Laryngospasm is defined as complete closure of the vocal or false cords with apnea lasting >10sec.
Pediatric anesthesiologists, like Dr. Guelay Bilen-Rosas at UW Health, have long been concerned by how difficult it is to detect breathing problems among young patients during anesthesia.
In a first-of-its-kind study, Mount Sinai researchers have used sensory mapping to discover that the posterior part of the larynx (closest to the swallowing tract) is the main area of the voice box to protect the airway from potentially dangerous swallowed or inhaled substances.
Ethnicity may play a role in the occurrence of breathing problems during and after surgery, suggests preliminary results from a new study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2014 annual meeting.
New research presented at this year's Euroanaesthesia meeting in Stockholm shows that children exposed to indoor coal-burning stoves and/or second-hand tobacco smoke are much more likely to suffer postoperative complications and excessive pain after tonsillectomies.
For children undergoing general anesthesia for surgery or other procedures, the risks of several adverse respiratory (breathing-related) events are greater if the child has recently had a cold or other upper respiratory infection (URI).
Within the last ten years, the primary reason that children have had surgery to remove their tonsils and adenoids is not infection but obstructive sleep apnea.
Medical researchers have long suspected a relationship between gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), two medical conditions which can have a deleterious effect on a patient¡¯s quality of life.