FIBEROPTIC BRONCHOSCOPY VERSUS VIDEO LARYNGOSCOPY IN PEDIATRIC AIRWAY MANAGEMENT.

The primary goal of pediatric airway management is to ensure oxygenation and ventilation. Routine airway management in healthy pediatric patients is normally easy in experienced hands. Really difficult pediatric airway is rare and usually is associated with anatomically and physiologically important findings such as congenital abnormalities and syndromes, trauma, infection, swelling and burns. Using predictors of difficult intubation should be mandatory preoperative assessment in pediatric patients. Difficult airway algorithm for pediatric patients has to consist of three parts: oxygenation (A), tracheal intubation (B), and rescue (C). According to this new algorithm, if conventional direct laryngoscopy fails, we have to use alternative glottic visualization device. Do we really need video laryngoscopy? If we look at numbers, we might estimate that conventional laryngoscopy is successful and effective in around 98.5% of cases. Do we need to replace Macintosh laryngoscope with video laryngoscope completely in our routine practice? Should video laryngoscope be available to replace fiberoptic intubation in pediatric airway management? According to the algorithm, fiberoptic-assisted tracheal intubation combined with extraglottic airway devices is the standard of care. Establishment of protocols for equipping and maintaining airway trolleys and regular training in their use must be provided to avoid tissue hypoxia in children with compromised airway.

LARYNGEAL CHONDROSARCOMA: SUCCESSFUL USE OF VIDEO LARYNGOSCOPE IN ANTICIPATED DIFFICULT AIRWAY MANAGEMENT.

Laryngeal chondrosarcoma is a rare mesenchymal tumor, most frequently affecting cricoid cartilage. The objective of this report is to present successful video laryngoscope usage in a patient with anticipated difficult airway who refused awake fiberoptic endotracheal intubation (AFOI). A 59-year-old male patient was admitted in our hospital due to difficulty breathing and swallowing. On clinical examination performed by ENT surgeon, preoperative endoscopic airway examination (PEAE) could not be performed properly due to the patient's uncooperativeness. Computed tomography revealed a spherical tumor that obstructed the subglottic area almost entirely. Due to the narrowed airway, the first choice for the anticipated difficult airway management was AFOI, which the patient refused. Consequently, we decided to perform endotracheal intubation with indirect laryngoscope using a C-MAC video laryngoscope (Karl Storz, Tuttlingen, Germany). Reinforced endotracheal tube (6.0 mm internal diameter) was placed gently between the tumor mass and the posterior wall of the trachea in the first attempt. Confirmation of endotracheal intubation was done by capnography. In a patient with subglottic area chondrosarcoma refusing PEAE and AFOI, video laryngoscope is a particularly helpful device for difficult airway management when difficult airway is anticipated.

Subglottic high frequency jet ventilation in surgical management of bilateral vocal fold paralysis after thyroidectomy.

Lesion of the recurrent laryngeal nerves as a consequence of thyroid surgery results in bilateral vocal fold paralysis and respiratory obstruction. The initial treatment involves ensuring an adequate airway and it ranges from tracheostomy to endo-extralaryngeal laterofixating operations in general anesthesia. Subglottic high frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) is an alternative ventilatory approach in airway surgery. HFJV offers optimal endolaryngeal working conditions, immobility of vocal cords, adequate oxygenation and ventilation. The HFJV was prospectively studied in 20 consecutive female patients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis. Ventilation was performed as subglottic HFJV via jet catheter inserted through the vocal cord. Anesthesia was administered as total intravenous anesthesia. At the end of the procedure, the jet catheter was exchanged with LMA laryngeal mask until spontaneous breathing was established. Subglottic HFJV was used in 20 patients undergoing endo-extralaryngeal laterofixating operations with suspension microlaryngoscopy. The mean duration of surgery was 32.25 minutes, mean age 47.35 (SD 9.75) years, and mean body mass index 26.39 kg m(-2) (SD 5.03). The mean arterial PaCO2 5 min before surgical procedure was 5.39 (SD 0.86) kPa, at 5 min of starting jet ventilation 6.19 (SD 0.91) kPa, and at the end of surgical procedure 5.93 (SD 0.99) kPa. There was significant correlation between PaCO2 obtained 5 min before starting jet ventilation and PaCO2 at 5 min of starting jet ventilation (p < 0.05). No complications secondary to the ventilation technique were observed. No perioperative tracheotomy was necessary. It is concluded that subglottic HFJV is an easy and safe way to ventilate patients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis when endoscopic intervention is performed.

Gustatory rhinitis.

Gustatory rhinitis is characterized by watery, uni- or bilateral rhinorrhea occurring after ingestion of solid or liquid foods, most often hot and spicy. It usually begins within a few minutes of ingestion of the implicated food, and is not associated with pruritus, sneezing, nasal congestion or facial pain. It is considered to be a non-immunological reaction. Immunohistological and pharmacological observations suggest that this disease is most likely caused by stimulation of trigeminal sensory nerve endings located at the upper aerodigestive track. Recent evidence suggests that sensory nerve stimulations could be associated with a parasympathetic reflex and activation of cholinergic muscarinic receptors, sensitive to atropine. There are various types of gustatory rhinitis, including age-related, posttraumatic, postsurgical and associated with cranial nerve neuropathy. Avoidance of the implicated foods, is the first treatment option, but it is rarely sufficient. The intranasal topical administration of anticholinergic agents such as atropine, either prophylactically or therapeutically has been shown effective. Surgical therapy in the form of posterior nasal nerve resection or vidian nerve neurectomy is not recommended because of its short lasting result and frequent unpleasant side effects.

[High Frequency Jet Ventilation and laryngeal surgery, clinical practice].

High Frequency Jet Ventilation is one in a group of alternative ventilatory techniques characterized by the application of small tidal volumes delivered at higher than physiological rates, followed by the passive expiration. There are two groups of indications: first, High Frequency Jet ventilation was used as a special ventilation mode during diagnostic or surgical procedures in patients with airway pathology; and second, High Frequency Jet Ventilation was employed as a respiratory support technique to improve gas exchange during severe pulmonary failure in infants, children and adults. Diagnostic or surgery laryngoscopy requires a method that can give good exposure of the larynx, continuing control of the airway patency and immobility of the vocal cords. High frequency Jet Ventilation overcomes the disadventage of an anaesthetic technique using a tracheal tube which can hide the posterior part of the glottis and which carries the risk of the fire in the airway. Small plastic cannulae have been introduced by the nasotracheal, orotracheal or transtracheal route for supraglottic or subglottic application of jet streams, employing tubeless HFJV. Jet ventilation via a catheter placed through the cricothyroid membrane, is an easy and safe way to ventilate patients with an abnormality of the upper airway, such as in cases of head and neck cancer. Inappropriate airway pressure monitoring and/or an insufficient expiratory airflow enhances the risk of pulmonary barotrauma. Despite a large body of published evidence describing its benefits as an alternative ventilatory approach in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine, its application has not gained widespread acceptance and is restricted to specialized centres only.