As a safety measure, dentures are routinely removed before surgery. Aspiration of a denture could be catastrophic, with medicolegal implications. Foreign body aspiration is uncommon in adults; however, aspirations may remain asymptomatic and undiagnosed for long periods of time. We report an adult male who presented with a cough for more than 6 months. On radiography, a foreign body was found migrating within the tracheobronchial tree from one mainstem bronchus to the other, at different time points. The foreign body was later found to be a portion of his denture. The aspiration may have occurred at the time of a surgical procedure.
Adult ; Airway Management ; Aspirations (Psychology) ; Bronchi ; Bronchoscopy ; Cough ; Dentures ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Male ; Radiography ; Trees

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is becoming a standard method for invasive mediastinal staging and for the diagnosis of paratracheal and peribronchial lesions. It is essential to understand the technical aspects of EBUS-TBNA to ensure safe and efficient procedures. In this review, we discuss the practical aspects to be considered during EBUS-TBNA, including anesthesia, manipulation of equipment, understanding mediastinal ultrasound images, target selection, number of aspirations needed per target, sample handling, and complications.
Anesthesia ; Aspirations (Psychology) ; Bronchoscopy ; Handling (Psychology) ; Lung Neoplasms ; Needles* ; Ultrasonography

Although activated charcoal is an effective treatment for most toxic ingestions, aspiration of activated charcoal can be fatal. Here, we report that in 5 charcoal aspiration cases, bronchoscopy with suction and lavage was an effective way to remove charcoal from the lungs. Patients showed high APACHE II scores (range: 10-29), and either low PO2 levels, or low CO2 retention. After bronchoscopic removal of the aspirated charcoal, symptoms of hypoxia, CO2 retention, localized wheezing, and pneumonic infiltration as determined by chest radiography, improved in most patients. We report 5 cases of successful treatment of charcoal aspiration with bronchoscopic toilet.
Anoxia ; APACHE ; Bronchoscopy ; Charcoal ; Humans ; Lung ; Pneumonia, Aspiration ; Respiratory Sounds ; Retention (Psychology) ; Suction ; Therapeutic Irrigation ; Thorax

Obstructive Fibrinous Tracheal Pseudomenbrane (OFTP) is a rarely known but potentially fatal complication of endotracheal intubation. Sudden respiratory failure shortly after extubation is not infrequent in the ICU. However, these cases are commonly diagnosed as laryngospasm, retention of secretion or laryngeal edema. A 68-year-old woman presented with a 6-day history of progressive dyspnea. She had undergone invasive ventilator care for 24 hours. The patient was discharged from the hospital with improvement after having an extubation. However, after 3 days she revisited the emergency department with progressive dyspnea. The patient was diagnosed with OFTP from the results of chest CT and bronchoscopy. This is the first case studied in detail using CT images, pulmonary function test, and bronchoscopy.
Aged ; Airway Obstruction ; Bronchoscopy ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Female ; Fibrin ; Humans ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Laryngeal Edema ; Laryngismus ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Retention (Psychology) ; Stents ; Thorax ; Trachea ; Ventilators, Mechanical

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Many patients undergoing a flexible bronchoscopy (FB) experience anxiety and discomfort during the procedure. We assessed whether an additional patient visit after a FB would improve patient satisfaction. METHODS: The study patients were randomly assigned to a control and post-visit groups. The physicians who were scheduled to perform the FB visited the study patients. The control group had one visit before the FB and the post-visit group had a before and after FB visit. The post-visit group received additional information and support during the second visit. Twenty-four hours after the FB, the participants completed questionnaires about discomfort and satisfaction with the procedure. RESULTS: The control and post-visit groups included 151 and 153 patients, respectively. The post-visit group reported having more information after the FB than the control group. The additional post-bronchoscopy visit improved the general patient tolerability of the procedure. The willingness to return for another FB was not affected by the post-bronchoscopy patient visit. CONCLUSIONS: The post-bronchoscopy visit improved patient satisfaction and general tolerability to the procedure. Subjective patient tolerability with the FB may be improved through a post-bronchoscopy visit by providing more information and emotional support to patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Bronchoscopy/*psychology ; Emotions ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Patient Satisfaction ; Prospective Studies

BACKGROUND: This study compared the modified BronchoCath double-lumen endotracheal tube (DLT) with the Univent bronchial blocker and Arndt's wire-guided endobronchial blocker (WEB) to determine whether there were objective advantages of one over the other during anesthesia with one lung ventilation. METHODS: Forty five patients having either thoracic or esophageal procedures were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Fifteen patients received a left-side DLT, 15 patients received a Univent tube, and 15 patients received a WEB. The following were studied: 1) time required to position each tube until satisfactory placement was achieved, 2) time required until lung collapse, 3) frequency of malpositions after initial placement with fiberoptic bronchoscopy, 4)surgical exposure ranked by surgeons blinded to type of tube used. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were observed in time required to place the tube or blocker between the WEB (263.6 +/- 76.0 s), DLT (146.4 +/- 57.7 s, I < 0.0001) and Univent tubes (193.8 +/- 72.4 s, P = 0.0130). There were no significant differences in time to lung collapse, the frequency of malposition or surgical exposure. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the DLT, Univent tube, and WEB are useful for one lung anesthesia but it takes longer for the WEB to be placed safely than to place a DLT or Univent tube. The selection between the three tubes depends on type of surgery, difficulty of intubation, and familiarity of each tube by the anesthesiologist.
Anesthesia ; Bronchoscopy ; Humans ; Intubation ; Lung ; One-Lung Ventilation* ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Recognition (Psychology)

BACKGROUND: Double lumen endobronchial tube and single lumen tube with bronchial blocker are most frequently used tubes for one lung anesthesia. This study compared the double lumen endobronchial tube with the single lumen tube with bronchial blocker to determine whether there were objective advantages of one over the other during one lung anesthesia. METHODS: Sixty patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Thirty patients were intubated with a left-sided double lumen endobronchial tube, and thirty patients were intubated with a single lumen tube with bronchial blocker. Each group was subdivided into two groups with a person intubating (i,e, certified anesthesiologist or resident) to compare the easiness of intubation according to the type of tube. Fiberoptic flexible bronchoscope was used in all patients. The following were studied 1) time required to position each tube until satisfactory placement achieved, 2) frequency of malposition after initial placement with fiberoptic bronchoscopy, 3) surgical exposure ranked by surgeons blinded to type of tube used, 4) easiness of tracheobronchial toilet (TBT). RESULTS: 1) Statistically significant differences were observed in time required to place each tube by resident(double lumen tube 5.73+/- 0.48 min. versus single lumen tube with bronchial blocker 4.18+/-0.70 min (P<0.05) and in easiness of TBT (double lumen tube 18/30 versus single lumen tube with bronchial blocker 27/30) (P<0.05). 2) No differences were observed in time required to position each tube by anesthesiologist, the frequency of malposition and surgical exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Single lumen tube with bronchial blocker is better in easiness of intubation by resident and in easiness of TBT than double lumen endobronchial tube. But the selection of two tubes depends upon type of surgery and familiarity of each tube by the anesthesiologist.
Anesthesia* ; Bronchoscopes ; Bronchoscopy ; Humans ; Intubation ; Lung* ; Recognition (Psychology)