A&A practice
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Dying adolescents presenting for palliative procedures have complicated developmental and ethical issues, especially when reconsidering do-not-resuscitate orders. Though the American Academy of Pediatrics has guidelines, there is limited information in the literature on how to take care of these patients. ⋯ The patient's goals of treatment were elucidated through a comprehensive care team consisting of the procedural and oncology teams. Effective communication with the patient and family was paramount for success.
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Severe upper airway obstruction is commonly managed with surgical tracheostomy under local anesthesia. We present a 49-year-old woman with postradiotherapy laryngeal fixation and transglottic stenosis for dilation of a pharyngeal stricture who refused elective tracheostomy. A 2-stage technique was used, which involved an awake fiberoptic intubation, followed by the transtracheal insertion of a Cricath needle and ventilation using an ejector-based Ventrain device. We discuss management aspects of this clinical scenario and the principles by which the Ventrain works.
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We report 3 cases of thoracic surgery that required 1-lung ventilation where venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was prophylactically used because severe hypoxemia and ventilatory failure were anticipated intraoperatively. The surgery was successfully completed in all 3 cases. However, we had to withdraw the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in 1 case because of uncontrollable hemorrhage. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a feasible option when severe hypoxemia and/or ventilatory failure is anticipated during 1-lung ventilation.