A narrative review of progress in airway stents

Abstract

Background and Objective: Airway stents, used to restore airway patency, are mostly utilized by patients with malignant airway strictures, and are occasionally used in a range of other airway related diseases, including conditions which result in benign stenosis, malacia, and fistula. There has been an increasing number of airway stents that are being developed thanks to improvements in interventional therapy. However, the method of promoting airway stents for clinical application remains undetermined.Herein, we describe the recent advances in airway stents by reviewing the published studies, providing the reference for clinical decision-making and further research on airway stents.Methods: Relevant articles between January 1964 and November 2021 were obtained from PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases. The terms "metallic", "silicone", "drug-eluting", "biodegradable", "radioactive", "three-dimensional (3D)", and "stents" were searched in different combinations.

Mediastinal epithelioid inflammatory myofibroblastic sarcoma with the EML4‐ALK fusion: A case report and literature review

“…While metallic tracheal stenting can rapidly alleviate respiratory dysfunction, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning against their use in patients with benign airway stenosis due to the difficulties associated with removal and the potential for severe complications. 16 Moreover, anaesthesia in patients with mediastinal masses is a risk event for cardiopulmonary events, which may be fatal. 17 Due to the unclear diagnosis and the high risk of anaesthesia, we did not opt for metallic stent implantation in this case.…”

“…Another consideration is the optimal timing for placing a metal stent in cases like this. While metallic tracheal stenting can rapidly alleviate respiratory dysfunction, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning against their use in patients with benign airway stenosis due to the difficulties associated with removal and the potential for severe complications 16 . Moreover, anaesthesia in patients with mediastinal masses is a risk event for cardiopulmonary events, which may be fatal 17 .…”

Broadening the scope for three-dimensional printed airway stents

“…The ideal 3D airway stent is easy to insert and remove, remains in place, has fewer stent-related complications such as mucus plugging, or granulation tissue formation; and it must assess airway patency. [4] Two aspects that must be in balance are shape and mechanical functionality. Designing a 3D printed airway stent allows for a wider range of shapes with different inlet and outlet sizes, length, and varying diameters; However, mechanical properties require more attention.…”

“…The ideal 3D airway stent is easy to insert and remove, remains in place, has fewer stent-related complications such as mucus plugging or granulation tissue formation; and it must assess airway patency [ 4 ]. Two aspects that must be in balance are shape and mechanical functionality.…”

“…Although the effectivity of patient-specific airway stents has been proven in some publications [ 4 , 7 , 9 ], data remain scarce and long-term outcomes are still not reported. The TATUM phase II trial ( www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier number NCT04848025), currently running in France (Toulouse and Marseille University Hospitals), which studies patient-specific stents for all planned airway stents with close follow-up, will provide long-term safety and efficacy data in a larger population.…”