Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1993
Influence of constant sustained positive airway pressure on right ventricular performance.
The detrimental effect of positive airway pressure on right ventricular (RV) performance is controversial and the aim of this study was to determine the effects of constant positive airway pressure without ventilatory fluctuation on RV performance with the aid of a pulmonary arterial catheter equipped with a rapid response thermistor for measuring RV ejection fraction (RVEF) and RV end-diastolic volume index (RVEDVI). ⋯ In most patients, the changes in RVEF, SVI, and RVEDVI did not occur under constant positive airway pressure, therefore the changes reported in mechanically ventilated patients may not attributable to the extent of positive airway pressure but rather to abrupt increases in airway pressure. These appears, however, to be patients whose RV function is so disturbed that they cannot cope with increased afterloads.
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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
Histologic aspects of pulmonary barotrauma in critically ill patients with acute respiratory failure.
To describe histologically pulmonary barotrauma in mechanically ventilated patients with severe acute respiratory failure. ⋯ Underlying histologic lesions responsible for clinical lung barotrauma consist of pleural cysts, bronchiolar dilatation, alveolar overdistension and intraprenchymal pseudocysts. Mechanical ventilation appears to be an aggravating factor, particularly when high peak airway pressures and large tidal volumes are delivered by the ventilator.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1993
The effects of norepinephrine on hemodynamics and renal function in severe septic shock states.
To investigate the effect of norepinephrine (NE) on hemodynamics, oxygen metabolism and renal function in patients with severe septic shock. ⋯ Our results suggest that norepinephrine can be used safely in the treatment of severe septic shock states. Mean arterial pressure and glomerular filtration rate improved markedly without deleterious effects on CI, O2AVI and VO2I.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1993
Inspiratory pressure/maximal inspiratory pressure ratio: a predictive index of weaning outcome.
To compare the accuracy of PI/PImax ratio and other commonly used indices in predicting weaning outcome. ⋯ The PI/PImax ratio provided a good separation between the patients who were successfully weaned and those who failed. It provides additional discriminative power to f/VT.