scholarly journals A Case Report of Acute Airway Compromise due to Subcutaneous Emphysema

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Olmstead ◽  
Gary Gelfand ◽  
Ian Anderson ◽  
John B. Kortbeek

In the acute management of a trauma patient, airway patency is of utmost importance. The present case describes a male patient who presented with delayed severe upper airway obstruction secondary to massive subcutaneous emphysema following blunt traumatic injury two days previously. Airway compromise is a rarely described but serious complication of subcutaneous emphysema. Current management of subcutaneous emphysema and its association with pneumothorax is summarized. Early decompression of underlying pneumothoraces in patients with significant subcutaneous emphysema should be performed to avoid this rare complication.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-48
Author(s):  
Sonam Gyamtsho

Introduction: Infants and children are very prone to air way obstruction due to smaller and immature air ways. There are multiple causes of upper airway obstruction in infants like infections, congenital lesions and rarely tumours of the upper airway. However, angiofibrolipoma, a rare variant of lipoma causing intermittent respiratory distress in an infant has not been reported until now. Objective: To report a very rare case of angiofibrolipoma arising from the soft palate in an infant. Case report: Two and half months old female child reported to the department of otolaryngology with a history of intermittent airway obstruction since one month of age. After evaluation she was found to have a fleshy polypoidal mass above the laryngeal inlet arising from soft palate causing airway compromise. She underwent surgical excison with bipolar cautery under general anaesthesia. Conclusion: Few cases of angiofibrolipoma has been reported in adults but none has been reported in children. This is to report a case of angiofibrolipoma in child causing airway obstruction.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-44
Author(s):  
Eurico Costa ◽  
Hugo Estibeiro ◽  
Miguel Magalhães

ABSTRACT Introduction The authors present a case report of a patient with a lingual hematoma treated in the otolaryngology department of portuguese institute of oncology, lisbon, followed by a brief literature review. Case report A case of a 43 years old female with a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia since 2007, submitted to allograft bone marrow transplantation in 2008 at the Portuguese Oncology Institute, Lisbon. With diagnosis of recurrence since May 2011, she was hospitalized in october 2011, due to a lower gastrointestinal bleeding in the context of a cytomegalovirus colitis associated with pancytopenia. During hospitalization, the patient experienced a tonicclonic seizure. less than 12 hours after this episode, the patient developed a massive lingual hematoma. Despite exuberant macroglossia and tongue proptosis, the patient showed no signs of active bleeding or severe dyspnea and was submitted to conservative medical treatment. Discussion Lingual hematoma has many causes, being trauma and hemorrhagic dyscrasias among the most frequent. The first therapeutic objective should be evaluated and gua ranted upper airway patency. once the airway is secured, hemorrhage and hematoma should be treated according to its etiology. This can be achieved with conservative medical therapy, intervention radiology or surgery. Conclusion Lingual hematoma is as rare as potentially fatal. prompt recognition and management is critical for a favorable outcome. How to cite this article Costa E, Estibeiro H, Magalhães M. Lingual Hematoma: A Rare Cause of Upper Airway Obstruction. Int J Head Neck Surg 2015;6(1):41-44.


1989 ◽  
Vol 297 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Chiriboga ◽  
John Oropello ◽  
Krishnan Padmanabhan ◽  
Joel M. Goldman

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 804-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Butterell ◽  
R. H. Riley

We present a case of negative pressure pulmonary oedema due to an overlooked cause. A 45-year-old female patient presented to the emergency department unconscious with severe pulmonary oedema. Subsequent investigations revealed a thyroid goitre causing significant tracheal compression. This case report highlights an extremely rare but potentially dangerous sequela of upper airway obstruction.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-80
Author(s):  
Vivek Sasindran ◽  
Vijay Stephen ◽  
Lakshana Deve

ABSTRACT Background Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures performed worldwide. However, it can potentially be associated with several complications. One of the very rare complications post-tonsillectomy in adults is subcutaneous emphysema, as in our case here. Although, most reported cases are resolved spontaneously, it may lead to fatal complications, like tension pneumothorax. Case report Tonsillectomy was performed on an adult patient with history of frequent tonsillitis. The patient developed facial subcutaneous emphysema 48 hours after the surgery (evident by clinical and radiological examination) that resolved within 2 days without further complications. Conclusion Tonsil should be removed along with tonsilar capsule. If tonsillectomy causes deeper than usual mucosal tear up to the level of the muscles, then air might pass into the subcutaneous tissue through the tonsillar fossa and superior constrictor muscle into fascial layers of neck. Emphysema can then spread to parapharyngeal, retropharyngeal spaces and mediastinum with its related morbidity. Though a rare complication, all otorhinolaryngologists must be aware of this complication and its management. How to cite this article Abraham SS, Stephen V, Deve L, Kurien M. Subcutaneous Emphysema Secondary to Tonsillectomy. Int J Otorhinolaryngol Clin 2015;7(2):78-80.


Author(s):  
Lynn H. Koh ◽  
Henry KK Tan

<p class="abstract">Lymphatic malformations of the head and neck region frequently involve the upper aero digestive tract. Patients with these lymphatic malformations may present in early infancy with sudden airway compromise. This necessitates early intervention with intubation or tracheostomy for airway stabilization. The etiology and pathogenesis of lymphatic malformations is still unclear, and a wide array of treatment modalities has been proposed. We present a case report of a neonate with a lymphatic malformation involving the upper airway, and discuss how the patient was initially stabilized with a tracheostomy, following which he underwent a series of staged procedures, including bipolar radiofrequency ablation, which eventually led to successful decannulation.</p>


1981 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 641-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Mortola ◽  
J. T. Fisher

Newborn mammals, including infants, have difficulties in mouth breathing when the nasal passages are occluded. In this study we examined the possibility that differences in the passive mechanical properties of the upper airways could fully explain this behavior. Steady inspiratory flows through the upper airways in anesthetized supine newborn kittens and puppies resulted in upper airway obstruction, even at flows less than those occurring during resting breathing, suggesting that in the unanesthetized condition muscle tone plays an important role in maintaining upper airway patency. Mouth (Rm) and nose (Rn) resistances have been measured during steady expiratory flows with nostrils closed and mouth passively open or nostrils open and mouth closed. In all the newborns, Rn was substantially smaller than Rm. In contrast, the Rn/Rm in adult dogs is greater than unity. In adult cats Rn/Rm is above or below unity depending upon the flow rate, but the ratio is always larger than in newborn kittens. The difference between newborns and adults is entirely due to the small Rn of the newborn, as Rm is not greater in the newborn than in the adult. We conclude that the obligatory nose breathing behavior of newborns is not fully explained by the passive mechanical properties of the upper airways.


Author(s):  
Janice Wang ◽  
Astha Chichra ◽  
Seth Koenig

We present a rare cause of hypercapneic respiratory failure through this case report of a 72-year-old man presenting with progressive dyspnea and dysphagia over two years. Hypercapneic respiratory failure was acute on chronic in nature without an obvious etiology. Extensive workup for intrinsic pulmonary disease and neurologic causes were negative. Laryngoscopy and diagnostic imaging confirmed the diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, also known as DISH, as the cause of upper airway obstruction leading to hypercapneic respiratory failure.


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