[Airway management in ICU patients with mechanical ventilation]. / Mantenimiento de la vía aérea en pacientes de UCI bajo ventilación mecánica.

A prospective protocol for the management of the airway was applied to patients in the ICU. Acute complications due to intubation and tracheotomy as well as laryngo-tracheal lesions were studied in 125 consecutive patients during one year from the moment of extubation. Thirty four cases (27%) needed reintubation, and 58 tracheotomies were performed (46%). The average length of intubation was of 10 +/- 7 days. Sixty five patients (53%) had acute complications due to intubation and 30 (52%) had acute complications due to the traccotomy. The high incidence of laryngo-tracheal lesions in the 85 patients who underwent early exploration (76 cases [90%]) was reduced in those who underwent late exploration (11 cases [20%]). Analysis of possible prognostic factors in the development of late lesions allows us to affirm that a reduction in the length of intubation diminishes the presence of late lesions. We recommend the avoidance of oro-tracheal intubation prolonged for more than 10 days by the early carrying out of tracheotomy.

[Post-mortem study of laryngotracheal lesions produced by prolonged intubation and/or tracheotomy]. / Estudio necrópsico de las lesiones laringotraqueales por intubación prolongada y/o traqueotomía.

Injuries of the laryngotracheal axis caused by prolonged intubation in critically ill patients raise the issue of the timing of tracheotomy in intubated patients. In 1992 a prospective study was begun in intensive care patients with intubation lasting more than 48 hours. Eight months later, post-mortem data on the laryngotracheal axis of deceased patients was added to our prospective study protocol. The study was closed with 125 cases (52 deceased). The clinical data of 73 surviving patients was compared with that of 18 post-mortem cases. The macroscopic results of the post-mortem study are summarized by grading the lesions according to a personal modification of the Lindholm classification. All cases had laryngotracheal injuries. Only 15% of the lesions were located in the tracheal region. Five cases were classified as grade 2, with an average orotracheal intubation of 9 days, 9 cases as grade 3 with 15 days intubation, and 4 cases as grade 4 with 21 days intubation. We concluded that the severity of laryngotracheal injuries in the early post-mortem exploration was related with the duration of intubation.

[Cerebral malaria and multiple organ failure. A case report]. / Paludismo cerebral y fallo multiorgánico. Presentación de un caso.

It is discussed the case of cerebral paludism due to Plasmodium falciparum in a patient who travelled frequently to Ivory Coast and who had done an incorrect prophylaxis of paludism. It is underlined the relationship of cerebral presentation with the presence of multisystemic failure, which was characterized by respiratory distress, hyperdynamic shock, acute renal failure and hematological and digestive disorders. Shock forced the administration of vasoactive drugs (such as dopamine, dobutamine and methoxamine), respiratory failure to establish mechanical ventilation and coagulation disorders to transfuse platelets and plasma. Clinical evolution was favorable in few days thanks to an early symptomatic and etiology therapy.

[Acute lithium poisoning. Treatment with continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration. Apropos of a case]. / Intoxicación aguda por litio. Tratamiento con hemofiltración arteriovenosa continua. A propósito de un caso.

We report a suicide attempt with lithium, chlorpromazine and flunitrazepam. In case of intoxication, renal excretion of lithium can be facilitated with forced diuresis by the administration of large volumes of saline solution, peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis. In the case of our patient, treatment with saline solution was not effective, so continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration (CAVH) was performed achieving a decrease in serum lithium and obtaining a prompt clinical improvement. No secondary effects or serum lithium rebound effect were observed. We have not found any previous record of the use of CAVH in the treatment of acute lithium intoxication.