Tracheostomy among Children Admitted in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a Tertiary Care Centre.

Introduction: Tracheostomy is commonly performed for upper airway obstruction, prolonged mechanical ventilation and tracheo-bronchial toileting. Pediatric tracheostomy differs from adult tracheostomy in terms of surgical procedure, post-operative care and recovery. The tracheostomized patients may either be decannulated, discharged with tube-in-situ or the patient may expire. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of tracheostomy in patients admitted to the Pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed among children admitted to the Pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care centre from 1 May 2017 to 31 August 2022 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. A convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 1472 patients, tracheostomy was done in 65 (4.41%) (3.37-5.47, 95% Confidence Interval). A total of 33 (50.76%) underwent tracheostomy for prolonged ventilation whereas 32 (49.23%) were tracheostomized for airway obstruction. Among them, 41 (63.07%) patients were successfully decannulated, 9 (13.84%) were discharged with tracheostomy tubes in situ whereas 15 (23.07%) patients deceased. The most common complication was tracheostomy tube blockage reported in 5 (7.69%). Conclusions: The prevalence of tracheostomy among the children of the pediatric intensive care unit was found to be lower than in other studies. Keywords: mechanical ventilation; complication; pediatric; tracheostomy.

Correlation of Pre-operative Temporal Bone CT Scan Findings with Intraoperative Findings in Chronic Otitis Media: Squamous Type.

To correlate the pre-operative Temporal Bone High Resolution Computer Tomography (HRCT) Scan findings with intraoperative findings in Chronic Otitis Media-Squamous type. This prospective, correlative, observational study was done at Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu. 156 patients underwent mastoid surgery under General Anaesthesia from October 2017 to November 2018. Ethical committee approval taken from the institutional review committee. Informed consent regarding the study was taken prior to surgery. The peroperative findings were correlated with preoperative HRCT findings. Cohen's kappa coefficient (k-value) was used to estimate the degree of correlation. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 25. Total 156 patients between 8 and 70 years of age were enrolled in the study. Presence of cholesteatoma/granulation on HRCT scan was found with 100% sensitivity with k-value of 0.569 denoting fair agreement. Regarding ossicular status, malleus showed maximum k-value of 0.525 with sensitivity of 81.3% followed by stapes and incus with k-value of 0.308 and 0.380 and sensitivity of 68.3% and 70.2% respectively. Sinus plate status showed perfect radiosurgical agreement with k-value of 1.0 and sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Bony facial canal demonstrated slight agreement with k-value of 0.506 and sensitivity of 45.8%. Dural plate status showed fair agreement with k-value of 0.503 and sensitivity of 38.9%. For Lateral Semicircular Canal (LSCC) erosion, we found very good agreement with k-value of 0.893 with sensitivity of 90.9%. Preoperative HRCT scan temporal bone correlates well for the detection of disease presence and shows good radiosurgical agreement for sinus plate erosion, LSCC erosion but fair agreement for dural plate erosion and malleus erosion. Plain HRCT scan with 3-D reconstruction is a poor predictor of bony facial canal, incus and stapes erosion.

Keratosis obturans: A rare cause of facial nerve palsy.

Keratosis obturans, caused by the deposition of desquamated keratin plug in the external auditory canal can present with facial palsy. Young patients presenting with facial palsy, earache, and gradual hearing loss should be suspected for Keratosis obturans.

Prevalence of Post Tonsillectomy Haemorrhage at a Tertiary Care Centre in Nepal.

INTRODUCTION: Tonsillectomy is one of the common ENT surgical procedures. Post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage remains a frequent complication which can be potentially life-threatening. The objective of the present study was to calculate the prevalence of haemorrhage following a tonsillectomy at a tertiary care centre. METHODS: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study performed by medical chart review of the patients who underwent tonsillectomy from January 2018 to December 2019 at the department of ENT- Head and Neck Surgery of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review committee (Ref:-282(6-11) E2 076/077). Convenient sampling method was used. All patients of any age who had tonsillectomy for recurrent tonsillitis or tonsillar hypertrophy with or without obstructive sleep apnoea and no missing information on chart review were included in the study. Data were entered in MS-Excel 2007 and analyzed in rate and percentage. RESULTS: Ten (5.18%) out of a total of 193 patients who underwent tonsillectomy had a post tonsillectomy haemorrhage. All 10 (100%) were adults patients, operated for recurrent tonsillitis, and used electrocautery. It was common in male patients 7 (70%). All of the haemorrhages was between a third and sixth postoperative day and were mild in severity. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage was high at our centre during the study period of two years. It was common in adults, males and surgery done for recurrent tonsillitis using electrocauterization.

Prevalence of Foreign Body Aspiration in Children in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Foreign body aspiration is a common problem in children with signifi cant mortality and morbidity. This study aims to determine the prevalence of foreign body aspiration in children in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital from April 2010 to March 2016 after obtaining ethical approval from Institutional Review Committee (Reference number- 08(6-11)E277/78). All children of age up to 15 years with suspected foreign body aspiration were included. The data was collected from the medical record section and entered in Microsoft Excel. The descriptive statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS: A total of 26,294 patients were included in the study. The prevalence of foreign body aspiration in children was found to be 98 (0.37%). On rigid bronchoscopy, 82 patients (83.6%) were confirmed to have a foreign body in the airway. The peak incidence of foreign body aspiration was seen in patients of age group one to two years. The commonest foreign body in the airway was a peanut. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of foreign body aspiration in children was low, which is similar to other studies. Foreign body aspiration may lead to dreadful complications. Therefore, both the clinicians and the public need to be cautious about it.

Establishment of Paediatric Airway Surgery Services in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital: A Leap in Otorhinolaryngology in Nepal.

Paediatric airway surgery is an emerging superspeciality for a developing country like Nepal. Thriving in a resource limited environment of the country, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital is setting its early steps in this subspecialty of paediatric otorhinolaryngology. With generous support of the experts from USA and a team of very dedicated surgeons in the department, future of paediatric airway surgery in Nepal seems to be promising. Here, we discuss in brief about the establishment of paediatric airway surgery in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, the tertiary referral center of Nepal with short discussion on the cases operated so far and their outcomes.