Split cricoideo anterior posterior: una novedosa técnica para evitar la traqueotomía en parálisis cordal bilateral en pacientes pediátricos / Posterior anterior cricoid split: a cutting-edge technique to avoid tracheostomy in bilateral cordal paralysis in pediatric patients

Introducción: La parálisis cordal bilateral en aducción es la segunda causa de estridor congénito y genera una grave obstrucción de la vía aérea, debutando con estridor. La traqueotomía ha sido durante mucho tiempo el gold estándar para el tratamiento de esta afección, no exenta de complicaciones. Existen procedimientos que intentan evitar la traqueotomía, como el split cricoideo anterior posterior endoscópico (SCAPE). Objetivo: Presentar experiencia con SCAPE en pacientes pediátricos como tratamiento alternativo de parálisis cordal bilateral en aducción. Material y Método: Análisis retrospectivo de los resultados quirúrgicos obtenidos en pacientes con parálisis cordal bilateral en aducción tratados con SCAPE entre enero de 2016 y diciembre de 2019 en el Hospital Guillermo Grant Benavente de Concepción, Chile. Resultados: Siete pacientes se sometieron a SCAPE. Todos los pacientes presentaban insuficiencia respiratoria severa, cinco requirieron asistencia ventilatoria mecánica. Seis pacientes tenían el diagnóstico de parálisis cordal bilateral (PCB) congénita y uno PCB secundaria a tumor de tronco cerebral. Cuatro pacientes presentaron comorbilidad de la vía aérea: dos pacientes presentaron estenosis subglótica grado I y dos pacientes presentaron laringomalacia que requirió manejo quirúrgico. Los días promedio de intubación fueron once días. Ningún paciente requirió soporte ventilatorio postoperatorio, sólo un paciente recibió oxigenoterapia nocturna debido a hipoventilación secundaria a lesión de tronco. Ningún paciente ha presentado descompensación respiratoria grave. Un 40% ha recuperado movilidad cordal bilateral. Conclusión: Split cricoideo anteroposterior endoscópico es una alternativa eficaz para tratar el PCB en pacientes pediátricos. Nuestro estudio evidencia que es una alternativa a la traqueotomía, con excelentes resultados y menor morbimortalidad.

Introduction: Bilateral vocal fold paralysis in adduction is the second cause of congenital stridor and generates a serious obstruction of the airway. Tracheostomy has long been the gold standard for the treatment of this condition, but it has inherent complications. There are procedures that try to avoid tracheotomy, such as the endoscopic anterior posterior cricoid split (EAPCS). Aim: Present our experience with EAPCS in pediatric patients as a treatment for bilateral vocal fold paralysis in adduction. Material and Method: Retrospective analysis of the surgical results obtained in patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis in adduction treated with EAPCS between January 2016 and December 2019 at Guillermo Grant Benavente Hospital in Concepción, Chile. Results: Seven patients underwent EAPCS. All patients had severe respiratory failure, five required mechanical ventilation assistance. Six patients were diagnosed with congenital bilateral cord palsy (BCP) and one BCP secondary to a brainstem tumor. Four patients had airway comorbidity: two patients had grade I subglottic stenosis and two patients had laryngomalacia that required surgical management. The average days of intubation were eleven days. No patient required post op invasive/non-invasive ventilation, only one patient received nocturnal oxygen therapy due to hypoventilation secondary to trunk injury. None of the patients has presented severe respiratory decompensation. Forty percent have recovered bilateral chordal mobility. Conclusion: SCAPE is a cutting-edge and effective alternative to treat PCB in pediatric patients. Our study shows that it is an alternative to tracheotomy, with excellent results and lower morbidity and mortality.

Dual-Energy Subtraction Imaging for Diagnosing Vocal Cord Paralysis with Flat Panel Detector Radiography

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical feasibility of dual energy subtraction (DES) imaging to improve the delineation of the vocal cord and diagnostic accuracy of vocal cord paralysis as compared with the anterior-posterior view of flat panel detector (FPD) neck radiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For 122 consecutive patients who underwent both a flexible laryngoscopy and conventional/DES FPD radiography, three blinded readers retrospectively graded the radiographs during phonation and inspiration on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) for the delineation of the vocal cord, and in consensus, reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of vocal cord paralysis employing the laryngoscopy as the reference. We compared vocal cord delineation scores and accuracy of vocal cord paralysis diagnosis by both conventional and DES techniques using kappa statistics and assessing the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: Vocal cord delineation scores by DES (mean, 4.2 +/- 0.4) were significantly higher than those by conventional imaging (mean, 3.3 +/- 0.5) (p < 0.0001). Sensitivity for diagnosing vocal cord paralysis by the conventional technique was 25%, whereas the specificity was 94%. Sensitivity by DES was 75%, whereas the specificity was 96%. The diagnostic accuracy by DES was significantly superior (kappa = 0.60, AUC = 0.909) to that by conventional technique (kappa = 0.18, AUC = 0.852) (p = 0.038). CONCLUSION: Dual energy subtraction is a superior method compared to the conventional FPD radiography for delineating the vocal cord and accurately diagnosing vocal cord paralysis.

Unilateral vocal cord palsy following chemotherapy for lymphoma

Unilateral vocal cord patsy is not uncommon. The common aetiologies include post neck operation particularly thyroid surgery, trauma to the neck, primary or metastatic neck node or bronchogenic carcinoma. We present a case of a 61 years old Malay gentleman who was diagnosed to have lymphoma and started on usual chemotherapy regime for lymphoma. Later on, he developed unilateral vocal cord palsy. Possible aetiologies were discussed