1/27. Pneumoparotid due to spirometry.Pneumoparotid has been described in patients who generate increased intraoral pressures when playing wind instruments, while coughing, and when undergoing dental work. Some patients have intentionally created pneumoparotid to avoid duties at school or in the military, or to gain attention. We describe a patient who developed pneumoparotid during pulmonary function testing. The diagnosis of pneumoparotid depends on a suggestive clinical situation and glandular swelling with or without crepitus. observation of aerated saliva per Stensen's duct or air in the parotid duct and/or gland by any imaging study is diagnostic if infection with a gas-forming organism can be reasonably excluded. No specific treatment is required, other than the avoidance of predisposing activities.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/27. Myasthenic inspiratory vocal cord dysfunction: efficacy of nasal continuous positive airway pressure treatment.Myasthenic vocal cord dysfunction (VCD), presenting with severe inspiratory stridor, was successfully treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP), thus giving the medical staff time to make the diagnosis and avoiding intubation or tracheostomy. An important sign leading to diagnosis was the very high MEF(50)/MIF(50) ratio calculated from the flow-volume loop. nCPAP treatment induced prompt remission of stridor and a sharp reduction in the MEF(50)/MIF(50) ratio from 9.90 to 1.36. A review of the literature has shown that VCD with inspiratory stridor is an unusual onset symptom of myasthenia gravis and that nCPAP treatment may avoid emergency oral/tracheal intubation and tracheostomy. After diagnosis, the patient underwent thymectomy, and today, 3 years later, he is well without any further therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/27. Negative extrathoracic pressure in infants with cystic fibrosis and respiratory failure.Respiratory support using negative extrathoracic pressure or high-frequency chest wall oscillation was used to treat 3 infants with cystic fibrosis and respiratory failure who had not responded to maximal medical therapy. Beneficial clinical effects were noted in all three cases. Pulmonary function testing was performed in 2 cases, and measures of compliance increased.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/27. Wheezing as the sole clinical manifestation of cor triatriatum.Cardiac malformations involving low-pressure chambers (i.e., either of the atria) are more often diagnosed later in life than lesions that involve high-pressure systems such as ventricular septal defects or persistent ducti arteriosi. patients with congenital heart disease involving the atria may present only symptoms suggesting lung disease. We report on a child with recurrent episodes of wheezing, which did not respond to albuterol nebulizations and intravenous corticosteroids; he was subsequently found to have cor triatriatum. When a patient suffers from recurrent episodes of lower pulmonary infection and wheezing, despite appropriate management for asthma, less common (including cardiac) causes should be considered.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/27. Achalasia presenting as acute airway obstruction.Achalasia presenting as acute airway obstruction is an uncommon complication. We report the case of an elderly woman with previously undiagnosed achalasia who presented with acute respiratory distress due to megaesophagus. Emergency endotracheal intubation and insertion of a catheter into the esophagus, with continuous aspiration was required. Upon introduction of the esophageal catheter an abruptand audible air decompression occurred, with marked improvement of the clinical picture. Endoscopic injection of botulinum toxin was chosen as the definitive treatment with good clinical result. The pathophysiology of the phenomenon of esophageal blowing in achalasia is unclear, but different hypothetical mechanisms have been suggested. One postulated mechanism is an increase in upper esophageal sphincter (UES) residual pressure or abnormal UES relaxation with swallowing in achalasia patients. We reviewed the UES manometric findings in 50 achalasia patients and compared it with measurement performed in 45 healthy controls. We did not find any abnormalities in UES function in any of our achalasia patients group, or in the case under study. An alternative hypothesis postulates that airway compromise in patients with achalasia results from the loss UES belch reflex (abnormal UES relaxation during esophageal air distension), and in fact, an abnormal UES belch reflex was evidenced in our case.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/27. An unusual case of stridor after thyroidectomy.Twelve days after subtotal thyroidectomy, an air pocket developed in a patient's neck. The pressure in this pocket had gradually increased as small amounts of air, probably associated with coughing, came out of a tiny hole in the trachea to form a pneumocoele. This produced limited surgical emphysema, causing venous congestion and oedema of the soft tissues of the larynx, which in turn led to increasing airway obstruction. We believe that this is the first reported case of a pneumocoele that gradually increased in size, causing airway obstruction that was almost certainly due to secondary laryngeal oedema.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/27. Thoracoscopic aortopericardiosternopexy for severe tracheomalacia in toddlers.BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Aortosternopexy from a left anterolateral thoracotomy is the procedure of choice in severe tracheomalacia. The authors report an alternative technique of modified thoracoscopic aortopericardiosternopexy. methods: thoracoscopy under mild CO2 insufflation (insufflation pressures 4 to 6 mm Hg) provides excellent access without selective intubation. The importance of visualizing the phrenic nerve, mobilization of the thymus without disrupting its vascular supply, and intraoperative bronchoscopy is stressed. The technique of passing the needle through the sternum and back is shown. In long segment tracheomalacia, not only the ascending aorta, but also the innominate artery and base of the pericardium are fixed to the sternum, and the effect is monitored by intraoperative bronchoscopy. RESULTS: This technique was dramatically successful in a 4-year-old boy with long segment tracheomalacia and as a redo procedure in a 2-year-old girl after failed open aortopexy. CONCLUSION: Thoracoscopic aortopexy seems to be as effective as open aortopexy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/27. Bilateral vocal fold paresis and multiple system atrophy.OBJECTIVE: To review a case series of patients with systemic neurodegenerative disease presenting to a laryngologist for workup of dysphonia and found to have bilateral vocal fold paresis. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Tertiary care voice center. patients: Series of patients with neurodegenerative disorders examined for dysphonia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: history and physical examination including fiberoptic laryngoscopy were performed on all patients. Some patients underwent polysomnography. RESULTS: Seven patients during a 2-year period were noted to have bilateral abductor vocal fold paresis. Five of 7 (71%) had the diagnosis of multiple system atrophy proposed by the laryngologist. All 7 patients described sleep-disordered breathing with stridor. CONCLUSIONS: patients with systemic neurodegenerative disorders such as parkinson disease should be examined for multiple system atrophy and for evidence of bilateral vocal fold paresis. Workup for stridor should include polysomnography. Treatment of glottic obstruction in these patients includes constant positive airway pressure at night or tracheotomy. The finding of bilateral vocal fold paresis can be life threatening.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/27. Acoustic reflectometry detection of an endobronchial intubation in a patient with equal breath sounds.Acoustic reflectometry can be used to distinguish between a tracheal and an esophageal intubation based on an area-distance profile. In a patient undergoing laparoscopic surgery, acoustic reflectometry was used to detect a bronchoscopically confirmed endobronchial intubation in the presence of equal bilateral breath sounds. An in vitro simulation suggests that in an endobronchial intubation, in the presence of a space leak between the tube cuff and the bronchus, an acoustic pressure disturbance can be transmitted to the opposite lung (causing equal breath sounds), without significant bulk airway flow (causing inadequate ventilation of the opposite lung).- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/27. Double trouble: prolapsing epiglottis and unexpected dual pathology in an infant.A 3-week-old full-term female neonate was admitted with a 4-day history of episodic stridor, desaturations and difficult feeding. Initial assessment using fluoroscopy suggested distal tracheomalacia. Inhalational induction for examination under anaesthesia of the upper airway at 4 weeks of age caused almost complete airway obstruction due to severe anterior, or epiglottic, laryngomalacia. This airway obstruction was unresponsive to continuous positive airway pressure, the use of an oropharyngeal airway and hand ventilation and required urgent tracheal intubation using suxamethonium. Epiglottopexy, a relatively unknown procedure, was performed uneventfully 2 days later, with complete relief of the respiratory compromise. However, the infant remained desaturated postoperatively. A ventilation perfusion scan subsequently revealed multiple pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, unsuitable for embolization and requiring nocturnal home oxygen therapy. review at 3 months of age found a thriving infant with no airway obstruction and good epiglottic positioning on examination under anaesthesia. Although the patient's oxygen requirements had diminished, the long-term outcome remains uncertain.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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