One-lung ventilation when intubation is difficult--presentation of a new endobronchial blocker.

BACKGROUND: One-lung ventilation utilizing a double-lumen endotracheal tube may be technically difficult or inappropriate in morbidly obese or critically ill patients. In patients requiring awake fiberoptic intubation, double-lumen tube placement may be impossible. Wire-guided endobronchial blockade through a conventional endotracheal tube is a new alternative for these patients. METHODS: A 44-year-old, 133 kg female patient was scheduled to undergo a thoracotomy for transthoracic fundoplication. A wire-guided endobronchial blocker (WEB) was placed following rapid-sequence induction and intubation with an 8.0 OD single-lumen endotracheal tube with the aid of a pediatric bronchoscope. RESULTS: The WEB, using a guiding loop, was placed with ease and allowed effective one-lung ventilation. CONCLUSION: The WEB system allows one-lung ventilation to be achieved with a conventional endotracheal tube. The need for reintubation at the end of surgery is eliminated and endotracheal tube cross-sectional area is conserved.

[Not Available]. / Il carteggio tra Giovanni Bianchi e Laura Bassi, 1733-1745.

The correspondence between the physicist Laura Bassi (1711-1778) from Bologna and the physician and scientist Giovanni Bianchi (1693-1775) from Rimini comprehends altogether 17 letters from 1733 to 1745. Concerning Bassi, these letters are one of the few sources from a period which was decisive for her personal and scientific development; as to Bianchi, they confirm in many details the traditional picture of his person. The estimation, in which Bassi was held by Bianchi, her scientific training and her marriage are important subjects of the correspondence. Furthermore, Bianchi often sent her copies of his publications.