effective treatment of post-intubation subglottic stenosis in children with holmium laser therapy and cryotherapy via flexible bronchoscopy

Importance:Post-intubation subglottic stenosis(SGS)in children can be life threatening.Definitive treatment varies and lacks a universally accepted approach.Objective:We performed a prospective study to assess the safety and feasibility of holmium laser combined with cryotherapy delivered via flexible bronchoscopy for the treatment of post-intubation SGS in children.Methods:This study involved all patients with post-intubation SGS seen at the Interventional Pulmonology Department of Beijing Children's Hospital between July 2014 and December 2016.Holmium laser treatment and cryotherapy was then performed under flexible bronchoscopy,whose parents refused to accept the alternative standard treatment of tracheotomy and balloon dilation under direct laryngoscopy.results:Sixteen patients with post-intubation SGS were included in this study.Ages ranged from 2 months to 12.25 years old.According to the Cotton-Myer grading system,three cases were Grade II,12 cases were Grade III,and one case was Grade IV.According to the McCaffrey system,eight cases were Stage 1,two cases were Stage 2,and six cases were Stage 3.The average number of procedures was 4.88.Fifteen of the 16 patients achieved clinical cure.One patient achieved clinical improvement.The average treatment course duration was 55.31 days.No severe complications were seen.Post-treatment clinical symptoms,endoscopic findings and quality of life showed marked improvement.Interpretation:Our study supports the conclusion that holmium laser treatment combined with cryotherapy via flexible bronchoscopy appears to be a safe and feasible treatment for post-intubation SGS in children.

Case Report:Subglottic adenoid cystic carcinoma mistaken for asthma

Adenoid cystic carcinoma rarely occurs within the subglottic larynx. In this study, a case of subglottic adenoid cystic carcinoma was reported. A 54 year-old Chinese woman developed a sudden onset of chest distress and cough worsening after physical exertion, and was diagnosed with, and treated as, bronchial asthma. Regular anti-asthmatic therapy did not improve the symptoms. Until a sudden dyspnea, a cervicothoracic computerized tomography （CT） revealed that her upper airway was obstructed by a laryngeal tumor. The patient was diagnosed with a subglottic adenoid cystic carcinoma and treated with complete surgical excision and adjuvant radiation therapy. Follow-up endoscopy and laryngeal magnetic resonance imaging （MR1） at six months showed no recurrence of the tumor. The diagnosis of subglottic adenoid cystic carcinoma should be considered in patients who are characterized by dyspnea, cough, and stridor, but do not respond to regular anti-asthmatic therapy.

Management of Airway in a Patient with Traumatic Sub-glottic Stenosis

Tracheal stenosis or tracheal injury is a distressing condition. The silicone tracheal T-tube presents a substitute for stent of this complicated disease. We have come across a case of tracheal perforation in which tracheoplasty was planned. After traceoplasty silicone tracheal T-tube was placed as a stent. We were not able to connect silicone tracheal T-tube with Bain circuit with ET TUBE No. 8.5, 8, 7.5, 7 connector and it was difficult to ventilate the patient now. We have tried other ET TUBE connector and finally we succeeded to connect ET TUBE No. 5.5 connector with Bain circuit and we were able to ventilate the patient.

Factors Influencing Prognosis in the Endoscopic Extraction of Foreign Bodies in Kashmiri Population

An updated approach in the management of 50 patients with foreign body inhalation is presented. Certain risk factors that lead to complications and mortality due to endoscopic extraction of foreign bodies and thus determine prognosis were identified. Remedial measures to reduce morbidity and mortality due to bronchoscopic removal of foreign bodies are suggested. Fifty patients of suspected foreign body inhalation presented to a Unit of the Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery of Government Medical College associated SMHS Hospital Srinagar, Kashmir from March 2007 to June 2017. Of these, 49 patients were subjected to rigid tube bronchoscopy for removal of the aspirated foreign bodies and one coughed out the foreign body spontaneously during admission for bronchoscopy. History of foreign body inhalation was positive in 90% of patients and remaining was mostly referred from Paediatric Units with un-resolving collapse-consolidation of the lung. Whereas plain radiography of the chest and the soft tissues of neck were the primary imaging modality used in this study to detect the inhaled foreign bodies or their effects there are reports of virtual bronchoscopy being done with a multidetector computed tomography scanner in 3D image generation from axial cuts of the internal walls of the tracheobronchial tree in the management of patients suspected with foreign body aspiration. Bronchoscopy is a difficult and potentially hazardous procedure in the infant and young child. Telescopes and telescopic forceps were used during bronchoscopy to facilitate extraction of a foreign body inhaled. The type of a foreign body, site of its enlodgement and the complications encountered during its extraction were noted. During bronchoscopy the patients were connected to an ECG monitor and a pulse oximeter. 80% of the patients with foreign body inhalation were children in the age group of 0 - 5 years. There was a definite history of choking over the foreign body in 88% of the patients leading to acute respiratory distress in 46%. Cough alone or along with other symptoms occurred in most of the patients (96%). Persistent fever with respiratory symptoms unresponsive to treatment occurred in 38% of the patients with or without a positive history of foreign body inhalation. Right main bronchus was the commonest site of enlodgement of foreign body. In the present study, bean and peanut were the commonest types of foreign bodies inhaled (34%). Radiological findings in these patients include atelectasis with or without pneumonitis in 46.65% of the patients, normal chest/soft tissues of the neck in 24.45%, obstructive emphysema on the affected side in 24.45%, foreign body seen in the respiratory tract in 8.90% and bronchopneumonia in 2.22%. Complications associated with the endoscopic extraction of foreign bodies and the risk factors that lead to complications and mortality in patients with aspirated foreign bodies were identified in this study and the measures to reduce these complications and mortality rate to very low levels were suggested. Transient hypoxia, hypoxic bradycardia, transient cardiac arrest, bronchial perforation and death, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, subglottic oedema, reflex bradycardia and pneumothorax were among the few complications which occurred with the rigid endoscopic extraction of foreign bodies in the present study. Among the risk factors associated with the complications were prolonged bronchoscopy, semi-blind procedure, a vegetable foreign body, improper size and positioning of a bronchoscope and some other important factors which are detailed in the text of this paper to follow. Remedial measures on the basis of complications and the risk factors are suggested so as to decrease the morbidity and mortality due to endoscopic extraction of foreign bodies inhaled into the tracheobronchial tree.

Laryngotracheal Stenosis Following Intubation for COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Report of Two Cases

Benign laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening condition that is commonly caused by iatrogenic events as a result of endotracheal intubation or tracheostomy. Numerous cases are being published for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who end up with severe LTS after prolonged intubation or tracheostomy. Here, we presented two cases of LTS due to prolonged intubation after severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The characteristic of these two cases is that both of them needed second time intubation and were readmitted because of severe dyspnoea and all the workup for post-COVID-19 complications were investigated except the LTS which was later diagnosed after one month of suffering of these patients.

声门下异位甲状腺1例

1临床资料患者,女,62岁,以气喘8个月,加重1个月有余为主诉就诊。患者于入院前8个月无明显诱因出现气喘、呼吸困难、气短,无咳嗽、咳痰,无胸闷、胸痛、咯血,无发热、乏力等不适,活动后加重,自行服用“感冒药”(具体不详)后缓解,未予以重视。入院前1个余月,患者新冠病毒感染后感觉气喘明显加重,伴低热。于2023-01-28就诊于联勤保障部队第九〇〇医院耳鼻咽喉头颈外科。

Laryngotracheal stenosis in burn patients requiring mechanical ventilation

Objective: To identify the incidence of laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) in burn pa-tients requiring mechanical ventilation at a regional academic burn center. Methods: A retrospective review of all burn patients requiring endotracheal intubation or tra-cheostomy for airway management between 2003 and 2009 was performed. A group of trauma patients requiring similar airway instrumentation during the same period of time was used as a control. Results: None of the trauma patients and 2 of the burn patients developed LTS. Both presented with stridor and were diagnosed within 2—5 weeks after extubation. One patient underwent successful carbon dioxide laser radial incision and dilation and continues to do well. The other patient failed endoscopic treatment and required T-tube placement. The incidence of LTS in burn patients requiring mechanical ventilation was 2.98％ overall and 4.76％ among those with inhalational injury. Conclusions: Patients become symptomatic within weeks of the initial injury. Treatment is challenging and multiple surgical procedures are often required. A larger study is necessary to determine if the incidence is higher among burn patients.