Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Aug 2001
Nosocomial infections during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
To examine trends in nosocomial infection associated with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). ⋯ The incidence of infection in ECMO patients at our institution has not increased significantly since our previous study. Cardiac patients have increased risk for nosocomial infection while on ECMO, which may be in part due to longer cannulation times, as well as increased likelihood of undergoing major procedures or having an open chest.
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Intensive care medicine · Aug 2001
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialTotal extracorporeal arteriovenous carbon dioxide removal in acute respiratory failure: a phase I clinical study.
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of pumpless extracorporeal arteriovenous carbon dioxide removal (AVCO2R) in subjects with acute respiratory failure and hypercapnia. ⋯ Pumpless extracorporeal AVCO2R is capable of providing complete extracorporeal removal of carbon dioxide during acute respiratory failure, while maintaining mild to moderate hypercapnia. Applied in conjunction with mechanical ventilation and permissive hypercapnia, AVCO2R resulted in normalization of arterial PCO2 and pH and permitted significant reductions in the level of mechanical ventilation.
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Intensive care medicine · Aug 2001
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyTreatment of acute methanol poisoning with fomepizole.
To assess the efficacy and safety of fomepizole, a competitive alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor, in methanol poisoning and to test the hypothesis that fomepizole obviates the need for hemodialysis in selected patients. ⋯ Fomepizole appears safe and effective in the treatment of methanol-poisoned patients. If our results are confirmed in prospective analyses, hemodialysis may prove unnecessary in patients presenting without visual impairment or severe acidosis.
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Intensive care medicine · Aug 2001
Critical illness polyneuropathy: risk factors and clinical consequences. A cohort study in septic patients.
To determine risk factors and clinical consequences of critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) evaluated by the impact on duration of mechanical ventilation, length of stay and mortality. ⋯ CIP is associated with increased duration of mechanical ventilation and in-hospital mortality. Hyperosmolality, parenteral nutrition, non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockers and neurologic failure can favor CIP development.
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Intensive care medicine · Aug 2001
Non-invasive radiation-free monitoring of regional lung ventilation in critically ill infants.
Established techniques used to examine lung function in critically ill infants cannot continuously follow regional aspects of lung ventilation although this information would be beneficial for proper therapy planning. We have studied the applicability and clinical relevance of a relatively new non-invasive radiation-free imaging method, electrical impedance tomography (EIT), in monitoring regional lung function in paediatric intensive care patients. ⋯ Provided that EIT hardware and software are further developed to guarantee stable and undisturbed measurements in the ICU and that practical handling is improved, this non-invasive method may become a useful bedside monitoring tool of regional lung ventilation in critically ill infants.