Clinical physiology and functional imaging
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Clin Physiol Funct Imaging · Nov 2008
Comparative StudyComparison of different views with three-dimensional echocardiography: apical views offer superior visualization compared with parasternal and subcostal views.
Studies seeking to validate real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) with regard to cardiac function and dimensions have almost exclusively used apical views. However, it has never been examined whether apical views are preferable to parasternal or subcostal views. In the present study, we compared the feasibility of 3DE volumetric measurements of the four heart chambers in three different views. ⋯ Visualization of the right atrium was adequate in 31 (78%) patients, whereas the right ventricle was adequately visualized in only 12 (30%) patients. The apical view of 3DE provided superior visualization of all four heart chambers compared with the parasternal and subcostal views, when applying a slight off-axis approach for both ventricles when needed. Thus, in the present study, there was no incremental value of assessment of chamber volumes in the parasternal and subcostal views.
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Clin Physiol Funct Imaging · Nov 2008
Does a solitary lobar collapse give pressure-lung volume relationship similar to that found in acute respiratory distress syndrome? A porcine experimental study.
The underlying pathophysiology causing different shapes of static pressure-lung volume (PV) curves is not fully elucidated. In this study the aim was to examine the influence of a solitary lobar collapse on inflation-deflation PV curves. The hypothesis was that a lobar collapse would induce the same changes in the PV-curve as those found in experimental acute lung injury (ALI) and in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ⋯ PV curves of lungs with solitary lobar collapse are similar to those found in ALI/ARDS. Inspiratory LIP indicated start of recruitment, and expiratory curves did not indicate the pressure at which collapse occurred.
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Clin Physiol Funct Imaging · May 2008
Impact of anaesthesia-surgery on D-dimer concentration and end-tidal CO2 and O2 in patients undergoing surgery associated with high risk for pulmonary embolism.
The exhaled end-tidal CO2/O2 ratio and the D-dimer concentration are diagnostic markers of pulmonary embolism (PE). ⋯ The stress impact of anaesthesia-surgery causes less change in end-tidal CO2/O2 compared with the D-dimer. Further work will be required to determine if end-tidal CO2/O2 can be used to monitor for postoperative PE.
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Clin Physiol Funct Imaging · May 2008
Transoesophageal echocardiography should be considered in patients with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack.
In this present study, we tried to find out if there is a subgroup of patients that should not undergo transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) after an ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). ⋯ These results support TEE in patients with ischaemic stroke or TIA who are candidates for receiving oral anticoagulation.
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Clin Physiol Funct Imaging · Jan 2008
Clinical TrialResistance exercise training improves heart rate variability in women with fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by generalized muscle pain, low muscle strength and autonomic dysfunction. Heart rate (HR) variability (HRV) is reduced in individuals with FM increasing their risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We tested the hypothesis that resistance exercise training (RET) improves HRV, baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and muscle strength in women with FM. ⋯ Upper and lower body muscle strength increased by 63% and 49% (P<0.001), and pain perception decreased by 39% in women with FM. There were no changes in BRS, HR and BP after RET. Our study demonstrates that RET improves total power, cardiac parasympathetic tone, pain perception and muscle strength in women with FM who had autonomic dysfunction before the exercise programme.