An unusual cause of fatal hemoptysis in an adolescent.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P A Vauthy.
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To determine whether the addition of air flow and O2 saturation (SaO2) channels improves sensitivity of the pneumogram in identifying cardiorespiratory pattern abnormalities, 2- and 4-channel pneumograms (PG-2 and PG-4) were simultaneously recorded in 91 consecutive infants. Forty-one infants (45%) had cardiorespiratory symptoms, and 50 were asymptomatic. Pneumograms were considered abnormal for any of the following: apnea greater than or equal to 20 seconds, heart rate less than 80 bpm for greater than 5 seconds in preterm and less than 60 bpm in full-term infants (bradycardia), shorter apnea with bradycardia or desaturation, periodic breathing greater than 7% of total sleep time in preterm and greater than 4% in full-term infants, or SaO2 less than 85% for greater than 5 seconds. Both recordings were normal in 72% of infants and abnormal in 24%. In only 4% were the PG-4 abnormal when the PG-2 were normal, in all instances due to minimum SaO2 levels of 77-84% for 5-19 seconds associated with central apnea of intermediate duration (three infants) or with mixed apnea. The difference in frequency of abnormal results between the PG-2 and PG-4 recordings was not statistically significant (X2). In conclusion, although PG-4 do increase the scope of physiological information obtained in infants with cardiorespiratory events, this short-term study does not establish whether this increase results in any long-term benefits. Further, at least in this number and these types of at-risk infants, PG-4 do not improve the sensitivity of cardiorespiratory recordings for detecting abnormalities.
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All infants and children seen by the pediatric pulmonary service who display symptoms of upper airway obstruction undergo transnasal fiberoptic evaluation with the 3.2 mm flexible instrument. The procedure enables the observer to immediately visualize the nasopharynx, supraglottic, glottic and subglottic structures. Instrumentation is done in the sitting upright position and takes the skilled observer about 20 seconds to perform. The differentiation of epiglottitis from subglottic croup, foreign body aspiration and other less common causes of airway obstruction is easily performed and well tolerated. The fiberoptic instrument is often utilized both as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. It can be utilized to intubate cases of epiglottitis and to evaluate the epiglottis to determine the appropriate time for extubation. This procedure is superior to oral airway examination because it does not distort airway anatomy, can be performed in the upright position, and does not further exacerbate airway obstruction.