Articles: bronchial-blocker.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Nov 2024
A novel approach to calculate the required volume of air for bronchial blockers in young children.
Bronchial blocker balloons inflated with small volumes of air increase balloon pressure, involving a risk of airway injury especially in young children. However, there are no established guidelines regarding the appropriate volumes of air required to provide safe bronchial occlusion. ⋯ The bronchial blocker cuff should be regarded as a high-pressure balloon. We introduced a new concept for safe bronchial blocker balloon occlusion for one-lung ventilation in small children.
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Double-lumen tubes (DLTs) and bronchial blockers (BBs) can be used to establish one-lung ventilation (OLV) for thoracic surgery. BBs are a good alternative when DLTs are not suitable or patients have difficult airways. However, BBs are more prone to malposition, leading to adverse events. ⋯ Previewing chest computed tomography scans to assess the airway anatomy before thoracic surgery is essential. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the airway can provide a more intuitive assessment of airway anatomy. During OLV with BBs, we should pay attention to balloon malposition to prevent cardiopulmonary crises.