Annales de l'anesthésiologie française
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A new automatic apparatus for the measurement of arterial pressure by a non-invasive technique was compared with direct intra-arterial measurement in 20 adult patients in a surgical intensive care unit. The apparatus works on the basis of the principle of oscillometry. Blood pressure is determined with a microprocessor by analysis of the amplitude of the oscillations produced by a cuff which is inflated then deflated automatically. ⋯ These results indicate a good degree of agreement for measurements of mean arterial pressure, clinically the most important, between the two methods used. Measurements of diastolic pressure and above all of diastolic pressure seemed to be less in agreement. This difference could be due to an error in determination of the automatic apparatus tested or to the peripheral site (radial artery) of the intra-arterial catheter used, itself falsifying the humeral arterial pressure.
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Biography Historical Article
[Centenary of the death of Charles Thomas Jackson (1805-1880)].
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Positive pressure at the end of expiration (PEEP) applied in spontaneous ventilation (CPAP) has the same ventilatory effects as in controlled ventilation without the harmful actions. Few studies have described the use of CPAP in severe isolated postoperative respiratory insufficiency. CPAP was applied in 16 patients free of chronic bronchopulmonary disease, aged between 22 and 82 years, and suffering after major thoracic and/or abdominal surgery from isolated acute respiratory insufficiency as defined by clinical, blood gas and rediological criteria. ⋯ Alveolar ventilation was assessed by capnography. Improvement was marked in six days : the PaO2/FIO2 ratio at nil PEEP fell from 129 +/- 3.2 to 3.73 +/- 6.5 (mean +/- SD), the score of interstitial and alveolar opacities from 25 to 4 and the atelectasis score from 10 to 1. These results show the efficacy of CPAP in the early treatment of isolated postoperative acute respiratory insufficiency.