Der Anaesthesist
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Pulmonary failure is almost always present in the early or late phase of multiple organ failure (MOF). Acute lung failure (ALF) is a uniquely constant response to direct or indirect insults to the lung. Increased pulmonary microvascular permeability (PMVP) is associated with the onset of lung permeability edema, the hallmark of ALF. ⋯ Direct injury seems to be the dominant mechanism for early manifestation (less than 72 h) of posttraumatic ALF. The thoracic trauma seems to damage the pulmonary endothelium directly, thus increasing PMVP in a circumscribed region. An overwhelming inflammatory response may cause the later increase in PMVP in the primarily healthy lung areas.
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Small-volume resuscitation with hypertonic saline in combination with dextran appears to be very successful in experimental animals, where better results are achieved than in animals treated with a traditional infusion regime. This effect is apparently related to improved organ blood flow due to reflex vasodilatation. This reflex is based on the arrival of hypertonic solution in the pulmonary circulation. ⋯ CONCLUSION. We found that hypertonic NaCl (7.5%) with HH was well tolerated. Release of ANP and cGMP after HH infusion in healthy volunteers was not as high as expected, and the vasodilatory effect of hypertonic solutions was not explained by ANP or cGMP release in this investigation.
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In patients with multiple injuries, the development of permeability edema can be assumed. However, no uniform shape of this fluid accumulation can be found even in the presence of severe injuries. Based on the first clinical observations, our aim was to search for correlations between the development of extravascular lung water (EVLW) and the individual injury pattern in severely traumatized ICU patients. ⋯ Increase of EVLW at a later time (day 7), as observed in groups B and C, is possibly the expression of a mediator and activator-induced "septiformal" injury of the microvascular endothelium. This may be caused by the underlying massive peripheral soft-tissue trauma. Specific elevations of EVLW subsequent to the individual injury pattern can indicate that that process has begun and is responsible for the origin of the microvascular injuries.
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We investigated the impact of norepinephrine administration on hemodynamics, oxygen metabolism and renal function in patients in severe septic shock. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Twenty-six patients with extremely low resistance who were between 24 and 87 years of age were included in the study. ⋯ When patients are in a septic high output-low resistance condition, particular attention must be paid to maintaining sufficient mean arterial pressures. Our results suggest that this essential goal can be achieved by norepinephrine. The mean arterial pressure and glomerular filtration rate improved markedly, and there was no evidence of bad effects such as an increased afterload on critical parameters like cardiac index, O2-delivery and O2-consumption.