Shallow versus deep endotracheal suctioning in young rabbits: pathologic effects on the tracheobronchial wall

The traditional technique for endotracheal suctioning of intubated neonates consists of inserting a catheter until resistance is met, withdrawing slightly, and applying suction. The extent of tissue damage caused by the traditional (deep) technique v that caused by an alternative shallow technique was studied with an animal model. Six 3-week-old rabbits were anesthetized, intubated, and suctioned every 15 minutes for six hours by neonatal intensive care unit nurses who were unaware of the study purpose. Three rabbits were suctioned by means of the deep technique, whereas the other three received shallow suctioning achieved by inserting the catheter no further than a premeasured distance. Light microscopy showed significantly increased necrosis and inflammation following deep suctioning. Electron microscopy revealed greater loss of cilia and increased mucus with the deep technique. To confirm our initial assumption that the deep technique is still used extensively by neonatal intensive care units throughout the country, a mail survey was conducted. Of the 405 (43%) neonatal intensive care unit physicians who responded, 82% reported frequent or exclusive use of the deep technique for routine suctioning. In this study, the fact that deep suctioning results in significantly more tracheobronchial pathology than does a shallow, premeasured technique is shown. It is recommended that nurseries change their current practice and adopt the shallow technique for routine suctioning of intubated neonates.     

Lobar Atelectasis after Nasotracheal Intubation in Newborn Infants

Roper, P. C., Vonwiller, J. B., Fisk, G. C. and Gupta, J. M. (1976). Aust. paediat. J. , 12, 272–275. Lobar atelectasis after nasotracheal intubation in newborn infants. Atelectasis of the right upper lobe is not uncommon after removal of a nasotracheal tube which has been in place for several days. Lobar atelectasis developed in 18 of 188 who were intubated. Six patients had atelectasis of various lobes (predominantly the right upper lobe) while intubated, and 12 after extubation (all of these being the right upper lobe or right lung).
Two patients had recurrent atelectasis, a nasotracheal tube being reinserted for periods of several days. Since then the management of patients after extubation has been changed. Physiotherapy is aimed at clearing the right upper lobe. When tracheal suction is needed, intubation is limited to a few minutes. The average time to expand the affected lobes has been less with this regime. It is suggested that atelectasis of the right upper lobe is associated with (1) damage to the main bronchus by suction catheters and (2) the position of the right upper lobe bronchus.     

A comprehensive review of pediatric endotracheal suctioning: Effects, indications, and clinical practice

OBJECTIVE: To provide a comprehensive, evidence-based review of pediatric endotracheal suctioning: effects, indications, and clinical practice. METHODS: PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database) electronic databases were searched for English language articles, published between 1962 and June 2007. Owing to the paucity of objective pediatric data, all reports dealing with this topic were examined, including adult and neonatal studies. RESULTS: One hundred eighteen references were included in the final review. Despite the widespread use of endotracheal suctioning, very little high-level evidence dealing with pediatric endotracheal suctioning exists. Studies of mechanically ventilated neonatal, pediatric, and adult patients have shown that suctioning causes a range of potentially serious complications. Current practice guidelines are not based on evidence from controlled clinical trials. There is no clear evidence that endotracheal suctioning improves respiratory mechanics, with most studies pointing to the detrimental effect it has on lung mechanics. Suctioning should be performed when obstructive secretions are present rather than routinely. There is no clear evidence for the superiority of closed- or open-system suctioning, nor is there clear evidence for appropriate vacuum pressures and suction catheter size. Sterility does not seem to be necessary when suctioning. Preoxygenation has short-term benefits, but the longer-term impact is unknown. Routine saline instillation before suctioning should not be performed. Recruitment maneuvers performed after suctioning have not been shown to be useful as standard practice. CONCLUSIONS: Endotracheal suctioning is a procedure used regularly in the pediatric intensive care unit. Despite this, good evidence supporting its practice is limited. Further, controlled clinical studies are needed to develop evidence-based protocols for endotracheal suctioning of infants and children, and to examine the impact of different suctioning techniques on the duration of ventilatory support, incidence of nosocomial infection, and length of pediatric intensive care unit and hospital stay.     

Tracheal bronchus: association with respiratory morbidity in childhood

An aberrant right upper lobe (RUL) bronchus arising from the trachea (tracheal bronchus) can be responsible for recurrent pneumonia. In this hospital, 2% of children requiring bronchoscopy for respiratory symptoms are found to have a tracheal bronchus, which is frequently thought to be an incidental finding. We reviewed findings in 18 patients to determine when a tracheal bronchus is of clinical significance. The age at presentation ranged from 1 day to 54 months (mean 17 months). The children had recurrent pneumonia (nine), stridor (six), respiratory distress (two) and a thoracic mass (one). Other congenital abnormalities were present in 14, including Down syndrome (two), tracheoesophageal fistula (two), and fused or hypoplastic first and second ribs (four). Recurrent RUL pneumonia was present in five. Bronchiectasis or bronchial stenosis was shown by bronchography in four of five; in all five the right upper lobe was surgically resected, with resolution of the recurrent pneumonias. The presence of a clinically significant tracheal bronchus should be considered in every child with recurrent RUL pneumonia, especially in children with Down syndrome or rib abnormalities; if bronchiectasis or bronchial stenosis is found, surgical resection should be performed.     

Branching Patterns of Right Pulmonary Artery in Cardiovascular Anomalies

The branch of the right pulmonary artery (RPA) to the upper lobe of the right lung (RUL), the truncus anterior of the RPA, and the pars anterior of the left pulmonary artery, which supplies the left upper lung lobe (LUL), were demonstrated by both dissection of postmortem specimens and angiography for 20 infants and children, by angiography only for 57, and by specimen dissection only for 59 (total 136).

In posteroanterior angiograms, the RUL artery branches from the RPA near the right lateral border of the vertebral column, while the LUL artery or arteries arise more laterally, near the left midclavicular plane. This pattern is reversed in situs inversus (eight patients studied).     

Intensive care management after pediatric liver transplantation: a single-center experience

A retrospective study was conducted to determine the significance of intensive care management on outcome after liver transplantation (LTx) in children. Of 195 transplants performed in 162 children, factors affecting morbidity and mortality were documented during the post-operative intensive care unit (ICU) stay. To assess the gain in experience of ICU management, we compared mean ventilation time and stay in the ICU as well as mortality, incidence of surgical complications, infections, and rejection episodes, during three different time-periods (October 1991-August 1994, September 1994-July 1996, and August 1996-February 1998). The time spent by patients in the ICU (9.7 days vs. 7.9 days vs. 4.7 days, p < 0.001) and time on ventilation (5.2 days vs. 3.1 days vs. 1.2 days, p < 0.001) were significantly reduced over the duration of the study. The overall mortality was 18.0% (n = 30) and 76.7% (n = 23) of these deaths occurred during the early post-operative period in the ICU. The incidence of severe surgical complications decreased significantly over time, and the application of intra-operative Doppler ultrasound since 1994 led to detection of 27 correctable vascular complications. The overall incidence of acute cellular rejection episodes in our center was 64.1%: 43.5% of the infectious episodes occurred in the ICU (bacterial 70.2%, viral 12.3%, and fungal 17.5%). The main side-effect from immunosuppressive drugs was arterial hypertension in 29% of the patients. We conclude that our efforts to improve intensive care management and monitoring were the key elements in reducing morbidity and mortality after pediatric LTx.     

Lobar collapse with respiratory syncytial virus pneumonitis

In a study of 30 children with uncomplicated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pneumonias, a high incidence of lobar collapse (8/30–26%) was noted. This involved the right upper lobe in seven patients and the left upper lobe in one patient. It is probably attributable to anatomical predispositions, sloughing of necrotic epithelium, and stimulation of mucus production. Lobar collapse should be considered part of the spectrum of RSV pneumonitis.     

Bronchiolitis obliterans in children: clinical presentation, therapy and long-term follow-up

Aim:   To delineate the predisposing factors, clinical, radiological features and outcomes of bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) in children for minimising morbidity and mortality.
Methods:   Ten children who had BO from July 1995 to July 2005 were retrospectively reviewed at a tertiary paediatric facility in northern Taiwan.
Results:   Bronchiolitis obliterans complicated by infections, Stevens–Johnson syndrome was found in eight and two patients, respectively. In children with post-infectious BO, adenoviruses were the most common etiologic agents (7/8). Among them, six patients needed intensive management and five patients needed mechanical ventilation. All patients presented persistent dyspneic respirations and wheezing since the initial lung infection. Initial focal atelectasis ( n  = 3) on chest radiographs progressed to atelectasis/lobar collapse ( n  = 8) when the diagnosis of BO was made. After adequate supportive management, atelectatic bronchiectasis was the most common complication ( n  = 5).
Conclusion:   Severe adenovirus bronchiolitis and/or pneumonia appear to have higher risk of development of BO in children. In order to minimise associated complications of BO, meticulous respiratory care for preventing pulmonary collapse may be considered in such instances.     

Endotracheal intubation and pediatric status asthmaticus: site of original care affects treatment.

OBJECTIVES: Status asthmaticus is a common cause of admission to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Children unresponsive to medical therapies may require endotracheal intubation; however, this treatment carries significant risk, and thresholds for intubation vary. Our hypothesis was that children who sought care at community hospitals received less aggressive treatment and more frequent intubation than children who sought care at a children's hospital. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A university-affiliated children's hospital PICU. PATIENTS: We retrospectively examined data from all children older than 2 yrs admitted to the PICU with status asthmaticus between April 1997 and July 2005. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 251 children admitted to the PICU with status asthmaticus, 130 initially presented to the emergency department of a children's hospital and 116 presented to the emergency department of a community hospital. Despite similar illness severity, children presenting to a community hospital were significantly more likely to be intubated than those presenting to a children's hospital (17% vs. 5%; p = .004). In addition, those children intubated at community hospitals were intubated sooner after presentation (2.4 +/- 5.2 vs. 7.5 +/- 5.8 hrs; p = .009), had shorter durations of intubation (71 +/- 73 vs. 151 +/- 81 hrs; p = .02), and had shorter PICU length of stays (129 +/- 82 vs. 230 +/- 84 hrs; p = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Children with status asthmaticus are more likely to be intubated, and intubated sooner, at a community hospital. The shorter duration of intubation suggests that some children may not have been intubated had they presented to a children's hospital or received more aggressive therapy at their community hospital.     

Prevention of catheter-related bacteremia in pediatric intestinal transplantation/short gut syndrome children with long-term central venous catheters

Catheter-related bacteremia (CRB), along with liver failure is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in parenteral nutrition dependent children. Immunosuppressant therapy following transplantation increases the risk of CRB. Previous reports in pediatric cancer patients have described the use of antibiotic lock solutions (ABL) for prophylaxis of CRB. In our institution, we evaluated five children (ages between one and four yr old), three with intestinal transplantation and two with short gut syndrome, who were high risk for recurrent CRB defined by their incidence of bacteremias in the observation period (>2 CRB/six months or life-threatening CRB). These children received the prophylactic ABL protocol with tobramycin-tissue plasminogen activator, four h per day, on alternating ports for six to eight months. Each patient was his/her own historical control. We observed decreased incidence of CRB's (p < 0.05), days of hospitalization due to CRB's (p < 0.0001), the days of intensive care admissions due to CRB (p < 0.0001), as well as the total days of systemic antibiotic exposure (p < 0.001). Catheter survival during the ABL era was longer but not reaching statistical significance. There was no advantage in removing and later replacing the catheter to wire-guided exchange while on systemic antibiotics. One patient presented with break-through bacteremia, septic shock and died. None of the catheters were lost to occlusion/malfunction. ABL did not induce an increased resistance to tobramycin. These preliminary findings suggest that ABL can be used safely and effectively in parenteral nutrition dependent children with long-term central venous catheters.     

Awake upper airway obstruction in children with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy

OBJECTIVE: Some children with severe cerebral palsy develop symptoms of upper airway obstruction (UAO) while awake. The aetiology, natural history and treatment of this complication have not previously been systematically described. This study documents a case series of children with severe cerebral palsy admitted to hospital because of severe awake UAO and reviews the relevant literature. METHODS: The case records of children admitted to hospital with UAO while awake over an 8-month period were reviewed. Details of antecedent illness, comorbidities, acute management and follow up were collated. One case is presented in detail. RESULTS: Eight children were admitted with UAO. Seven children required intensive care admission. One child died, and two underwent tracheostomy. Nasendoscopy showed pharyngeal collapse without anatomical obstruction in the majority. One child was discovered to have a brainstem malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: Upper airway obstruction is a potentially severe and life-threatening complication of cerebral palsy. In this series, a majority of children had obstruction related to pharyngeal hypotonia and collapse. This can lead to prolonged hospitalization and intensive care admission. It may raise difficult management issues.     

Fusidic acid and heparin lock solution for the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infections in critically ill neonates: a retrospective study and a prospective, randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) are one of the main morbidities in critically ill neonates. The objective of the present study was to assess the efficacy of a fusidic acid-heparin lock in the prevention of CRBSIs. DESIGN: A preliminary retrospective study showed that staphylococcal infections were largely prevalent. We planned a prospective, randomized trial to ascertain whether fusidic acid and heparin lock of central venous catheters would reduce the incidence of CRBSIs. SETTING: Level III neonatal intensive care unit. PATIENTS: One hundred three neonates were enrolled and randomly assigned to a treatment group (n = 50) or control group (n = 53). INTERVENTIONS: Fusidic acid (4 mg/mL) and heparin (10 IU/mL) lock in the treatment group. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The treatment group showed significantly lower incidence of CRBSIs (6.6 vs. 24.9 per 1000 catheter days; p < .01; relative risk 0.28; 95% confidence interval 0.13-0.60). No staphylococcal infections occurred in the treatment group, while in the control group Staphylococcus remained the main agent of CRBSI. Cost analysis comparing the present study and for the treatment of CRBSIs proved that antibiotic lock is financially favorable. CONCLUSIONS: Fusidic acid-heparin lock solution reduced the incidence of CRBSIs in our neonatal intensive care unit. However, we recommend basing antibiotic lock on local CRBSI epidemiology. With regard to fusidic acid, further and broader studies could be useful to confirm our results.     

Assessment of the prevalence of microaspiration by gastric pepsin in the airway of ventilated children

AIM: Mechanically ventilated patients are at risk for aspiration of gastric contents. The aim of this observational study was to determine the prevalence of micro-aspiration in children with cuffed and uncuffed endotracheal (ET) tubes and with tracheostomies and to assess the effect of feeding status on aspiration. Micro-aspiration was determined by measuring gastric pepsin in tracheal aspirates. METHODS: We studied 27 children on ventilators in paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and 10 children undergoing elective surgeries for various indications. Tracheal aspirates were collected from children on ventilatory support in the intensive care unit during medically indicated suctioning and from the group of children undergoing elective surgery in the operation room. Pepsin was detected by enzymatic assay. RESULTS: Overall 70% of cases in PICU were positive for pepsin in at least one of the aspirates. Pepsin positivity was significantly lower in the cuffed group than in the uncuffed and tracheostomy groups. Tube feedings did not significantly influence the prevalence of pepsin positivity. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of gastric pepsin in tracheobronchial fluid is a sensitive tool to detect aspirations in mechanically ventilated children and to assess the efficacy of preventive measures in PICU settings.     

Extubation failure in pediatric intensive care incidence and outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the hypotheses that children requiring reintubation are at an increased risk of prolonged hospitalizations, congenital heart disease, and death compared with age- and disease-severity-matched control patients. DESIGN: Prospective decision to evaluate all children undergoing extubation over a 5-yr time interval (1997-2001) with retrospective analysis of all failed extubation patients. SETTING: A large multidisciplinary, dual-site, single-system pediatric intensive care unit caring for critically ill and injured children. PATIENTS: All children intubated and ventilated during the study period (1997-2001). INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Failed extubation was defined as the unanticipated requirement to replace an endotracheal tube within 48 hrs of extubation. One hundred thirty children of 3,193 pediatric intensive care unit patients failed extubation (4.1%). The median age of children who failed extubation was 6.5 months, compared with a median age of 21.3 months in the control population. The median age of failed extubation in children with cardiac disease was 9.3 months. Failed extubation patients had lengthier hospital and pediatric intensive care unit stays, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, and a higher rate of tracheostomy placement than nonfailed extubation patients (p < .001). Children with congenital heart disease who failed extubation had the longest duration of hospitalization (40.0 +/- 5.4 days). Conversely, cardiac patients who did not fail extubation had the shortest length of stay (11.2 +/- 0.4 days). CONCLUSIONS: In the present trial, 4.1% of mechanically ventilated children failed extubation. Pediatric intensive care unit patients with failed extubation have longer hospital, pediatric intensive care unit, and ventilator courses but are not at increased risk of death relative to nonfailed extubation patients.     

Need for endotracheal intubation and suction in meconium-stained neonates

In a prospective study, we determined whether routine immediate tracheal aspiration at birth is necessary in meconium-stained but otherwise normal infants delivered vaginally and having a 1-minute Apgar score greater than 8. A total of 572 newborn infants who met these criteria were randomly allocated to one of two groups. All infants underwent oropharyngeal suctioning with a DeLee catheter while the head was still on the perineum. In group I (n = 308) suctioning of the trachea under direct vision was performed instantly at birth; in group II (n = 264) this procedure was not done. There was no mortality among infants in the study, but morbidity, mainly pulmonary and laryngeal disorders, occurred in six of 308 group I infants and in none of the group II infants (P less than 0.025). Immediate tracheal suction is not a harmless intervention, and should be considered superfluous in a vigorous term neonate born with meconium-stained amniotic fluid.     

Removing meconium from infant tracheae. What works best?

OBJECTIVE--At least nine mechanical devices are available for suctioning the tracheae of meconium-stained newborns. To our knowledge, the efficacy of these devices, as well as various suction pressures and patterns, has not been previously compared. We performed this investigation to assess these variables. DESIGN--Fourteen suction techniques (combinations of device, suction pressure, and suction intermittency) were evaluated sequentially in the trachea of each of 14 in vitro newborn piglets (1 to 4 days old); the order was randomized using a Latin square design. We chose three devices to compare: a meconium aspirator (Neotech Products Inc, Chatsworth, Calif), a hand pump (Res-Q-Vac, Repromed Systems Inc, New York, NY), and a 10F suction catheter (Superior Healthcare Group Inc, Cumberland, RI). Both the meconium aspirator and the hand pump were used with a 3.0-mm endotracheal tube. INTERVENTION--We instilled 0.8 mL of a homogeneous mixture of human meconium and saline (44 g of meconium per 100 mL of saline) in the trachea before applying each suction technique. The meconium aspirator and the suction catheter were each evaluated at three different vacuum pressures, -40, -80, and -150 mm Hg, using both continuous and interrupted suction. The hand pump was evaluated with one and two activations (one activation generates -100 cm H2O, according to the manufacturer). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS--The percentage of instilled meconium recovered was consistently greatest (P less than .001) with the meconium aspirator (mean, 88.9% at -150 mm Hg, 84.9% at -80 mm Hg, and 73.5% at -40 mm Hg), intermediate with the catheter (mean, 81.0% at -150 mm Hg, 73.2% at -80 mm Hg, and 67.5% at -40 mm Hg), and least for the hand pump (mean, 67.9% with one activation and 72.6% with two activations). Recovery was better with continuous suction (P = .02) and increasing pressure (P less than .001). CONCLUSIONS--Among the techniques compared, the meconium aspirator at -150 mm Hg, using continuous suction, performed best in this model. It is unknown, however, to what extent the tracheal mucosa may be affected by this degree of negative pressure.     

Utility of airway exchange catheters in pediatric patients with a known difficult airway.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of the Cook airway exchange catheter (CAEC) for extubation/reintubation in pediatric patients with a known difficult airway. DESIGN: Prospective, nonrandomized. SETTING: Pediatric intensive care unit; single academic institution. PATIENTS: Twenty intubated children 相似文献   

Thiamine, riboflavin, and pyridoxine deficiencies in a population of critically ill children.

The unexpected autopsy finding of Wernicke encephalopathy in three children who died after prolonged enteral feeding prompted us to examine the incidence of thiamine deficiency in three high-risk pediatric populations. We also measured riboflavin and pyridoxine activity in the same groups. We used activated enzyme assays (erythrocyte transketolase, glutathione reductase, aspartate aminotransferase) to assess tissue stores of the dependent vitamin cofactors (thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), and pyridoxine (vitamin B6), respectively). Using our own reference ranges based on data from 80 healthy adults and children, we prospectively investigated the B vitamin status of three groups of children: (1) 27 patients who were fed solely by nasogastric tube for more than 6 months, (2) 80 children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit for more than 2 weeks, and (3) 6 children receiving intensive chemotherapy. The upper limits for stimulated enzyme activity in control subjects were unaffected by age or gender (16% for transketolase, 63% for glutathione reductase, 123% for aspartate aminotransferase). Using these limits, 10 (12.5%) of 80 patients receiving intensive care and 4 of 6 patients receiving chemotherapy were thiamine deficient. Elevated levels returned to normal after thiamine supplementation. No patients were pyridoxine deficient, but 3 (3.8%) of the 80 patients receiving intensive care and 1 of the 6 patients receiving chemotherapy were also riboflavin deficient. We conclude that unrecognized thiamine deficiency is common in our pediatric intensive care and oncology groups. This potentially fatal but treatable disease can occur in malnourished patients of any age and is probably underdiagnosed among chronically ill children. Our findings may be applicable to other high-risk pediatric groups.     

Indirect BP monitoring in the newborn. Evaluation of a new oscillometer and comparison of upper- and lower-limb measurements

We compared simultaneous direct (aortic) and indirect (oscillometric) BP measurements in 19 patients admitted to a newborn intensive care unit. Two hundred six indirect measurements were obtained from an upper extremity in 14 patients, and 50 from a lower extremity in five other patients. A regression analysis of paired data over a wide range of BPs showed excellent correlation between measurements obtained with the automated oscillometer and intra-arterial catheters. The oscillometric BP correlated equally well in both upper and lower extremities. Simultaneous upper- and lower-extremity BP measurements were taken in seven infants with low birth weights during the first 12 days of life and in ten normal term 2-to 5-day-old infants. Contrary to some previous reports, systolic, mean, and diastolic pressures were virtually identical at both sites.     

Intratracheal suctioning, systemic infection, and the meconium aspiration syndrome.

A retrospective analysis was performed to determine: (1) the proportion of neonates with the meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) who were not depressed at birth; (2) to evaluate the clinical course of neonates with MAS, particularly relating to whether or not delivery room intubation and intratracheal suctioning had taken place; and (3) to examine the incidence of culture-proven bacteremia among meconium-stained neonates and those with MAS. The medical records of all meconium-stained neonates and those with MAS admitted to our facility from 1985 through 1989 were reviewed. Of 5697 liveborn neonates, 741 (13%) were meconium-stained, of whom 608 (82%) were intubated and suctioned in the delivery room. No complications of the intubation/suctioning procedure were noted in these neonates. Forty-five neonates had culture-proven bacteremia. Five bacteremic neonates had been meconium-stained (0.7% of all such neonates), while 40 were not stained (0.8% incidence). Of 36 neonates with MAS, 1 (2.8%) was bacteremic. Twenty (56%) of 36 newborns with MAS did not require positive pressure ventilation in the delivery room. Twelve (33%) of the babies with MAS had not been intubated and suctioned in the delivery room. Nine (75%) of 12 nonsuctioned neonates, as well as 6 (25%) of 24 suctioned neonates, required mechanical ventilation for more than 6 hours (P = .010). Pneumothoraces occurred in 6 (50%) of 12 nonsuctioned and 5 (21%) of 24 suctioned babies (P = .125). Four of 12 nonsuctioned newborns either died (n = 1) or required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (n = 3), while only 1 of the suctioned newborns required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (P = .034).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)