Anales de pediatría : publicación oficial de la Asociación Española de Pediatría (A.E.P.)
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To report a 5-year experience of pediatric helicopter transport and describe its characteristics, the composition of the team, its indications and the advantages of air versus ground transport. ⋯ Helicopter transportation of critically-ill children by specialist teams of pediatricians and nurses shortens response time in isolated areas with poor transport. The lower number of accelerations and vibrations of the helicopter provides greater stability during transport, especially in trauma patients. Both transport models, air and ground, should be complementary.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
[Short course treatment for visceral leishmaniasis with liposomal amphotericin B in immunocompetent patients].
Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in southern Europe. Traditional treatment consists of pentavalent antimonial compounds. However, treatment failures, the treatment's long duration, and toxicity have led to the introduction of new therapies, such as liposomal amphotericin B (LAB). In this study we evaluate the safety and efficacy of LAB at a maximum dose of 4 mg/kg/day on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10. ⋯ A total dosage of 24 mg/kg of liposomal amphotericin B administered in 6 doses within 10 days is safe and effective for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis and reduces the length of hospital stay.
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Practice Guideline Guideline
[Techniques and complementary techniques. Complementary treatments: nitric oxide, prone positioning and surfactant].
The management of hypoxic respiratory failure is based on oxygen delivery and ventilatory support with lung-protective ventilation strategies. Better understanding of acute lung injury have led to new therapeutic approaches that can modify the outcome of these patients. These adjunctive oxygenation strategies include inhaled nitric oxide and surfactant delivery, and the use of prone positioning. ⋯ When applied early in ARDS, prone positioning improves distribution of ventilation and reduces the intrapulmonary shunt. The surfactant has dramatically decreased mortality caused by hyaline membrane disease in premature newborns, although the results have been less successful in ARDS. Greater experience is required to determine whether the combination of these treatments will improve the prognosis of these patients.
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Practice Guideline Guideline
[Techniques and complementary techniques. Intubation, sedation and adaptation to mechanical ventilation].
Endotracheal intubation consists on placing a tube in the trachea either through the mouth (orotracheal intubation) or through the nose (nasotracheal intubation). Although maintaining the airway patent and providing adequate ventilation are not synonymous with intubation, this procedure provides a closed ventilation system while ensuring patency and protecting the airway. Intubation is fairly safe in oxygenated and physiologically stable patients but it is not free from serious complication and consequently it should always be considered as a dangerous technique, especially in critically-ill patients. ⋯ For all these reasons and despite the often urgent nature of airway problems in children, the placement of an endotracheal tube must be approached in a deliberate and calm manner if trauma to the airway and patient instability are to be avoided. Thus, whenever circumstances permit, intubation should be carefully prepared with assessment of factors that might cause problems such as the indication for intubation, possible airway abnormalities, risk of aspiration, and hemodynamic, respiratory and neurological status. Such and evaluation allows the most appropriate intubation technique to be chosen.
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which was first described by Ashbaugh in 1967, consists of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (PaO2/FiO2< or =200) associated with bilateral infiltrates on the chest radiograph caused by noncardiac diffuse pulmonary edema. Although ARDS is of multiple etiology, pulmonary or extrapulmonary injury can produce systemic inflammatory response that perpetuates lung disturbances once the initial cause has been eliminated. ⋯ Other mechanical ventilation strategies such as high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, which is also based on alveolar recruitment and adequate lung volume, can be useful alternatives. In this review, the level of evidence for other therapies, such as prone positioning, nitric oxide and prostacyclin inhalation, exogenous surfactant, and extracorporeal vital support techniques are also analyzed.