Locating the cricothyroid membrane in males: Influence of the morphological characteristics of the neck.

Introduction: Cricothyrotomy is a recommended technique to restore oxygenation in most of guidelines for difficult airway management. A correct location of the cricothyroid membrane (CTM) is fundamental for a proper performance of the technique. Several studies have shown poor accuracy with the identification the CTM by palpation, resulting in a high failure rate of the technique.

Use of GlideScope for double lumen endotracheal tube insertion in an awake patient with difficult airway.

There is scientific evidence that an anticipated difficult airway must be managed with the patient being awake. The GlideScope has been proven to be a useful device to intubate the trachea in some instances when difficult airway is present, and particularly in the awake patient. It has also been used for double lumen tube (DLT) in the anaesthetized patient, but its use with DLT in both circumstances, awake patients with difficult airway has not been described.

PFAPA syndrome is not a sporadic disease.

Objectives: To determine whether PFAPA (periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis) patients have a positive family history (FH) for recurrent fever syndromes.

Method: For all patients with PFAPA seen in two paediatric rheumatology centres (Romandy, Switzerland and Bordeaux, France), parents were interviewed to record the FH for periodic fever. As controls, we interviewed a group of children without history of recurrent fever.