Current opinion in critical care
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Feb 2008
ReviewThe endothelium in acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Since pulmonary edema from increased endothelial permeability is the hallmark of acute lung injury, a frequently encountered entity in critical care medicine, the study of endothelial responses in this setting is crucial to the development of effective endothelial-targeted treatments. ⋯ Mechanistic studies have delivered several interventions, which are effective in preventing and treating experimental acute lung injury and have thus provided objectives for translational studies. Some of these modalities may evolve into clinically useful tools in the treatment of this devastating illness.
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Lymph flow will be discussed as part of the drainage and fluid balance of lung tissue and abdomen as well as a qualitative analysis of inflammatory processes. ⋯ Lymph flow measurements are still a difficult task to perform; however, new results show an important function in the fluid balance of the lung and abdomen. Inflammatory spread may occur from the lung to the periphery by the blood stream and from the abdomen to the lung by lymph flow.