This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on Web of Science (6)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Dennis A. Greene, MD

JAMA. 1975;234(11):1150-1151.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

THE ROLE of tracheostomy in the management of patients with acute upper-airway obstruction has changed considerably in the past few decades. Once the prime initial technique for relieving sudden airway embarrassment, tracheostomy is now only one of several methods available, each of which has specific advantages and disadvantages. This report presents some of the indications for tracheostomy and establishes some guidelines for the initial management of suddenly compromised airways.

Tracheostomy has been known for more than two thousand years.¹ It was discussed by the Greek physician Asclepiades in 100 BC and by the Moslem physician Avenzoar in the 12th century AD. For the next 800 years, reports appeared in the world's literature describing tracheostomy for the relief of upper-airway obstruction from foreign bodies, infection, or trauma. Tracheostomy has been used increasingly for treatment of upperrespiratory tract obstruction and ventilatory failure over the last 50 years, especially during the past . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Otolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago. Dr Greene is now with the Denver Clinic, Denver.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to The Denver Clinic, 701 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80203 (Dr Greene).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?