Anaesthesia
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Case Reports Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of cricoid pressure on intubation facilitated by the gum elastic bougie.
Tracheal tube impingement is common during gum elastic bougie facilitated intubation and a 90 degrees anti-clockwise rotation of the tube usually relieves it. We detail a case where this manoeuvre failed in the presence of cricoid pressure. We investigated the effect of cricoid pressure on gum elastic bougie facilitated intubation in 120 patients randomly allocated to receive sham cricoid pressure (n = 60) or 30 N cricoid pressure (n = 60). ⋯ Releasing cricoid pressure relieved the obstruction in the four cases where 90 degrees anti-clockwise rotation of the tube failed. Impingement is common and 90 degrees anti-clockwise rotation is highly effective in both the presence and absence of cricoid pressure. In a small number of cases, cricoid pressure may cause the manoeuvre to fail.
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Editorial Comment
Non-heart-beating organ donation - solution or a step too far?
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Letter Case Reports
A thyroid cyst mimicking a large neck vein on ultrasound.