Care, Li et al. expand on the intra-cellular signalin...

Introduction Many preterm neonates require mechanical ventilation immediately after birth to facilitate lung aeration and gas exchange, and to trigger the cardiovascular transition [1]. Despite the necessity of resuscitation, the initiation of mechanical ventilation can cause brain injury in preterm neonates, particularly if delivered with injurious high tidal volumes [2,3]. Intrauterine inflam...