Articles: postoperative-complications.
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A diagnostic approach to pulmonary complications in the immunocompromised patient is outlined. The importance of early lung biopsy in selected patients is emphasized and the various techniques available are discussed. Successful early diagnosis and management of opportunistic infections ia a challenge for the clinician, bacteriologist and pathologist, and requires these close collaboration.
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Intensive care medicine · Dec 1977
Comparative StudyIntermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB) versus incentive spirometer (IS) therapy in the postoperative period.
The increase of the inflationary lung volume created by a respiratory maneuver is critical for preventing postoperative alveolar collapse. We measured this volume as achieved with IPPB or incentive spirometry (IS) in 20 postoperative surgical patients. ⋯ This difference is highly significant (p less than 0.0005 by the Wilcoxon test). We conclude that IPPB, by careful application, and with monitoring of tidal volumes, is likely to provide better prophylaxis of postoperative pulmonary complications, particularly in patients with compromised lung function and in an intensive care unit, where enough trained personel are available.