ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate improved dysphagia after the decannulation of a tracheostomy in patients with brain injuries. METHODS: The subjects of this study are patients with brain injuries who were admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in Myongji Hospital and who underwent a decannulation between 2012 and 2014. A video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) was performed in order to investigate whether the patients' dysphagia had improved. We measured the following 5 parameters: laryngeal elevation, pharyngeal transit time, post-swallow pharyngeal remnant, upper esophageal width, and semisolid aspiration. We analyzed the patients' results from VFSS performed one month before and one month after decannulation. All VFSS images were recorded using a camcorder running at 30 frames per second. An AutoCAD 2D screen was used to measure laryngeal elevation, post-swallow pharyngeal remnant, and upper esophageal width. RESULTS: In this study, a number of dysphagia symptoms improved after decannulation. Laryngeal elevation, pharyngeal transit time, and semisolid aspiration showed no statistically significant differences (p>0.05), however after decannulation, the post-swallow pharyngeal remnant (pre 37.41%±24.80%, post 21.02%±11.75%; p<0.001) and upper esophageal width (pre 3.57±1.93 mm, post 4.53±2.05 mm; p<0.001) showed statistically significant differences. CONCLUSION: When decannulation is performed on patients with brain injuries who do not require a ventilator and who are able to independently excrete sputum, improved esophageal dysphagia can be expected.
ABSTRACT
A glomus tumor in the mediastinum is very uncommon, and only five cases have been reported in the English literature. We recently encountered a 21-year-old woman with an asymptomatic mediastinal mass that measured 5.3 × 4.0 cm. Surgical excision was performed, and the tumor was finally diagnosed as mediastinal glomus tumor with an uncertain malignant potential. After reviewing this case and previous reports, we analyzed the clinicopathologic features associated with progression of such a tumor.
ABSTRACT
We present two cases of individual pulmonary vein atresia without vestige of an involved pulmonary vein. On CT, we noted the absence or interruption of normal pulmonary venous structures, and the presence of abnormal vascular structures that represented collaterals for the involved lung parenchyma. On angiography, the atretic pulmonary vein was found to drain into the other ipsilateral pulmonary veins through the collaterals.
