Decannulation after cricotracheostomy: a comparison of partial cricoid cartilage resection with conventional tracheostomy.

BACKGROUND: Cricotracheostomy, a modified procedure to open the airway with partial cricoid cartilage resection, was recently reported to be useful in selected cases. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: To examine decannulation outcomes in patients who underwent cricotracheostomy by comparing it with a conventional tracheostomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 127 consecutive adult patients, who underwent either conventional tracheostomy or cricotracheostomy between 2016 and 2019, were collected and analyzed with respect to subsequent decannulation with stoma closure. RESULTS: Conventional tracheostomy and cricotracheostomy were performed in 94 and 33 patients, respectively. The most frequent reason for choosing cricotracheostomy was a physiological low-lying larynx (n = 12). After excluding 30 patients who were considered ineligible due to their primary disease, subsequent decannulation with stoma closure was achieved in 35 (46%) of 76 cases with conventional tracheostomy and seven (33%) of 21 cases with cricotracheostomy, showing no significant difference (p = .33). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Compared with a conventional tracheostomy, cricotracheostomy had an acceptable decannulation outcome. However, it should be emphasized that an appropriate selection of patients is required on considering the advantages of cricotracheostomy.

Cesium reversibly suppresses HeLa cell proliferation by inhibiting cellular metabolism.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of Cs+ on cultured human cells. We find that HeLa cell growth is suppressed by the addition of 10 mm CsCl into the culture media. In the Cs+ -treated cells, the intracellular Cs+ and K+ concentrations are increased and decreased, respectively. This leads to a decrease in activity of the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase, which uses K+ as a cofactor. Cs+ -treated cells show an intracellular pH shift towards alkalization. Based on these results, CsCl presumably suppresses HeLa cell proliferation by inducing an intracellular cation imbalance that affects cell metabolism. Our findings may have implications for the use of Cs+ in cancer therapy.