Objective: To evaluate the influence of the surgical team (general surgery or thoracic surgery) and the surgical technique (with or without isthmectomy) on the incidence of postintubation injuries in the airways of tracheostomized patients. Methods: Between January 1st and August 31st, 2007, 164 patients admitted to the adult intensive care unit and tracheally intubated for more than 24 h were studied prospectively at the Sumaré State Hospital, located in the city of Sumaré, Brazil. When tracheostomy was necessary, these patients were randomly assigned to thoracic or general surgery teams. All of the patients were submitted to fiberoptic tracheoscopy for decannulation or late evaluation of the airway. Results: Of the 164 patients in the study, 90 (54.88%) died (due to causes unrelated to the procedure), 67 (40.85%) completed follow-up, and 7 (4.27%) were lost to follow-up. Of the 67 patients who completed follow-up, 32 had undergone tracheostomy (21 by the general surgery team and 11 by the thoracic surgery team), and 22 had been submitted to isthmectomy (11 by the general surgery team and 11 by the thoracic surgery team). There was no difference between the surgical teams in terms of the incidence of stoma complications. However, there was a significant difference when the surgical techniques (with or without isthmectomy) were compared. Conclusions: Not performing isthmectomy in parallel with tracheostomy leads the surgeon to open the tracheal stoma more distally than expected. In such cases, there were more stoma complications.

Keywords: Tracheostomy; Intensive care units; Tracheal stenosis.

Post-intubation tracheal injury is a rare and potentially fatal complication. Among the most common causes, cuff overinflation and repetitive attempts of orotracheal intubation in emergency situations are paramount. Diagnosis is based on clinical and radiological suspicion, confirmed by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Both conservative and surgical management apply, and the decision-making process depends on the patient profile (comorbidities, respiratory stability), characteristics of the lesion (size and location) and the time elapsed between the occurrence of the injury and the diagnosis. We report the cases of three patients presenting tracheal laceration due to traumatic orotracheal intubation, two submitted to surgical treatment and one submitted to conservative treatment.

Keywords: Tracheal diseases; Rupture; Intubation.

Objective: To retrospectively analyze the medical charts of patients with pulmonary malformations submitted to surgical treatment and to investigate the clinical evolution prior to the definitive diagnosis. Methods: We analyzed the medical charts of patients with pulmonary malformations operated on at the São Paulo Hospital-Federal University of São Paulo/Paulista School of Medicine-from 1969 to 2004. Each medical chart was analyzed as to the following aspects: clinical profile; diagnosis; previous treatment; surgical treatment; and nosocomial complications. The inclusion criteria were having received a diagnosis of pulmonary malformation, having undergone pulmonary resection, and chart data being complete. Results: The analysis of the medical charts revealed that 60 patients diagnosed with pulmonary malformations-27 cases of bronchogenic cyst, 14 cases of congenital lobar emphysema, 10 cases of pulmonary sequestration, and 9 cases of cystic adenomatoid malformation-underwent surgery. Ages ranged from 4 days to 62 years (mean, 17.9 years). There was a predominance of males (55%). Ninety-two percent of the patients presented symptoms (mean duration, 15.37 months). Of the 60 patients undergoing surgery, 27 (45%) received preoperative home or hospital treatment with antibiotics. Regarding complications, we observed that morbidity was 23%, and mortality was 3.3%. Surgical times ranged from 1 to 8 h (mean, 3.2 h). Conclusions: Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of pulmonary malformations resulted in unnecessary treatments and hospitalizations, as well as in frequent, recurrent infectious complications. We believe that the definitive treatment is surgery, which is curative and has low morbidity and mortality rates.

Keywords: Bronchogenic cyst; Bronchopulmonary sequestration; Cystic adenomatoid malformation of lung, congenital; Respiratory tract infections; Thoracic surgery.

Background: Open lung biopsy is regarded as the gold standard for the diagnosis of diffuse pulmonary infiltrates. Objective: To determine the diagnostic yield, therapeutic changes, complications and mortality attributed to open lung biopsy in patients with diffuse pulmonary infiltrates and on mechanical ventilation. Method: We reviewed, retrospectively, the charts of 24 patients, ranging from 26 to 89 years of age, admitted to the intensive care units of two private hospitals and submitted to open lung biopsy. Results: Diagnostic positivity was found in 100% of patients, resulting in an alteration in the treatment regimen in 75%. Postoperative complications occurred in five patients (20.8%). There were no biopsy-related deaths, although global mortality was 45.8%. Conclusion: Open lung biopsy is a safe and high yield procedure for diagnosing diffuse pulmonary infiltrate in patients on mechanical ventilation. Despite the fact that no mortality impact factor has been assigned to such patients, data in the literature regarding prognosis must be taken into consideration.

Keywords: Biopsy. Respiratory insufficiency. Respiration artificial.

The authors describe the case of a 54 year-old female with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the trachea at the cricoid level upon whom extensive surgical resection was performed, including the larynx, part of the trachea and esophagus. Reconstruction of the digestive tract was done by means of a gastric tube and the airway with a mediastinal tracheostomy. Five years after the original procedure there was a local cutaneous recurrence which was removed. Seven years later the disease recurred in the mediastinum, which responded to irradiation. The patient is alive and well eight years and five months after the operation.

Keywords: Trachea. Neoplasm. Carcinoma, adenoid cystic. Tracheostomy.

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Objective: To determine the time spent diagnosing, staging and surgically treating lung cancer in a university hospital. Method: Between January 1990 and December 1998, 69 (53 male, 16 female) patients were diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent surgery. The hospital records of these patients were reviewed to evaluate clinical and histological data, dates of outpatient visits, hospital admission, tests and procedures, as well as to determine if the patients were examined as inpatients or as outpatients. Results: The 15 patients investigated as outpatients were designated as group I, the 28 examined as both inpatients and outpatients as group II, and the 26 investigated as inpatients as group III. Age ranged from 43 to 79 years (mean ± SD; 61 ± 10). Of the 69 patients, 43 were smokers and 23 were ex-smokers. The mean time from onset of symptoms to the first outpatient visit was 110 days and 33 days from the first outpatient visit until diagnosis. There was a lapse of 25 days between diagnosis and surgery. The mean total elapsed time between the first outpatient visit and surgery was 58 days. The mean total time was 72 days for group I, 72 days for group II, and 35 days for group III (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference regarding total time in relation to the different stages of the disease (p = 0.16). Conclusions: The results show that patients waited too long before seeking medical assistance and that medical treatment of lung cancer was further delayed when patients were examined in an outpatient setting.

Keywords: Lung neoplasm/surgery. Disease progression.

Bronchiectasis is a disease which is rarely found in developed countries and has a high incidence in developing countries. In Brazil, the most frequent causes are viral or bacterial respiratory infections in childhood, and tuberculosis. Antibiotic therapy considerably reduces morbidity. However, in patients with persistent symptoms, surgical resection offers greater chances of cure or better quality of life. Objectives: Prospectively evaluate the clinical-epidemiological profile of patients with bronchiectasis as well as the results of surgical treatment in patients from two public hospitals in Fortaleza (CE), northeastern Brazil. Patients and method: Sixty-seven patients with bronchiectasis submitted to surgery between August 1989 and March 1999 were evaluated, as well as demographic data, etiology of the disease, complications, and therapeutic success rate. Results: Mean age of patients (39 females e 28 males) was 32.5 ± 14.1 years. The most frequent causes of bronchiectasis were viral or bacterial infection (44.8%) and tuberculosis (31.3%). The disease was localized in 46 patients and multisegmental in 21. In six patients it was bilateral. No surgical death occurred and postoperative complications were more frequent in patients with multisegmental bronchiectasis (9/21 versus 6/46, p = 0.011). From the 62 patients who were followed up, 49 were cured, 10 showed improvement, and 3 did not obtain any benefit. Results were excellent in 39 patients with localized bronchiectasis and in 10 patients with the multisegmental form of the disease (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Results show two distinct groups of patients: those with bronchiectasis, who presented fewer surgical complications and better postoperative results, and those with multisegmental bronchiectasis.

Keywords: Bronchiectasis. Epidemiological profiles. Clinical diagnosis. Treatment outcome. Surgical operative procedures.