Pediatric research
-
Comparative Study
Evaporative cooling as an adjunct to ice bag use after resuscitation from heat-induced arrest in a primate model.
Heat stroke and other hyperthermia-related crises are serious clinical problems in childhood and adolescence. Rapid cooling is required to reduce morbidity and mortality. A variety of effective cooling methods exist, and some may interfere with monitoring and resuscitation or are not readily available. ⋯ After cardiac arrest and during and after CPR, rectal temperature had declined from a lethal level of 42.2 degrees C to a safe level of 38.5 degrees C within 45 +/- 6 (38-53) min in group I, and within 28 +/- 4 (23-32) min in group II (p less than 0.05). Epidural and esophageal temperatures declined more rapidly than rectal temperature. For critical hyperthermia, we recommend immediate application of ice bags, cold water wetting (sponging), fanning, and head cooling combined when invasive blood cooling (the most effective method) is not immediately available.
-
To assess the effect of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) on left ventricular output (LVO) we studied stroke volume (SV), LVO, and heart rate (HR) in 21 very low birth wt preterm neonates with clinically symptomatic PDA before and after surgical ligation. Six additional infants were also studied before PDA with left-to-right shunt was detectable by the pulsed Doppler technique. Gestational age (median and range) was 28 (24-32) wk. ⋯ HR did not change after ductal closure. In the six infants with three examinations, LVO and SV were normal before detectable ductal left-to-right shunt and after ligation, but LVO was increased by 59.5 +/- 23% (mean +/- SD) (p less than 0.05), and SV by 60 +/- 32% (p less than 0.05) during symptomatic PDA. In conclusion, preterm neonates with RDS, requiring mechanical ventilation, increased LVO during symptomatic PDA by increasing their SV, and not by changing their HR.