Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · May 1986
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialEffectiveness of dextran 70 versus Ringer's acetate in traumatic shock and adult respiratory distress syndrome.
During a 3-yr period, 31 adult victims of severe traumatic shock were enrolled in a prospective randomized investigation of the relative effectiveness of dextran 70 vs. Ringer's acetate to treat shock and protect against trauma-induced adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Fourteen patients were given dextran 70 and Ringer's acetate to compensate for interstitial fluid loss, and whole blood as required; the remaining 17 patients received three to four times the total fluid volume of Ringer's acetate given in the former group, and whole blood as required. ⋯ It is concluded that in the severely traumatized patient, a fluid program based on dextran 70 is superior to Ringer's acetate alone. Furthermore, patients should continue on a fluid program containing dextran 70 to counteract unrecognized hypovolemia. Our results support the assumption that early aggressive shock treatment with dextran 70, followed by continued dextran administration in the post-trauma period might prevent complications such as ARDS.
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We retrospectively reviewed the results of 42 cardiopulmonary arrests occurring over 1 yr in the general ward of a pediatric hospital. These data were compared to those of a similar study done 10 yr previously in the same institution. Patients were divided into those having pure respiratory arrest and those who also had cardiac arrest. ⋯ During the more recent series, sepsis and upper airway problems produced fewer arrests. There was one neurologically damaged survivor in each study period. Our study confirms that the outcome of pediatric cardiac arrest is poor when arrest occurs in the hospital.
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Critical care medicine · May 1986
Case ReportsUse of ketamine in asthmatic children to treat respiratory failure refractory to conventional therapy.
We treated two pediatric patients suffering respiratory failure associated with status asthmaticus. Neither patient responded to maximal bronchodilatory therapy and mechanical ventilation; however, continuous infusion of ketamine (1.0 to 2.5 mg/kg X h) immediately improved airway obstruction. ⋯ Except for increased secretions during the infusion, our patients showed no immediate or long-term sequelae from ketamine therapy. However, ketamine should only be used for asthmatics whose respiratory failure does not respond to conventional management and mechanical ventilation.
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Critical care medicine · May 1986
Respiratory failure in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.
Seven patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia were studied to define the pathophysiology of their respiratory failure. The patients had fever, cough, dyspnea, hypoxemia, and diffuse infiltrates on chest x-ray. Biopsies revealed a spectrum of alveolar filling, interstitial edema and infiltration, and fibrosis. ⋯ There was no correlation between the effect of PEEP on compliance and its effect on shunt. The data suggest that in patients with AIDS and P. carinii pneumonia, PEEP can decrease shunt by reducing the anatomic shunt, improving V/Q imbalance, and converting areas of anatomic shunt to areas of low V/Q. P. carinii pneumonia in patients with AIDS can produce a clinical and pathophysiologic pattern similar to that described in the adult respiratory distress syndrome.
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Critical care medicine · May 1986
Outcome of children who are apneic and pulseless in the emergency room.
Mortality and neurologic morbidity were evaluated in children who were successfully resuscitated after being brought to an emergency room with continued apnea and pulselessness. Of 34 patients studied from June 1981 through August 1984, 27 died during the initial hospitalization and seven (21%) survived until hospital discharge. Of the seven surviving children who were discharged to a chronic care facility, five remain in a vegetative state. Possible explanations for this high mortality and neurologic morbidity are discussed.