Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Comment
Capnography during cardiac resuscitation: a clue on mechanisms and a guide to interventions.
Measurement of the end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PETCO2) during cardiac arrest has been shown to reflect the blood flow being generated by external means and to prognosticate outcome. In the present issue of Critical Care, Grmec and colleagues compared the initial and subsequent PETCO2 in patients who had cardiac arrest precipitated by either asphyxia or ventricular arrhythmia. ⋯ Yet, after 1 min of closed-chest resuscitation, both groups had essentially the same PETCO2, with higher levels in patients who eventually regained spontaneous circulation. The Grmec and colleagues' study serves to remind us that capnography can be used during cardiac resuscitation to assess the mechanism of arrest and to help optimize the forward blood flow generated by external means.
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Review
Bench-to-bedside review: microvascular and airspace linkage in ventilator-induced lung injury.
Experimental and clinical evidence point strongly toward the potential for microvascular stresses to influence the severity and expression of ventilator associated lung injury. Intense microvascular stresses not only influence edema but predispose to structural failure of the gas-blood barrier, possibly with adverse consequences for the lung and for extrapulmonary organs. Taking measures to lower vascular stress may offer a logical, but as yet unproven, extension of a lung-protective strategy for life support in ARDS.