Pediatr Crit Care Me
-
Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2008
A prospective review of adverse events during interhospital transfers of neonates by a dedicated neonatal transfer service.
To categorize and quantify adverse events occurring during emergency interhospital transfers performed by a specialized neonatal retrieval team and to assign levels of associated risk. ⋯ Adverse events commonly occur during neonatal transfers, even if performed by a dedicated transfer service. Early identification of potentially harmful episodes is important. Human error is likely to be a factor in the majority of adverse events; hence, opportunities should be taken to reduce the number of these through education, training, and risk management.
-
Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2008
Comparative StudyTadalafil improves oxygenation in a model of newborn pulmonary hypertension.
Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, significantly improves oxygenation when used in animal models and patients with pulmonary hypertension. Tadalafil is a new and clinically available phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor that, aside from causing pulmonary vasodilation, has been shown to increase cardiac output in pulmonary hypertensive adults. Its hemodynamic effects on the newborn, however, have not been tested. The objective was to evaluate the effect of tadalafil on central hemodynamics and arterial oxygenation in a piglet model of acute pulmonary hypertension. ⋯ In a newborn animal model of acute pulmonary hypertension, oral tadalafil administration reduces pulmonary vascular resistance and increases arterial oxygenation by increasing cardiac output and reducing the lung shunt fraction. This previously untested compound deserves additional investigation in laboratory models of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.
-
Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2008
Validation of transpulmonary thermodilution cardiac output measurement in a pediatric animal model.
This study was undertaken to validate the transpulmonary thermodilution cardiac output measurement (CO(TPTD)) in a controlled newborn animal model under various hemodynamic conditions with special emphasis on low cardiac output. ⋯ The transpulmonary thermodilution technique is a reliable method of measuring cardiac output in newborn animals. It is also capable of tracking changes in cardiac output.
-
Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2008
Editorial CommentTo be or not to be--a biomarker of brain damage in sepsis.