Articles: critical-illness.
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Critical care medicine · Dec 1991
Safety of bronchoalveolar lavage in the critically ill, mechanically ventilated patient.
To assess complications of bronchoalveolar lavage in the intubated, mechanically ventilated patient. ⋯ We conclude that bronchoalveolar lavage is a well-tolerated procedure in critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients, provided that risk factors for complications are corrected before the procedure and one adheres to procedural guidelines focused on patient safety. Clinically important complications are uncommon. Some patients exhibit deterioration in oxygen after bronchoalveolar lavage; this occurrence cannot be predicted before the procedure.
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Continuous noninvasive blood pressure measurement is of great potential use in the critically ill. This study was designed to find out whether measurements of blood pressure by a Finapres accurately represented intra-arterial pressure. ⋯ There was an unpredictable but usually stable difference between measurements from the two sources; this difference varied in magnitude and direction in individual patients. At present the Finapres cannot be recommended as a substitute for intra-arterial blood pressure measurement in the critically ill.
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The American surgeon · Dec 1991
The relationship between ARDS, pulmonary infiltration, fluid balance, and hemodynamics in critically ill surgical patients.
Hypervolemia from fluid overload with resultant pulmonary edema is thought to be a frequent cause of Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). However, ARDS may also occur as a result of the hypovolemic shock of surgery or trauma. To develop an appropriate rationale for fluid therapy in high-risk surgical patients, the relationship between fluid balance, hemodynamics, the onset of ARDS by physiologic criteria (shunt greater than or equal to 20%, and/or PaO2/FiO2 ratio less than 250) and the onset of pulmonary infiltration (PI) associated with ARDS were examined. ⋯ ARDS by physiologic criteria occurred in 29 of 50 (58%) patients; 27 of these 29 (94%) also developed +2 or greater PI. The mean onset times of ARDS and of +2 PI were 40 +/- 41 hours and 40 +/- 38 hours, respectively. The ARDS patients had a significantly smaller net positive fluid balance than the non-ARDS patients over the first 40 hours after admission (+6,831 ml +/- 4,909 ml vs 12,440 ml +/- 7,817 ml, (P less than 0.01)).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)