Choking is a relevant public health problem. Data in medical literature are scarce and fatal events are dramatically under-reported.The aim of this manuscript is to give a real estimation of this problem and to raise awareness about this topic.Materials and methods. All deaths caused by choking reported by Italian Mass Media over a two years period were collected. Suspected sudden infant death syndrome was an exclusion criteria.Results. 76 deaths due to foreign body airway obstruction were identified, 51% during 2018 and 49% in 2019, without identifiable time clusters. Choking affected every age, including pre-scholar children (25%), children 6 to 18 years old (3%), adults (38%), and elderly patients (34%). Witnessed cases were 61 (80%) but in almost half 26 cases (42%) the fatal event occurred before or without first aid maneuvers being performed.Conclusion. On the Italian territory, during a 2 years period, three cases per month of fatal choking due to foreign-body airway obstruction occurred, many of them in adult patients (38%). Italian people seem not to be educated to provide first aid in these settings.

The objective: to evaluate the international practice of using calcium salts when weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass after cardiac surgery in adult patients.Design: a multiple-choice survey about the current practice of calcium salts use when weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass based on the SurveyMonkey platform.Participants: cardiac surgical hospitals around the world.Estimation and main results. Totally 112 emails were sent to Russian and foreign centers inviting them to participate in the survey. 100 centers from 32 countries replied to this request. Generally, the majority of centers (88%) administer calcium salts during surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, and in 71 (71%) centers out of 100, calcium salts are used to improve hemodynamics. Among 88 centers that use calcium salts during surgery, 66% (58/88) of respondents use calcium chloride, 22% (19/88) use calcium gluconate, and 12% (11/88) use both drugs. Most centers (55 (77%) out of 71) use doses of 5 to 15 mg/kg as a bolus or infusion for 1 min.Conclusion: Our survey shows that the majority of cardiac surgery centers use calcium in adult cardiac surgery patients especially during weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass. There is variability in the type of drug, dose, and route of administration.