Carolina Rocha Barone

Incidence and endoscopic characteristics of acute laryngeal lesions in children undergoing endotracheal intubation

INTRODUCTION Acute laryngeal lesions after intubation appear to be precursors of chronic lesions. OBJECTIVE To describe the incidence and type of acute laryngeal lesions after extubation in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). METHODS A cohort study involving children from birth to <5 years, submitted to intubation for more than 24h in the PICU of an university hospital. In the first eight hours after extubation, a flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy (FFL) was performed at the bedside. Those with moderate to severe abnormalities underwent a second examination seven to ten days later. RESULTS 177 patients were included, with a median age of 2.46 months. The mean intubation time was 8.19 days. Seventy-three (41.2%) patients had moderate or severe alterations at the FFL, with the remaining showing only minor alterations or normal results. During follow-up, 16 children from the group with moderate to severe lesions developed subglottic stenosis. One patient from the normal FFL group had subglottic stenosis, resulting in an incidence of 9.6% of chronic lesions. CONCLUSION Most children in the study developed mild acute laryngeal lesions caused by endotracheal intubation, which improved in a few days after extubation.

A Double-Blind, Randomised, Crossover Trial of Two Botulinum Toxin Type A in Patients with Spasticity

Background Botulinum toxin type A (btxA) is one of the main treatment choices for patients with spasticity. Prosigne® a new released botulinum toxin serotype A may have the same effectiveness as Botox® in focal dystonia. However, there are no randomized clinical trials comparing these formulations in spasticity treatment. The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy and safety of Prosigne® with Botox® in the treatment of spasticity. Methodology/Principal Findings We performed a double-blind, randomized, crossover study consisting of 57 patients with clinically meaningful spasticity. The patients were assessed at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks after Prosigne® or Botox® administration. The main outcomes were changes in the patients’ Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) scores and adverse effects related to the botulinum toxin. Both of the toxins were significantly effective in relieving the level of spasticity in adults and children. There were no significant differences found between the Prosigne® and Botox® treatments regarding their MAS, FIM and PEDI scores. Likewise, the incidence of adverse effects was similar between the two groups. Conclusion Our results suggest that Prosigne® and Botox® are both efficient and comparable with respect to their efficacy and safety for the three month treatment of spasticity. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00819065.