Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1993
Management of intra-abdominal organ injury following blunt abdominal trauma in children.
To evaluate the strategy of a combined diagnostic and therapeutic approach in children with intra-abdominal organ injury following blunt abdominal trauma. ⋯ The stepped diagnostic approach combined with initial non-surgical treatment by a team provided accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Abdominal US, by demonstrating free intra-abdominal fluid is very sensitive to detect patients with intra-abdominal organ injury, CT scan with contrast is needed to give precise information of specific organ lesions.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1993
Case ReportsA rare complication of the use of a finger cot to protect the cuff of a tracheal tube during nasotracheal intubation.
Some anesthetists in Switzerland and elsewhere use a finger cot to protect the cuff of the endotracheal tube during nasotracheal intubation. In the presented report the finger cut was lost during the procedure and the patient presented 3 months later with a lateral neck mass. The finger cot was found within that mass at exploration. Apart from the other potential risks of this manoeuvre, this severe complication should incite caution against the practice described above.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1993
Comparative StudyPerformance of a hydrophobic heat and moisture exchanger at different ambient temperatures.
To evaluate the effect of different room temperatures on hydrophobic heat and moisture exchangers (HME) humidifying capability and efficiency. ⋯ Hydrophobic HMEs appear to be affected by room temperature, increasing their humidifying ability and their efficiency with its rise.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1993
Use of heat and moisture exchanging (HME) filters in mechanically ventilated ICU patients: influence on airway flow-resistance.
To investigate the flow-resistance of a new generation of Heat Moisture Exchanging Filters (HME filters) during 24 h of clinical use. ⋯ The gas conditioning efficiency and design performance of the tested HMEs did not create a significant obstacle to airflow medium term mechanical ventilation; however, these devices should be cautiously used in patients with heavy bronchial secretions.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1993
Case ReportsMultiple organ failure and coma as initial presentation of pheochromocytoma in a patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type II A.
The unusual case of a 65-year-old woman with intermittent hypotension, fever, pulmonary edema and coma as initial presentation of pheochromocytoma is reported. The patient developed respiratory, cardiac and renal failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation and liver dysfunction. ⋯ After successful surgical removal of a pheochromocytoma a thyroid medullary carcinoma was detected. Several members of the patients family had presented with multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN II).