We report a case of multinodular thyroid goiter in an 80-year-old man who successfully underwent tracheal stent placement for respiratory distress caused by the thyroid goiter and following two radiofrequency (RF) ablation sessions performed for thyroid volume reduction. This sequential treatment allowed elective stent removals four weeks after the second RF ablation session because the thyroid...

Ideally, the inspired (tidal) volume (V(T)) provided by a volume-controlled ventilation device should not change when the pressure imposed on the ventilator varies. A bench study evaluation of V(T) versus pressure was performed on 10 commercially available devices. The difference between the desired V(T) and the observed V(T) reached 100 mL for some devices when inspiratory resistance was at it...

The natural history of lung hyperinflation in patients with airway obstruction is unknown. In particular, little information exists about the extent of air trapping and its reversibility to bronchodilator therapy in those with mild airway obstruction. We completed a retrospective analysis of data from individuals with airway obstruction who attended our pulmonary function laboratory and had ple...

Periodically, the Joint American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society Working Group on Infant Lung Function Testing publishes results of workshops on new techniques for lung function testing in infants. One such half-day workshop on forced expiratory flow-volume curves from raised lung volumes in infants was held by the Infant Lung Function Joint Working Group of the ATS and ERS immedi...

The present study was undertaken to gain further insight into the mechanisms responsible for the sustained active expiratory upper airway closure previously observed during high-permeability pulmonary edema in lambs. The experiments were conducted in nonsedated lambs, in which airflow and thyroarytenoid and inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle electromyographic activity were recorded. We firs...

The pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnea can be explained by collapse of upper airways secondary to the negative intra-pharyngeal pressure that develops during inspiration [4]. In addition, during sleep, muscles in the mouth relax and tongue and other structures tend to fall toward the back of the mouth causing crowding in the upper airway region with more potential for upper airway obstr...

BACKGROUND Computed tomographic (CT) airway lumen narrowing is associated with lower lung function. Although volumetric CT measures of airways (wall volume [WV] and lumen volume [LV]) compared to cross sectional measures can more accurately reflect bronchial morphology, data of their use in never smokers is scarce. We hypothesize that native tracheobronchial tree morphology as assessed by volum...

Airway responsiveness to methacholine varies between normal people and is increased in patients with asthma. The importance of airway smooth muscle sensitivity in determining in vivo responsiveness is unknown. We have examined this question by comparing in vivo airway responsiveness with in vitro airway smooth muscle sensitivity to methacholine in 10 patients undergoing thoracic surgery. In viv...