Intrapulmonary Percussive Ventilation as an Airway Clearance Technique during Venoarterial Extracorporeal Life Support in an Infant with Pertussis

Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation via Mini-Trach II in critical care: a case report

Background

Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) facilitates the mobilization and clearance of bronchial secretions. Cricothyroidotomy using a Mini-Trach II device is a minimally invasive method used for secretion clearance. To our knowledge, there are no previous reports regarding IPV combined with Mini-Trach II.

Case presentation

An 82-year-old man underwent controlled mechanical ventilation and IPV via an endotracheal tube to treat atelectasis following emergency surgical repair of a traumatic diaphragm laceration. He underwent cricothyroidotomy using Mini-Trach II for ensuring airway management after extubation. On resumption, IPV through a mouthpiece or face mask was unsuccessful owing to air leakage from his mouth. However, IPV via the already inserted Mini-Trach II could deliver the percussion flow and led to a marked improvement in his condition.

Conclusion

This experience indicates that Mini-Trach II is beneficial as a minimally invasive interface for IPV that can deliver percussion flow efficiently.

[Research advances in the treatment strategies for severe pertussis in children]

At present, effective antibiotics and comprehensive symptomatic/supportive treatment as early as possible are mainly used for the treatment of severe pertussis in clinical practice. However, some children with severe pertussis have unsatisfactory response to commonly used drugs and treatment measures in the intensive care unit and thus have a high risk of death. Studies have shown that certain treatment measures given in the early stage, such as exchange transfusion, may help reduce deaths, but there is still a lack of uniform implementation norms. How to determine the treatment regimen for severe pertussis and improve treatment ability remains a difficult issue in clinical practice. This article reviews the advances in the treatment of severe pertussis, in order to provide a reference for clinical treatment and research.

Suspected Case of Drug-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome following Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Treatment

In this article, we reported the case of a child patient who was admitted to our PICU for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) while being treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for osteomyelitis. Based on the timing of exposure, lack of alternative explanations, and clinical course similar to previously described cases, we suspect that TMP-SMX may have triggered ARDS. Despite meeting criteria for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cannulation, conservative management and lung recruitment with high-frequency percussive ventilation could avoid the latter.