We hypothesised that pentobarbital would improve upper airway mechanics based on an increase in latency to arousal and amplitude of the phasic genioglossus electromyogram (EMG), and a decrease in the active upper airway critical closing pressure (P(crit)). 12 healthy subjects received pentobarbital (100 mg) or placebo in a double-blind, crossover protocol. During wakefulness, we measured the ge...

BACKGROUND Retropharyngeal hematoma (RPH) is rare; however, it causes airway obstruction and can be fatal. Stellate ganglion block (SGB) can cause RPH. The authors analyzed reports of patients with RPH after SGB to clarify the initial symptoms and signs, and the urgency of airway management. METHODS MEDLINE and Japana Centra Revuo Medicina were searched for reports of RPH after SGB using the ...

conclusions in our patients, the ra grafts had an acceptable patency rate in 2 to 5 years’ follow-up. although the sv grafts had a relatively higher patency rate than ra grafts in our asymptomatic patients, the patency rates in ra and sv grafts were close to each other. the ra graft function was poor in the patients with a higher number of risk factors and in the females. background patency of ...

Background: Children often require sedation for long non-invasive diagnostic procedures. Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist with sedative, anxiolytic and analgesic properties. It mimics natural sleep allows patients to easily arouse minimal effects on respiration airway patency. Objective: To assess the successful completion of pediatric procedures intranasal dex...

Severe upper airway stenosis was diagnosed in a 23 year old woman who presented with hoarseness, cough and dyspnoea 8 yrs after initial diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. The respiratory symptoms worsened over the next few months, the patient eventually developing dysphagia and ultimately severe upper airway obstruction. The narrowest site was the glottis, which was severely stenosed by inflammat...

Positive airway pressure systems are widely used to treat patients with moderate-tosevere obstructive sleep-disordered breathing. The application of stable continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) via the nose (nasal CPAP) has been the mainstay of treatment since the early 1980s. For treatment to be effective, the pressure level must be fine-tuned to restore patency of the individual patient’...

IMPORTANCE More than half of children with bilateral vocal fold paralysis require a tracheostomy for airway management. We report an innovative, minimally invasive approach consisting of onabotulinum toxin A injection into the cricothyroid muscles. OBSERVATIONS Onabotulinum toxin A was injected under direct vision into the cricothyroid muscles of 6 pediatric patients with bilateral abductor v...

The silicone stent has been widely used to re-establish airway patency for patients with airway stenosis. The ideal shape of the stent should be well adapted to the tracheobronchial anatomic structures, and its optimal length should cover the entire inner wall of the stenotic airway. Although the silicone Y-stent was developed as a dedicated prosthesis for main carinal stenosis, we often encoun...