Laryngeal injury following endotracheal intubation: Have you considered reflux?

Laryngotracheal injury is an increasingly common complication of intubation and mechanical ventilation, with an estimated 87% of intubated and ventilated patients developing a laryngotracheal injury often preventing their rehabilitation from acute illness. Laryngotracheal injuries encompass a diverse set of pathologies including inflammation and oedema in addition to vocal cord ulceration and paralysis, granuloma, stenosis, and scarring. The existing literature has identified several factors including intubation duration, endotracheal tube size, type and cuff pressures, and technical factors including the skill and experience of the endoscopist.

Audit of ten years of donation after circulatory death experience in Queensland: observations of agonal physiology following withdrawal of cardiorespiratory support.

An audit of ten years' experience in all patients undergoing withdrawal of cardiorespiratory support (WCRS) in the context of donation after circulatory death (DCD) was conducted in Queensland, Australia (2008 to 2017). One hundred and seventy-one patients proceeded to donation after declaration of death by circulatory criteria with loss of pulsatile arterial blood pressure (circulatory arrest) for five minutes. The demographics, times and haemodynamic observations were abstracted, de-identified and collated.

PREDICT: a diagnostic accuracy study of a tool for predicting mortality within one year: who should have an advance healthcare directive?

Background: CARING is a screening tool developed to identify patients who have a high likelihood of death in 1 year.

Aim: This study sought to validate a modified CARING tool (termed PREDICT) using a population of patients presenting to the Emergency Department.

Setting/participants: In total, 1000 patients aged over 55 years who were admitted to hospital via the Emergency Department between January and June 2009 were eligible for inclusion in this study.