Case Report: We present a case of a newborn baby who developed biphasic stridor immediately after a normal vaginal delivery. Endoscopic assessment of the trachea revealed a pulsatile narrowing at the level of the thoracic trachea, suggestive of an external compression. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan of the thorax with three-dimensional reconstruction confirmed the diagnosis of DAA with compression of the trachea and esophagus.
Conclusion: Clinicians should strongly consider the possibility of a congenital vascular ring compression should an infant with a normal upper airway present with stridor. A precise diagnosis can be made by radiological examination.
METHODOLOGY: Tracheal aspirates were obtained from neonates on ventilatory support. The SM test was carried out on specimens of tracheal aspirate immediately after collection. Levels of SP-A in tracheal aspirates were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The results of the SM test and SP-A level of the tracheal aspirates were compared against the clinical diagnosis of RDS based on clinical, radiological and bacteriological findings.
RESULTS: Both the median microbubble counts (6 microbubbles/mm2, range = 0-90) and median SP-A levels (100 micrograms/L, range = 0-67447) of infants with RDS were significantly lower than those of infants with no obvious lung pathology (P < 0.0001), and pneumonia (P < 0.0001). The SM test of tracheal aspirates had higher overall accuracy for the diagnosis of RDS than measurement of SP-A levels (94.6% vs 82.4%). When the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of both tests for RDS were compared, the area under the ROC curve of the SM test was larger (0.9689) than that of the SP-A method (0.8965).
CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the SM test of tracheal aspirate was a useful bedside diagnostic test for RDS. It could be carried out at any time after birth on infants requiring ventilatory support.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Syrian hamsters were euthanized between 4 and 48 hours post intranasal inoculation and tissues were collected and analyzed for the presence of viral RNA, viral antigen and infectious virus. Virus replication was first detected at 8 hours post inoculation (hpi). Nipah virus initially targeted type I pneumocytes, bronchiolar respiratory epithelium and alveolar macrophages in the lung and respiratory and olfactory epithelium lining the nasal turbinates. By 16 hpi, virus disseminated to epithelial cells lining the larynx and trachea. Although the pattern of viral dissemination was similar for both virus isolates, the rate of spread was slower for NiV-B. Infectious virus was not detected in the nervous system or blood and widespread vascular infection and lesions within lymphoid organs were not observed, even at 48 hpi.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Nipah virus initially targets the respiratory system. Virus replication in the brain and infection of blood vessels in non-respiratory tissues does not occur during the early phase of infection. However, virus replicates early in olfactory epithelium and may serve as the first step towards nervous system dissemination, suggesting that development of vaccines that block virus dissemination or treatments that can access the brain and spinal cord and directly inhibit virus replication may be necessary for preventing central nervous system pathology.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of 22 TEPs was performed between January 1998 and December 2008. The timing of TEP, type of voice prosthesis, surgical and prosthesis-related complications, and TEP closure were noted.
RESULTS: Eighteen percent of the patients underwent primary and 82% secondary TEP. Our patients were predominantly males (95.4%) of Chinese descent with a mean age of 62.1 years. The types of voice prostheses used were ProvoxTM (n = 15), Voicemasters (n = 6), and Blom-Singer (n = 1). Prosthesis- related complications occurred in 77.3%. Notable complications were leakage (82.5%), prosthesis displacement (41.2%), intractable aspiration (29.4%), and aspiration of prosthesis (23.5%). The most common surgical-related complication was tracheostomal stenosis. An array of interventions comprising resizing or changing prosthesis type, nasogastric catheter insertion, stomaplasty, purse string suturing, and bronchoscopic removal of bronchial aspirated prosthesis were implemented to address encountered complications. In a mean follow-up of 34.8 months, 68.2% of patients achieved functional tracheoesophageal speech (75% of primary TEP and 67% of secondary TEP). There were 7 TEP closures indicated by persistent leakage, recurrent dislodgement, phonatory failure and, in 1 patient, persistent pain.
CONCLUSIONS: TEP has become an integral part in the rehabilitation of a laryngectomee. However, management of the frequent complications related to TEP requires specific efforts and specialistic commitments in order to treat them.
Materials and Methods: A farmer complained that Cobb 500 chickens, raised in the open house, were having bloody diarrhea, open mouth breathing, non-uniform growth, and ruffled feathers. The mortality was about 100 birds (from about 7000 birds) per day. The sick birds were isolated and subjected to physical examination, postmortem, and histopathological analyses. Gross lesions were observed and recorded. The lung samples have proceeded with histopathological evaluations. The lungs, kidneys, trachea, air sac, and heart samples were collected to isolate bacteria and fungi through a series of conventional cultural methods, followed by molecular confirmation of the IBV.
Results: Postmortem examination revealed air sacculitis, hemorrhagic tracheitis, pulmonary congestion, fibrin deposition in the liver and air sac, hemorrhagic enteritis, and renomegaly. The bacterial culture and biochemical tests revealed E. coli in the lungs, trachea, liver, intestine, and kidney samples. However, no fungus could be isolated from those samples. Histological evaluation of lung samples demonstrated infiltration of inflammatory cells in the pulmonary tissues. Apart from this, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction confirmed the presence of avian coronavirus responsible for infectious bronchitis (IB).
Conclusion: The chickens were diagnosed with IB concurrent with E.coli. The chickens exhibited typical nephropathogenic strain of IBV infection, causing high mortality.
METHODS: A comprehensive search of peer reviewed journals was completed based on the key words, "Circumflex aorta," "Circumflex retro-esophageal aorta" and "circumflex arch" using Google scholar, Scholars Portal Journals and PubMed. The reference section for each article found was searched to obtain additional articles. Literature on the circumflex aorta was reviewed starting from the embryogenesis to the latest management strategies.
RESULTS: Right circumflex aorta is more prevalent compared to left circumflex aorta. It can occur in isolation or in association with other intracardiac lesions. Mainly presents in children, however reported in adults too. The presentation may vary from asymptomatic lesion to acute respiratory distress secondary to airway compression. Computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are important tools in delineating the vascular anatomy. Aortic uncrossing is the definitive procedure. However, the role of concomitant tracheobronchopexy is emerging. Native tissue-to-tissue anastomosis is commonly preferred, but cases of extra-anatomic grafts are reported.
CONCLUSION: Circumflex aorta is amenable to complete repair. Preoperative delineation of anatomy is important for successful surgical outcome. Division of the retro-esophageal segment is crucial in relieving the compressive symptoms. In addition, tracheobronchopexy is helpful in addressing residual tracheomalacia but this accounts for a high-risk surgery.