Optimal methodology for percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy: a comparative analysis between conventional and multidisciplinary approaches utilizing ultrasound, flexible bronchoscopy, and microcatheter puncture in critically ill individuals of diminutive stature-a longitudinal single-institutional experience and retrospective analysis.

Background: Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT), a bedside procedure in intensive care, enhances respiratory support for critically ill patients with benefits over traditional tracheostomy, such as improved safety, ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and operational efficiency by eliminating patient transfers to the operating room. It also minimizes complications including bleeding, infection, and inflammation. Despite decades of PDT evolution and device diversification, adaptations primarily cater to larger Western patients rather than smaller-statured Korean populations.

Clinical outcomes of antithrombin III supplementation in an overt disseminated intravascular coagulation: a longitudinal single-institutional experience and retrospective analysis.

Background: Antithrombin is a small plasma glycoprotein synthesized in the liver that belongs to the serpin family of serine protease inhibitors and inactivates several enzymes in the coagulation pathway. It plays a leading major factor on coagulation pathway, therefore administration of antithrombin is essential to treat serious clinical conditions such as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Despite the theoretical benefits of antithrombin supplementation, the optimal antithrombin activity for heparin efficacy and the benefits of antithrombin supplementation in various disease entities are not yet fully understood.

Clinical application of a digital thoracic drainage system for objectifying and quantifying air leak versus the traditional vacuum system: a retrospective observational study.

Background: Digital thoracic drainage systems have recently been introduced and widely used in clinical practices in developed countries. These systems can monitor intrathoracic pressure changes and air leaks in real time, and also allow for objective and quantitative analyses, which aid in managing patients with a prolonged persistent air leak into the pleural space. We investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of such a new device versus the traditional vacuum system for treating patients with pneumothorax.

Limitations of surface EMG estimate of parasternal intercostal to infer neural respiratory drive.

Background: Recently, surface EMG of parasternal intercostal muscle has been incorporated in the "ERS Statement of Respiratory Muscle Testing" as a clinical technique to monitor the neural respiratory drive (NRD). However, the anatomy of the parasternal muscle risks confounding EMG "crosstalk" activity from neighboring muscles.

Objectives: To determine if surface "parasternal" EMG: 1) reliably estimates parasternal intercostal EMG activity, 2) is a valid surrogate expressing neural respiratory drive (NRD).

Femoral arteriovenous fistula associated with surgery of proximal femoral fracture: a systematic review of the literature and case presentation.

Background: Proximal femoral fracture (PFF), such as intertrochanteric femoral fracture or femur neck fracture, and its management are crucial issues to surgeons. PFF has been dramatically is becoming exponentially prevalent, and it is at high risk of complication and mortality because it is frequently associated with serious trauma and advanced age, especially in patients treated with anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents. Surgical management is essential for the treatment of PFF.

Computed tomography-guided percutaneous hook wire localization of pulmonary nodular lesions before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: Highlighting technical aspects.

Objective: Confirming the histologic diagnosis of small pulmonary nodules or Ground-glass opacity nodules (GGNs) of unknown origin is difficult. These nodules are not always appropriate for percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy. Preoperative localization of pulmonary lesions provides more precise target points to ensure complete surgical excision.

Effects of glycyrrhizin on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in a mouse model.

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are serious clinical disease entities characterized by inflammatory pulmonary edema, which lead to acute hypoxic respiratory failure through various etiologies. According to the studies to date, ALI/ARDS has been recognized as a form of multiorgan failure related to overactive immune response, and overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines released from activated inflammatory cells are considered to play a key role in the development of ALI. Glycyrrhizin (GL) is an extractive component derived from (licorice), which has recently been reported to have various pharmacological effects like anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, hepato-protective, and anti-viral activities.

Spontaneous lumbar artery rupture and massive retroperitoneal hematoma, successfully treated with arteriographic embolization.

Background And Objective: Massive retroperitoneal hematoma caused by lumbar artery rupture is generally associated with trauma or retroperitoneal malignancy. However, despite recent advances in technologies and tools, spontaneous lumbar artery rupture is a very rare disease entity but remains a challenging problem because it is frequently associated with significantly high mortality and morbidity and is very difficult to make a correct diagnosis.

Methods: We evaluated the databases of the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial, Google Scholar, the KoreaMed and the Research Information Sharing Service databases, and a detailed systematic review was performed by searching in PubMed.

Clinical implications of the initial SAPS II in veno-arterial extracorporeal oxygenation.

Background: Prediction of survival and weaning probability in VA ECMO (veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) patients could be of great benefit for real-time decision making on VA ECMO initiation in critical ill patients. We investigated whether the SAPS II score would be a real-time determinant for VA ECMO initiation and could be a predictor of survival and weaning probability in patients on VA ECMO.

Methods: Between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2014, VA ECMO was carried out on 135 adult patients suffering from primary cardiogenic shock.

Postoperative chest tube placement after thoracoscopic wedge resection of lung for primary spontaneous pneumothorax: is it mandatory?

Background: The goal of present study is to assess the efficiency and feasibility of postoperative care without positioning of chest tube after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP).

Methods: We conducted a prospective randomized trial of patients who have undergone video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge resection surgery for PSP. During the period of April 2015 until December 2016, 119 eligible patients undergoing VATS for PSP were consecutively included.

Effect of Topical Lidocaine Patch on Postoperative Pain Management in Laparoscopic Appendectomy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Prospective Study.

Background: Adequate pain control is a major concern in the immediate postoperative period. In multiple strategies for postoperative pain management, topical analgesics have significant advantages of minimizing severe side effects caused by oral and parenteral administration and drug-drug interactions. Therefore, we studied the effect of lidocaine patch on postoperative pain control in laparoscopic appendectomy.

The management of chemical pleurodesis with viscum album in patients with persistent air leakage.

Background: Persistent air leak (PAL) after major pulmonary resection or involved with secondary lung disease is prevalent and associated with significant morbidity. Chemical pleurodesis is a practical therapeutic tool to manage the patients with PAL. Among various sclerosing substances, viscum album (fraxini) is considered effective and safe.

Extramedullary Hematopoiesis Mimicking Mediastinal Tumor in a Patient with Hereditary Spherocytosis: Case report.

Introduction: Extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is a rare disorder, defined as the appearance of hematopoietic elements outside the bone marrow or peripheral blood. The exact mechanism of this development is still unknown. We herein report a case of intrathoracic EMH, manifesting as a posterior mediastinal tumor in a patient with hereditary spherocytosis.

Hypovolemic shock caused by delayed-onset superior gluteal artery rupture, successfully treated with arteriographic embolization.

Introduction: Rupture of the superior gluteal artery (SGA) is usually associated with pelvic bone fractures and acetabular fractures secondary to blunt trauma. However, despite recent advances in technologies and tools, rupture of the SGA remains a challenging problem because it is difficult to manage and is frequently associated with significantly high mortality and morbidity.

Patients And Methods: We present a case of an 82-year-old man, who presented to our emergency department after a cultivator turnover accident and who showed stable initial vital signs and manifested only as blunt buttock traumatic contusion without any pelvic bone or acetabular fracture, which resulted in delayed massive bleeding from the SGA on eight days after trauma.

Advanced Age as a Predictor of Survival and Weaning in Venoarterial Extracorporeal Oxygenation: A Retrospective Observational Study.

. In most reports on ECMO treatment, advanced age is classified as a contraindication to VA ECMO. We attempted to investigate whether advanced age would be a main risk factor deciding VA ECMO application and performing VA ECMO support.

The learning curve of single-port laparoscopic appendectomy performed by emergent operation.

Background: Single-port laparoscopic appendectomy (SPLA) has the advantage of minimizing abdominal incision scars with patient satisfaction. However, it has the following disadvantages: it provides a narrower surgical field than conventional laparoscopic appendectomy, which requires a considerably longer operative time to achieve surgical skills. This study was conducted to evaluate the learning curve for SPLA.

Spontaneous Pulmonary Hematoma with No Underlying Causes: A Case Report.

A 57-year-old male patient was admitted to our center because of a cystic mass on the lower portion of the right major fissure that was found incidentally by chest X-ray. He did not have a history of trauma or anticoagulant use. The lesion was removed by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

Retained guidewire penetrating through the aorta into the thorax: an unusual cause of recurrent bilateral pneumothorax.

Although numerous complications of the Seldinger technique have been reported in the literature, only a few complications are related to guidewires. We here report a case of a patient with a guidewire lost and retained in the aorta during vertebral artery stenting. Unfortunately, the guidewire in the aorta was not detected for 5 years, and it penetrated through the aorta into the left thorax, leading to recurrent left pneumothorax.

Novel Early Predictor of Acute Kidney Injury after Open Heart Surgery under Cadiopulmonary Bypass Using Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin.

Background: Open heart surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is considered one of the most frequent surgical procedures in which acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent and serious complication. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as an early AKI biomarker after CPB in cardiac surgery (CS).

Methods: Thirty-seven adult patients undergoing CS with CPB were included in this retrospective study.

Flail chest stabilization with Nuss operation in presence of multiple myeloma.

Nowadays the Nuss operation has been widely adopted as a minimally invasive procedure and standard surgical choice in pectus excavatum. However, much debate and concern have been raised regarding its applicability in adults with pectus excavatum flail chest and other thoratic wall deformities, as compared with younger patients, in terms of complications after surgery. To stabilize the segment of paradoxical chest wall movement we performed the Nuss operation on a patient with multiple myeloma who sustained blunt thoracic trauma.

A 7.3×5.3×3.5-cm heterotopic thyroid in the posterior mediastinum in a patient with situs inversus totalis.

Ectopic posterior mediastinal thyroid is a very rare clinical disease entity. It accounts for less than 1% of all mediastinal tumors. The mass is difficult to diagnose due to its rarity and non-specific clinical symptoms and thus remains asymptomatic for many years until it becomes larger.

Solitary plasmacytoma of the sternum.

Plasmacytoma is a plasma cell neoplasm that locally infiltrates a bone or spreads to extramedullary areas. A new World Health Organization criterion defines solitary plasmacytoma of bone as a localized bone tumor consisting of plasma cells identical to those seen in plasma cell myeloma, which is manifested as a solitary osteolytic lesion in a radiological evaluation. Primary tumors of the sternum are generally malignant, and solitary plasmacytomas of the sternum are very rare tumors.