Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jul 2013
Historical ArticleOn the origin of the first Australian Medical Journal.
The Australian Medical Journal is important to Australian anaesthesia in that, as well as associated editorials, it recorded the first use of ether for surgical operations. Though it survived from 1 August 1846 until 1 October 1847, its first issue was surrounded with mystery, referring to an earlier publication. Proof of this earlier issue of April 1846 has been discovered though no copy remains extant.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jul 2013
Critical airway obstruction by mediastinal masses in the intensive care unit.
Critical airway obstruction is a dreaded complication of a mediastinal mass. The acute management is difficult and catastrophic outcomes have been reported. A total of 19 patients, aged between 13 and 69 years, who had critical major airway obstruction due to mediastinal mass requiring mechanical ventilation were reviewed. ⋯ Patients who had benign pathologies and lymphoma (n=6, 32%) were still alive after a mean follow-up period of six years (range 3 to 10) and those with metastatic disease died after a mean survival period of 3.3 months (range 1 to 9). In summary, critical major airway obstruction is caused by a heterogeneous group of mediastinal pathologies, and the definitive treatment and long-term prognosis of these patients are highly dependent on the underlying aetiology. Combining various therapeutic modalities can lead to successful separation of these patients from mechanical ventilation within a short period of time.