Swiss medical weekly
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Despite more than 25 years of extensive research, the mortality of ARDS patients remains high. The inflammatory process within the lung and the associated gas exchange disturbances require an aggressive ventilatory regimen, which itself may harm the lung. Therapeutic measures which are used to reduce iatrogenic damage to the lung are pressure controlled mechanical ventilation in combination with PEEP and permissive hypercapnia, dehydration and extracorporeal gas exchange. ⋯ In ARDS, inhalation of NO may cause a predominantly selective vasodilation in blood vessels of ventilated lung regions, resulting in an increase in PaO2 and a decrease in pulmonary artery pressure. The effect of NO on the pulmonary vasculature also induces a reduction in right ventricular afterload and also in pulmonary capillary pressure, which may lead to a faster resolution of pulmonary edema. However, in spite of the promising results of these new strategies, further studies are needed to evaluate their influence on morbidity and mortality.
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The main goal of intensive care of potential organ donors includes the maintenance of the organs' function with respect to their integrity after transplantation. Profound disturbances of cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrinological function may lead to early organ loss. Therefore, comprehensive therapy is required from the onset of brain death. The major dysfunctions and therapeutic goals in organ donors are summarized on the basis of current literature and our own findings.
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Swiss medical weekly · Jun 1997
[Detection of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV 8) in Kaposi sarcomas of the gastrointestinal tract].
Involvement of Kaposi's sarcoma in the gastrointestinal tract is common in AIDS patients. The disease is, however, usually asymptomatic and, due to the tumor growth primarily in the submucosa, biopsy diagnosis is possible in under 25%. The recently described human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) is closely associated with all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma. ⋯ No HHV8 DNA was present in 15 tissue samples of AIDS patients without Kaposi's sarcoma. Our data show that detection of HHV8 DNA using a nested PCR assay is a highly sensitive and specific diagnostic test for Kaposi's sarcoma in autopsy tissue samples from the gastrointestinal tract. It should therefore be possible to use detection of HHV8 DNA in biopsy material as an assay for the diagnosis of Kaposi's sarcoma.