Anaesthesia and intensive care
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The laryngeal plug is a little-known device developed by Arthur E. Guedel in the 1930s. The device was an alternative to the inflatable cuff used on tracheal tubes. Guedel did not publish a description of the laryngeal plug and the most detailed description of it was published by Gilbert Troup, an Australian anaesthetist.
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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.