Endoscopic laser arytenoidectomy for the treatment of bilateral vocal cord paralysis

Most patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis have a fairly satisfactory voice, but their airway is usually compromised. The management of such patients presents a challenge to the otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon. Numerous surgical procedures have been developed in an attempt to improve the patients's airway insufficiency without leaving him with a breathy, weak voice. Arytenoidectomy is currently the most reliable method of treating patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Although both endoscopic and external approaches have been described for performing an arytenoidectomy, the endoscopic technique is more desirable since it requires no incision and theoretically allows for the immediate assessment of airway size. The addition of the CO2 laser to the surgical armamentarium offers certain refinements to the technique of endoscopic arytenoidectomy. Eleven patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis of the larynx have been treated by endoscopic laser arytenoidectomy by the authors utilizing a technique developed by the two senior authors and subsequently taught to over 200 participants of the CO2 laser workshops sponsored by the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Northwestern University Medical School; 10 of the 11 patients have been successfully decannulated. The technique and problems of this operation will be discussed.     

Incidence,characteristics and prognosis of acute kidney injury in Cameroon: a prospective study at the Douala General Hospital

Objective: There are limited data on AKI in sub-Saharan Africa. We aim to determine the incidence, characteristics and prognosis of AKI in Cameroon.

Patients and methods: A prospective study including all consenting acute admissions in the internal medicine and the ICU of a tertiary referral hospital in Cameroon from January 2015 to June 2016. Serum creatinine assay was done on admission, days 2 and 7 to diagnose AKI. For patients with AKI, serum creatinine was done on discharge, days 30, 60 and 90. AKI was defined according to the modified KDIGO 2012 criteria as an increase or decrease in serum creatinine of 3?mg/l or greater, or an increase of 50% or more from the reference value obtained at admission or the known baseline value. AKI severity was graded using KDIGO2012 criteria. Outcome measures were renal recovery, mortality and causes of death. Renal recovery was complete if serum creatinine between the first 90?days was less than baseline or reference, partial if less than diagnosis but not baseline or reference, no-recovery if creatinine did not decrease or if the patient remained on dialysis.

Results: Of the 2402 patients included, 536 developed AKI giving a global incidence of 22.3% and annual incidence of 15 per 100 patients-years. Of the 536 patients with AKI, 43.3% were at stage 3, 54.7% were males, median age was 56?years. Pre-renal AKI (61.4%) and acute tubular necrosis (28.9%) were the most frequent forms. Main etiologies were sepsis (50.4%) and volume depletion (31.6%). Renal outcome was unknown in 34% of patients. Of the 354 patients with known renal function at 3?months, 84.2% recovered completely, 14.7% partially and 1.1% progressed to CKD. Global mortality rate was 36.9% mainly due to sepsis.

Conclusions: AKI is frequent in our setting, mainly due to sepsis and hypovolemia. It carries a poor prognosis.