Transorbital endotracheal intubation: a nonstandard approach to a difficult airway.

We present the case report of a 49-year-old gentleman with a history of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the left nare status post curative bifrontal craniotomy, left lateral rhinotomy and medial maxillectomy, adjuvant radiotherapy, and orbital exenteration for optic neuropathy, complicated by medial wall dehiscence. His course was also complicated by severe radiation trismus, for which he was scheduled to undergo bilateral mandibular coronoidectomies. Given his limited mouth opening, the surgeon requested a nasal endotracheal tube. Because of concerns of traumatizing his nare, we utilized a flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope to perform asleep transorbital intubation. Airway management in patients with severe trismus may require ingenuity.

Safe administration of hyperbaric oxygen after bleomycin: a case series of 15 patients.

INTRODUCTION: Supplemental oxygen has been reported to cause pulmonary complications after bleomycin. We describe the safe administration of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) after bleomycin in 15 patients. METHODS: Paper and electronic records were reviewed for bleomycin-exposed patients at the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology from 1979 to 2010. RESULTS: Fourteen bleomycin-exposed patients received HBO2 at Duke under a special-precautions protocol. One was treated for DCS elsewhere. The protocol included: pretreatment evaluation; chest radiograph; spirometry; blood gases; a single, 2-atmospheres absolute (atm abs), 120-minute HBO2 treatment; and a gradual acceleration over one week to a twice-daily schedule contingent on clinical and laboratory findings. Bleomycin indications were: head-and-neck squamous cell carcinomas (11), Hodgkin's lymphoma (2), other carcinomas (2). HBO2 indications were: osteoradionecrosis (10), soft-tissue radionecrosis (3), DCS (1) and a provocative oxygen toxicity test for a military aviator (1). Total bleomycin doses ranged from 40 to 225u/m2 (mean +/- SD, 105 +/- 57) given in conjunction with other chemotherapies and/or radiation. Radiation was 63.3 +/- 31.72 Gy (mean +/- SD), none to the chest with the exception of one patient treated for DCS elsewhere. Other chemotherapies included: vinblastine (11), methotrexate (11), CCNU (6) cisplatinum (7), dacarbazin (2), Adriamycin (1), and vincristine (1). Median age at time of HBO2 was 52 years (range 22-77). Median bleomycin-to-HBO2 latency was 34 months (range 1-279). Three patients received HBO2 within six months, and seven patients received HBO2 within two years of their last bleomycin exposure. There were no adverse pre-to-post HBO2 changes in: arterial blood gases, spirometry, chest radiograph findings or clinical reports. There were no persistent post-HBO2 pulmonary complications on follow-up. Post-HBO2 data were available for 40%, 53%, 87% and 100% of these parameters respectively. DISCUSSION: Bleomycin and oxygen can individually cause acute pulmonary toxicity. However, evidence for increased long-term susceptibility based on their synergy may be overstated.

What is the role of hyperbaric oxygen in the management of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: a randomized controlled trial of hyperbaric oxygen as an adjunct to surgery and antibiotics.

PURPOSE: This study tested hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) as an adjunct to surgery and antibiotics in the treatment of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) and evaluated its effects on gingival healing, pain, and quality of life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The investigators implemented a randomized controlled trial and enrolled a sample composed of patients with ONJ, where the predictor variable was HBO administered at 2 atm twice a day for 40 treatments as an adjunct to conventional therapy of surgery and antibiotics versus conventional therapy alone. Over the next 24 months, oral lesion size and number, pain, and quality of life were assessed. RESULTS: Forty-six patients (mean age, 66 yrs; 57% women) contributed data to the trial. There were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of variables used to assess randomization success between the HBO and standard treatment groups. Seventeen of 25 HBO-treated patients (68%) improved versus 8 of 21 controls (38.1%; P = .043, χ(2) test). Mean time to improvement was 39.7 weeks (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.4 to 57.0 weeks) for HBO-treated patients versus 67.9 weeks (95 CI, 48.4 to 87.5 weeks) for controls (P = .03, log-rank test). However, complete gingival healing occurred in only 14 of 25 HBO-treated patients (52%) versus 7 of 21 controls (33.3%; P = .203, χ(2) test), and time to healing was 59 weeks (95% CI, 42.8% to 75.8%) for HBO-treated patients versus 70 weeks (95 CI, 52.2% to 88.36%) for controls (P = .32, log-rank test). Pain decreased faster for HBO-treated subjects (P < .01, linear regression). Quality-of-life scores for physical health (P = .002) and perceived health (P = .043) decreased at 6 months for control group but for not the HBO group. CONCLUSIONS: ONJ is multifactorial and no single treatment modality is likely to reverse it; however, it is treatable and even advanced presentations can improve with intensive multimodal therapy. Clinically, HBO appears to be a useful adjunct to ONJ treatment, particularly for more severe cases, although this study was underpowered to fully support this claim.

Nitric oxide in the human respiratory cycle.

Interactions of nitric oxide (NO) with hemoglobin (Hb) could regulate the uptake and delivery of oxygen (O(2)) by subserving the classical physiological responses of hypoxic vasodilation and hyperoxic vasconstriction in the human respiratory cycle. Here we show that in in vitro and ex vivo systems as well as healthy adults alternately exposed to hypoxia or hyperoxia (to dilate or constrict pulmonary and systemic arteries in vivo), binding of NO to hemes (FeNO) and thiols (SNO) of Hb varies as a function of HbO(2) saturation (FeO(2)). Moreover, we show that red blood cell (RBC)/SNO-mediated vasodilator activity is inversely proportional to FeO(2) over a wide range, whereas RBC-induced vasoconstriction correlates directly with FeO(2). Thus, native RBCs respond to changes in oxygen tension (pO2) with graded vasodilator and vasoconstrictor activity, which emulates the human physiological response subserving O(2) uptake and delivery. The ability to monitor and manipulate blood levels of NO, in conjunction with O(2) and carbon dioxide, may therefore prove useful in the diagnosis and treatment of many human conditions and in the development of new therapies. Our results also help elucidate the link between RBC dyscrasias and cardiovascular morbidity.