Middle East journal of anaesthesiology
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Jun 2003
Anesthesia apparatus: Cuff Mate-2, endotracheal cuff inflator and pressure monitor.
A digital endotracheal cuff inflator and pressure monitor were tested under clinical conditions on 150 patients in the intensive care. ⋯ Using the Cuff Mate to inflate cuffs till no air leak, in addition to simultaneous monitoring of the cuff pressure to prevent excessive cuff pressure, decreases the ischemic damage that is caused by overinflated cuffs. Cuff pressures should be kept below that causing obstruction to the tracheal mucosal blood flow so as to avoid prolonged overinflated cuffs in intensive care patients.
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Jun 2003
Comparative StudyComparison of two methods for predicting difficult intubation in obstetric patients.
Preoperative airway assessment for prediction of difficult laryngoscopy and intubation was done using the modified Mallampati test and Wilson risk sum score in three hundred and seventy two obstetric patients undergoing elective as well as emergency Cesarean section under general anesthesia. 25 (6.7%) patients had laryngoscopy grade III or IV of whom 24 (6.4%) patients were difficult at tracheal intubation. Mallampati class III or IV predicted 15 of the 23 patients while Wilson risk sum score > or = 2 predicted 9 of the 14 patients in whom tracheal intubation was difficult. ⋯ There was no significant association between age and laryngoscopy grade III or IV but there was significant (P < 0.01) relationship with weight and external laryngeal manipulation. The advantage of the above tests lies in, incorporating them into the preoperative protocol, rather than using them as sole predictors of difficult laryngoscopy and intubation.
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Stridor is frequently encountered in the pediatric age group and can be alarming to the parents. Many lesions and abnormalities can cause it and the challenge is to pinpoint a specific diagnosis effectively. The patient is usually referred to the pediatric otolaryngologist by the primary care physician who should be aware of the different lesions to avoid any delay in proper management. In the operating room, both the anesthesiologist and the surgeon should cooperate to reach a proper diagnosis or in the extreme situation save the life of the baby.