Tracheal hamartoma masquerading as asthma.

We present a rare case of a female non-smoker diagnosed with a large benign tracheal chondrohamartoma, masquerading as severe asthma. The patient was in her late 70s and had a history of asthma. She had presented to hospital with multiple episodes of intractable cough, shortness of breath and wheeze in the year prior to diagnosis. She had been managed for asthma for two decades by different physicians in primary care, based on documented airflow obstruction. Given her repeated admissions, the respiratory team was consulted. In view of the persistent cough despite maximal treatment, she was referred for a thoracic high-resolution CT scan which revealed a large intraluminal tracheal polypoid mass. Flexible bronchoscopy was performed and this confirmed the presence of a large pedunculated mass in the distal trachea. The patient subsequently underwent removal of the mass by means of rigid bronchoscopy, laser and electrocautery followed by argon ablation of residual tissue. She made an excellent recovery with full resolution of her respiratory symptoms and normalisation of her pulmonary function tests.

The non-resolving lung cavity: a case of pulmonary cystic echinococcosis.

The authors report a case of a 20-year-old woman who was diagnosed with pulmonary cystic echinococcosis. She was admitted to hospital with a 1-week history of unresolving cough, coloured sputum with occasional haemoptysis and fever despite oral antibiotics. Radiology revealed a cavitating right lower lobe lung abscess. After 4 weeks of treatment, follow-up radiology showed incomplete resolution. Bronchoscopy revealed a white, avascular cystic lesion in the right lower lobe and serology testing for Echinococcus granulosus was positive. Repeat imaging eventually confirmed the cystic lesion with the 'air bubble'sign. A thorough travel history, a high index of clinical suspicion and close follow-up are essential in making a diagnosis of pulmonary cystic echinococcosis.

Simulation training for foundation doctors on the management of the acutely ill patient.

BACKGROUND: A study evaluating subjective trainee responses to simulation training organized by the Malta Foundation Program in particular whether this changed their clinical practice. METHOD: Feedback using a standardized questionnaire was obtained from 120 (M=55%) participants. A 0-10 Likert scale was used to evaluate responses. RESULTS: Participants scored the simulation sessions as "useful" at 7.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.4-8.0), rated "the overall experience" at 7.5 (95% CI 7.2-7.8), and thought it made a change in "daily practice" at 5.83 (95% CI 5.4-6.3). The score for the tutor "creating a satisfactory learning environment" and "quality of simulator equipment" was 7.8 (95% CI 7.6-8.1) and 7.7 (95% CI 7.4-8), respectively. Trainees rated "how close was the simulation to a real-life scenario" as 6.24 (95% CI 5.9-6.6). When asked whether the presence of colleagues hindered or helped, the majority were neutral 50 (41.7%), 36 (30%) said it hindered, while only 21 (28.3%) felt it helped. In contrast, 94 (78.33%) stated it was useful to observe colleagues while only 5 (4.2%) stated it was not. Likelihood for future participation was 7.4 (95% CI 7-7.8). Trainees recommended a median of 3 (interquartile range 2-5) simulations per year. CONCLUSION: Trainees rated the sessions as useful and asked for more sessions possibly at an undergraduate level. Rating for equipment and tutors was positive; however, some felt that the effect on daily practice was limited. Most were comfortable observing others and uncomfortable being observed. The value of increasing sessions to 3-4 per year, timing them before clinical attachments and audiovisual prebriefing for candidates naïve to simulation needs to be evaluated in future studies.

A local perspective to asthma management in the accident and emergency department in Malta.

AIM: This study was performed to assess the management of adult patients presenting to the Mater Dei Hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) department with acute asthma. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Asthmatic patients age 14 or older who presented to A&E department between January and October 2010 with asthma exacerbations were included. Data were collected from the clinical notes and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 244 patients (67.2% females) were included, 126 (51.6%) were admitted, 97 (39.8%) discharged and 21 (8.6%) discharged themselves against medical advice. There was a decline in the presentations between January and July, followed by an upward trend until October (P = 0.42). Pulse oximetry was performed in 207 patients (84.8%), arterial blood gases in 133 (54.5%), peak expiratory flow rate in 106 (43.4%) and chest radiography in 206 (84.4%) patients. The respiratory rate was documented in 151 (61.8%), heart rate in 204 (83.6%) and ability to complete sentences in 123 (50.4%) patients. One hundred and ninety six patients (80.3%) were given nebulized bronchodilators, 103 (42.2%) intravenous corticosteroids, 7 (2.87%) oral corticosteroids, 109 (44.7%) oxygen, 28 (11.5%) antibiotics and 9 (3.69%) magnesium. Systemic corticosteroids and antibiotics were more commonly prescribed to patients admitted (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Management of acute asthma in Malta requires optimization in order to compare with international guidelines.

Two cases of aspiration of calcium tablets.

Two clinical cases of aspiration are reported in elderly ladies with differing presentations following inhalation of the same brand of calcium tablet. One of the patients distinctly recalled the choking episode, whereas the other failed to do so making the diagnosis of aspiration difficult. One of the aspirated tablets was successfully retrieved during rigid bronchoscopy after the patient reported several months of cough requiring multiple courses of antibiotics. The other aspirated tablet was coughed up by the patient after the successful treatment of a pneumonia complicated by a parapneumonic effusion.