Articles: respiratory-distress-syndrome.
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A new valveless ventilator, which uses an air jet to provide the driving force for positive pressure ventilation, was used on 13 newborn babies (10 of very low birthweight) who had severe respiratory disease. The ventilator differs from 'true' jet ventilators in that its driving gas does not take part in gas exchange. Functionally it is a pressure pre-set, time-cycled ventilator, whose performance is characterised by the rapid and precise maintenance of both inspiratory and expiratory airway opening pressure. ⋯ On the new ventilator, with the same settings, there was a dramatic and highly significant improvement within 20 to 30 minutes (mean values of arterial pCO2 were 6.45 kPa, pH 7.26, and inspired oxygen concentration 85.7%). This improvement was maintained. The new ventilator represents an important advance in the management of babies with severe respiratory failure.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1988
Extracorporeal CO2-removal with a heparin coated artificial lung.
Treatment of severe acute respiratory failure with extracorporeal gas exchange necessitating near complete systemic anticoagulation requires a delicate balance to be maintained between disseminated intravascular coagulation and hemorrhagic complications. The present study describes our first experience using a heparin coated extracorporeal artificial lung and circuitry during clinical extracorporeal CO2 removal. ⋯ Scanning electron microscopy of the heparin coated hollow fiber gas exchanger demonstrated only minor deposits on the surface. Use of a heparin coated artificial lung may enhance the margin of safety of extracorporeal gas exchange and ultimately broaden its indications.