Use of the wire-guided endobronchial blocker for one-lung anesthesia in patients with airway abnormalities

Lung Isolation in the Patient With a Difficult Airway

One-lung ventilation is routinely used to facilitate exposure for thoracic surgical procedures and can be achieved via several lung isolation techniques. The optimal method for lung isolation depends on a number of factors that include (1) the indication for lung isolation, (2) anatomic features of the upper and lower airway, (3) availability of equipment and devices, and (4) the anesthesiologist's proficiency and preferences. Though double-lumen endobronchial tubes (DLTs) are most commonly utilized to achieve lung isolation, the use of endobronchial blockers offer advantages in patients with challenging airway anatomy. Anesthesiologists should be familiar with existing alternatives to the DLT for lung isolation and alternative techniques for DLT placement in the patient with a difficult airway. Newer technologies such as videolaryngoscopy with or without adjunctive fiberoptic bronchoscopy may facilitate intubation and lung isolation in difficult airway management.

Lung Isolation Techniques in Patients With Early-Stage or Long-Term Tracheostomy: A Case Series Report of 70 Cases and Recommendations

OBJECTIVES

Lung isolation techniques are designed to facilitate surgical exposure in thoracic surgical patients and provide one-lung ventilation (OLV). Some patients have a tracheostomy in situ, which makes the management of the airway and OLV difficult. The objective of this retrospective study was to review cases that had a tracheostomy prior to thoracic surgery and evaluate the clinical use and efficiency with the airway management and lung isolation devices.

DESIGN

This was a retrospective data analysis.

SETTING

Tertiary care university hospital.

INTERVENTIONS

After institutional review board approval, the authors reviewed 3,225 charts of patients who had thoracic surgery involving OLV. Seventy patients were identified who had tracheostomy in situ. Each case was reviewed regarding airway management and lung isolation technique.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The authors identified 70 patients who had a tracheostomy in situ. The cases were divided into 2 groups: a fresh tracheostomy stoma <7 days (n = 6) or long-term stoma >7 days (n = 64). The authors collected information regarding the devices used to manage the airway and lung isolation techniques. The devices used to manage the airway include the Shiley cuffed low pressure tracheostomy tube, single-lumen endotracheal tube (SLT), or double-lumen endotracheal tube (DLT). Devices used to manage OLV included SLTs, with or without bronchial blockers, or DLTs. Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy was used to assess the airway and confirm the position of the lung isolation device. Six cases had an early-stage fresh tracheostomy stoma where the Shiley tracheostomy tube was used for ventilation followed by the use of a bronchial blocker. In contrast, for the patients who had a long-term stoma, the following devices were used: (1) a SLT plus a bronchial blocker in 38 cases, a Shiley tracheostomy tube plus bronchial blocker in 15 cases, use of a SLT guided into a selective bronchus in 7 cases, and use of a DLT in 4 cases. In all cases, flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy was used and no complications occurred secondary to airway management or OLV.

CONCLUSION

In patients undergoing thoracic surgery and OLV, and with a fresh tracheostomy stoma in situ, the authors recommend the use of the Shiley tracheostomy tube plus a bronchial blocker. In patients with a long-term tracheostomy stoma, a SLT can be used selectively to intubate 1 bronchus. In addition, an SLT or a Shiley tube can be used in conjunction with an independent bronchial blocker, such as the Arndt wire-guided bronchial blocker, Cohen tip-deflecting blocker, Fuji Uniblocker, or EZ-Blocker. DLTs are the least frequently used device for OLV in tracheostomized patients.

One-Lung Anesthesia Update

One-lung ventilation is used during a variety of cardiac, thoracic, and major vascular procedures. Endobronchial tubes, bronchial blockers, and occasionally, single-lumen tubes are used to isolate the lungs. Patients with difficult airways and pediatric patients provide special challenges for lung isolation. Finally, intraoperative hypoxia and hypercarbia in patients with intrinsic lung disease frequently complicate one-lung anesthesia. The concepts and controversies in lung isolation techniques are discussed.

Airway strategies for lung isolation in a patient with high-velocity nail gun injuries to the right cardiac ventricle and floor of the mouth: a case report

Introduction

We report a case of deliberate self-harm in which three three-inch nails were fired from a nail gun resulting in mandibular fixation and two penetrating injuries to the right cardiac ventricle. This combination of high-velocity penetrating injury has not been previously described.

Case presentation

A 69-year-old Caucasian man with a medical history of chronic depression was brought to hospital after a failed suicide attempt. The attempt consisted of self-asphyxiation with car exhaust fumes and shooting himself thrice with a three-inch nail gun. He sustained a penetrating nail injury to the floor of his mouth, effectively pinning his mouth closed, and penetrating injuries to the right ventricular free wall and at the junction of the right atrioventricular septum. The patient required emergency surgery with requirements for thoracotomy and sternotomy, lung isolation and cardiopulmonary bypass.

Conclusions

This is the first reported case of a combination high-velocity penetrating nail gun injury to the face and the right cardiac ventricle. This rare case offers airway strategies to accommodate the surgical requirement for lung separation for penetrating chest trauma in a patient with iatrogenically limited mouth opening.

Application of lobe-selective bronchial blockade against airway bleeding

A 48-year-old man underwent resection of a right upper lobe necrotic tumor and part of his chest wall. Lobe-selective bronchial blockade of bleeding from the right upper lobe was achieved by combining a left-side double-lumen endotracheal tube with a bronchial blocker placed at the right intermediate bronchus. The bleeding right upper lobe was isolated, and the other lobes were protected from blood contamination during the lobectomy procedure.

[Selective lobar blockade using an arndt endobronchial blocker in 2 patients with respiratory compromise who underwent lung resection]

Selective lobar blockade is an alternative to one-lung ventilation in thoracic surgery. We present 2 cases of lung resection with severe respiratory compromise. The first patient had previously undergone a left lower lobectomy and 2 atypical resections in the left and right upper lobes and was scheduled for a right lower lobectomy. The second patient presented chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with forced vital capacity of 1200 mL (26% of predicted value) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second of 820 mL (25% of predicted value) and was scheduled for an atypical resection of the left upper lobe with pleural abrasion. Selective lobar blockade was achieved in both cases using an Arndt endobronchial blocker. Ventilation during the operation was sufficient. Surgery was uneventful in both cases and lobar collapse was satisfactory.

Which device should be considered the best for lung isolation: double-lumen endotracheal tube versus bronchial blockers

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review is a clinical comparison between double-lumen endotracheal tubes and bronchial blockers to determine which device is considered the best for lung isolation.

RECENT FINDINGS

Double-lumen endotracheal tubes and bronchial blockers have been found to be clinically equivalent in terms of performance in providing lung collapse for patients with normal airways. In the last five years, however, numerous reports have indicated a preference for the use of bronchial blockers in patients with airway abnormalities. For nonthoracic anesthesiologists who have limited experience in thoracic anesthesia cases, none of the devices (double-lumen tubes or bronchial blockers) have been shown to provide any advantage while in use due to a high incidence of unrecognized malpositions. Overall, each device provides advantages depending upon the case, such as absolute lung separation with a double-lumen endotracheal tube or the use of a bronchial blocker in a difficult airway for a patient requiring lung isolation.

SUMMARY

Double-lumen endotracheal tubes and bronchial blockers should be part of the armamentarium of every anesthesiologist involved in lung isolation techniques and every device should be tailored to specific case needs.

Progress in lung separation

The progress in lung separation technology has allowed anesthesiologists to become skillful in fiberoptic bronchoscopy techniques and to provide excellent lung exposure in thoracic surgery patients. Given the availability of two technologies--DLTs (right-sided and left-sided) and bronchial blocker technology (TCBU, Arndt, and Cohen--every case that requires lung collapse and OLV should receive the benefit of these devices. Because of its greater margin of safety, a left-sided DLT is the more common device used in lung separation. If any contraindication to placing a left-sided DLT exists, a right-sided DLT is an option for any specific situation (eg, left lung transplantation). For a patient who requires lung separation and presents with the dilemma of a difficult or abnormal airway, bronchial blockers offer more advantages. Regardless of the device used, the optimal position of these devices (DLTs and bronchial blockers) is achieved best with the use of fiberoptic bronchoscopy techniques first in supine and then in lateral decubitus position or whenever repositioning of the device is needed.

An update on bronchial blockers during lung separation techniques in adults

Techniques for one-lung ventilation (OLV) can be accomplished in two ways: The first involves the use of a double-lumen endotracheal tube (DLT). The second involves blockade of a mainstem bronchus (bronchial blockers). Bronchial blockade technology is on the rise, and in some specific clinical situations (e.g., management of the difficult airway during OLV or selective lobar blockade) it can offer more as an alternative to achieve OLV in adults. Special emphasis on newer information for the use of Fogarty embolectomy catheter as a bronchial blocker, the torque control blocker Univent, and the wire-guided endobronchial blocker (Arndt blocker) is included. Also this review describes placement, positioning, complications, ventilation modalities, and airflow resistances of all three bronchial blockers. Finally, the bronchial blockers can be used in many cases that require OLV, taking into consideration that bronchial blockers require longer time for placement, assisted suction to expedite lung collapse, and the use of fiberoptic bronchoscopy. The current use of bronchial blockers, supported by scientific evidence, dictates that bronchial blockers should be available in any service that performs lung separation techniques.