Journal of clinical monitoring and computing
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J Clin Monit Comput · Dec 1999
Inhaled nitric oxide fraction is influenced by both the site and the mode of administration.
Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) can be delivered continuously or sequentially (= during inspiration) at different locations of the ventilation circuit. We have tested the influence of locations, modes of NO administration and the ratio of the inspiratory time over the respiratory cycle time (I/I + E ratio) on the accuracy of NO fractions, delivered by 2 devices: Opti-NO and Flowmeter. ⋯ For the continuous NO delivery, locations above the Y piece are mandatory. However, locations below the Y piece imposes a sequential system, which can also be used for the sites located above the Y piece.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Dec 1999
Comparative StudyA comparison of the Internet and the standard textbook in preparing for the professional anaesthetic examination.
The Internet is increasingly being recognised as a source of information in different fields, and medicine is no exception. We investigated the use of the Internet as an aid in preparing for the professional medical examinations. The Internet was compared to a standard textbook in answering a randomly selected past examination paper. ⋯ In contrast, the textbook provided adequate information in only 73.3% of the questions. The time required to search for information on the Internet was more than that required for a single textbook. (approximately 2 hours per question compared to 30 minutes per question respectively). However, with the rapid development of computer technology and the cyberspace, the Internet may prove to be a viable alternative or a good supplement to the standard textbook when trainee anaesthetists are preparing for their professional medical examinations.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Dec 1999
Clinical TrialValidation of the Natus CO-Stat End Tidal Breath Analyzer in children and adults.
The performance of a point-of-care, noninvasive end tidal breath carbon monoxide analyzer (CO-Stat End Tidal Breath Analyzer, Natus Medical Inc.) that also reports end tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) and respiratory rate (RR), was compared to established, marketed (predicate) devices in children (n = 39) and adults (n = 48) who are normal or at-risk of elevated CO excretion. ⋯ We conclude that in a clinical environment the Natus CO-Stat End Tidal Breath Analyzer performs at least as well as predicate devices for the measurements of ETCOc, ETCO2, and RR.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Dec 1999
Autoregulation in a simulator-based educational model of intracranial physiology.
To implement a realistic autoregulation mechanism to enhance an existing educational brain model that displays in real-time the cerebral metabolic rate (CMRO2), cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), intracranial pressure (ICP), and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP). ⋯ The autoregulated brain model, with incorporated CO2 responsivity and a variable oxygen extraction, automatically produces changes in CVR, CBF, CBV, and ICP consistent with literature reports, when run concurrently with a METI full-scale patient simulator (Medical Education Technologies, Inc., Sarasota, Florida). Once the model is enhanced to include herniation, vasospasm, and drug effects, its utility will be expanded beyond demonstrating only basic neuroanesthesia concepts.
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The Verbal Numerical Scale (VNS) for rating pain is bounded between 0 (= no pain) and 10 (= worst pain imaginable). We hypothesized that the limitations inherent to this boundary when rating extremely painful stimuli may be identified by integrating the VNS with an unbounded score such as magnitude estimation of relative change. ⋯ The combined use of VNS and magnitude estimation confirmed that the ceiling of the bounded pain scale may significantly limit a patient's ability to describe a new pain stimulus. VNSext may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.