J Trauma
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It is current clinical practice to give intravenous nutrition (IVN) to critically ill postoperative septic intensive care patients to prevent loss of body protein, although it has not hitherto been possible to confirm this by direct measurement of body composition. Using a neutron activation analysis facility adapted to provide an intensive care environment and tritiated water dilution we directly measured total body water, protein and fat before and after 10 days of IVN (mean daily non-protein energy and amino acid intakes 2,750 kcal and 127 gm) in eight adult intensive care patients. All patients had recovered from the septic shock syndrome but were still ventilator dependent at the start of IVN. ⋯ As a group, the patients lost 12.5% of body protein (mean loss 1.5 +/- SE 0.3 kg; p = 0.001) despite a gain in fat (mean 2.2 +/- 0.8 kg; p = 0.026). There were, in addition, large losses of body water in most patients (mean, 6.8 +/- 2.6 kg; p = 0.036). We conclude that substantial losses of body protein occur in critically ill septic patients despite aggressive nutritional support and that further research is urgently required on the fate of infused substrates and the efficacy of alternative nutritional therapies.
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Vascular complications resulting from drug abuse constitute a widespread and common clinical problem. A 3-year experience with 32 vascular complications (13 arterial, 19 venous) related to intravenous drug abuse is reported. ⋯ In addition, intra-arterial drug injection caused digital gangrene in two patients. Early recognition, diagnostic arteriography and venography, and planned therapeutic interventions are possible if a high level of suspicion is maintained.
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Post-traumatic pulmonary insufficiency or the adult respiratory distress syndrome is not infrequently associated with multiple organ-system injury. Mortality presently approaches 50%. Mechanical ventilation (CMV) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) remains the mainstay of therapy. ⋯ All patients on HFJV demonstrated improved CO2 elimination with the same hemodynamic profiles. Those on HFPG demonstrated comparable gas exchange and hemodynamic profiles with lower CPAP/PIP. Where measured, PAW was significantly lower with HFPG when compared with CMV.