American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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The purpose of the study was to describe the patterns of weaning from mechanical ventilation in young children recovering from acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. ⋯ Patterns of weaning are discernible in a population of young children and indicate a subset at risk for inconsistent weaning. Knowing the patterns of weaning may help clinicians anticipate, perhaps plot, and then modulate a patient's weaning trajectory.
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To examine the effect of abnormal cardiac index on the accuracy of measurement of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry. ⋯ In patients with abnormal cardiac index, the pulse oximeter measurements exceeded the actual oxygen saturation by up to 7%. Pending prospective studies, clinicians should be aware that when certain cardiopulmonary parameters are abnormal, the margin of error in measurements of oxygen saturation obtained with a pulse oximeter may be greater than when those parameters are normal.