Background Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is a common procedure in intensive care units (ICUs). Although it is thought to be safe and easily performed at the bedside, PDT usually requires endotracheal guidance, such as bronchoscopy. Here, we assessed the clinical outcomes and safety of PDT conducted without endotracheal guidance.
Methods In the ICU and coronary ICU at a tertiary hospital, PDT was routinely performed without endotracheal guidance by a single medical intensivist using the Griggs technique PDT kit (Portex Percutaneous Tracheostomy Kit). We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of patients who underwent PDT without endotracheal guidance.
Results From January 1 to December 31, 2018, 78 patients underwent PDT without endotracheal guidance in the ICU and coronary ICU. The mean age of these subjects was 71.9±11.5 years, and 29 (37.2%) were female. The mean Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score at 24 hours after admission was 25.9±5.8. Fifty patients (64.1%) were on mechanical ventilation during PDT. Failure of the initial PDT attempt occurred in 4 patients (5.1%). In two of them, PDT was aborted and converted to surgical tracheostomy; in the other two patients, PDT was reattempted after endotracheal reintubation, with success. Minor bleeding at the tracheostomy site requiring gauze changes was observed in five patients (6.4%). There were no airway problems requiring therapeutic interventions or procedure-related sequelae.
Conclusions PDT without endotracheal guidance can be considered safe and feasible.
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Background High flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is known to increase global ventilation volume in healthy subjects. We sought to investigate the effect of HFNC on global and regional ventilation patterns in patients with hypoxia.
Methods Patients were randomized to receive one of two oxygen therapies in sequence: nasal cannula (NC) followed by HFNC or HFNC followed by NC. Global and regional ventilation was assessed using electric impedance tomography.
Results Twenty-four patients participated. Global tidal variation (TV) in the lung was higher during HFNC (NC, 2,241 ± 1,381 arbitrary units (AU); HFNC, 2,543 ± 1,534 AU; P < 0.001). Regional TVs for four iso-gravitational quadrants of the lung were also all higher during HFNC than NC. The coefficient of variation for the four quadrants of the lung was 0.90 ± 0.61 during NC and 0.77 ± 0.48 during HFNC (P = 0.035). Within the four gravitational layers of the lung, regional TVs were higher in the two middle layers during HFNC when compared to NC. Regional TV values in the most ventral and dorsal layers of the lung were not higher during HFNC compared with NC. The coefficient of variation for the four gravitational layers of the lung were 1.00 ± 0.57 during NC and 0.97 ± 0.42 during HFNC (P = 0.574).
Conclusions In patients with hypoxia, ventilation of iso-gravitational regions of the lung during HFNC was higher and more homogenized compared with NC. However, ventilation of gravitational layers increased only in the middle layers. (Clinical trials registration number: NCT02943863).
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High-flow nasal cannulae for respiratory support in adult intensive care patients Sharon R Lewis, Philip E Baker, Roses Parker, Andrew F Smith Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
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A 51-year-old male patient was referred for a sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Upon arrival, he was conscious and had no chest pain complaints. There was no abnormality in initial electrocardiographic and echocardiographic examinations. However, episodes of recurrent ventricular fibrillation (VF) were documented on rhythm monitoring. Each VF episode was triggered by an isolated monomorphic ventricular premature complex (VPC).
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