• Violeta Ziliene, Dagmara Reingardiene, Neringa Tereseviciūte, and Ricardas Slavinskas.
• Department of Intensive Care, Clinic of Neurosurgery, Kaunas University of Medicine, Eiveniu 2, 50009 Kaunas, Lithuania. zil@kalnieciai.lt
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2004 Jan 1;40(11):1124-9.

AbstractThe aim of this study was to determine diagnosis and factors influencing acute respiratory failure and nosocomial pneumonia according to literature and clinical findings in critically ill patients. The term "respiratory failure" implies the inability to maintain either normal delivery of oxygen to tissues or normal removal of carbon dioxide from the tissues. There are many patients suffering from acute respiratory failure caused by nosocomial pneumonia, septic syndrome, aspiration, interstitial or alveolar lung edema, thromboembolism of a. pulmonalis, polytrauma and contusion of the lungs, acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute lung injury, status asthmaticus, rather massive transfusions of blood products, and lipid embolism in the intensive care unit. There are actually three processes involved: transfer of oxygen across the alveolus, transport to the tissues (by cardiac output), and removal of carbon dioxide from the blood into the alveolus with subsequent exhalation into the environment. Failure of any step in this process can lead to respiratory failure. Long-term hypoxia causes ischemic changes and dysfunction of brain, heart, kidney, lungs and can worsen the outcome of disease or can cause higher mortality.

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