Chest
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Clinical Trial
Early sepsis treatment with immunoglobulins after cardiac surgery in score-identified high-risk patients.
In patients at risk for sepsis after cardiac surgery, the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (Ig) treatment was compared with a historical control population, equivalent in patient characteristics and disease severity. Using APACHE II scores, especially in the high-risk group (IgG), we could discriminate between low-risk patients (score < 19; mortality 1 percent) and the small groups at risk (score 19 to 23) and high risk (score > or = 24) with a significantly higher mortality (14 percent and 76 percent, respectively) [corrected]. ⋯ In this group, Ig therapy produced higher (p < 0.05) response rates (score decrease 7 within 4 days: IgG: 54 percent, IgGMA: 62 percent; controls: 19 percent) and reduced mortality (IgG: 46 percent, IgGMA: 46 percent; controls: 76 percent), statistically significant (p < 0.05) for Ig treatment overall. Thus, early Ig treatment improves disease severity and may improve prognosis in prospectively score-identified high-risk postcardiac surgical patients.
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Prior studies have shown that nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) can improve arterial blood gas values, prevent symptoms resulting from alveolar hypoventilation, and decrease hospitalization in patients with chronic respiratory failure. Most studies have involved small samples of patients followed up for a limited time. This study reviews our experience during 5 years use of NIPPV in 276 patients with kyphoscoliosis, posttuberculosis sequelae, Duchenne-type muscular dystrophy, COPD, and bronchiectasis followed up for > or = 3 years while receiving NIPPV. ⋯ Benefit was also more short term for patients with COPD and bronchiectasis. NIPPV can sustain improvement in gas exchange, while reducing hospitalization for substantial periods of time. NIPPV can be an attractive and effective alternative to other methods of assisted ventilation such as TIPPV.
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We tested the hypothesis that maximal exercise performance in subjects with interstitial lung disease (ILD) is limited by respiratory factors. Assuming this is so, ventilatory stimulation by added dead space (VD) should impair exercise capacity. ⋯ The decrease observed in TLIM, work rate, and peak VO2 with added VD, associated with a lack of change in VI or oxygen desaturation at end-exercise, suggests that exercise limitation in ILD is primarily due to respiratory factors.
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Case Reports
Management of acute respiratory failure due to pulmonary edema with nasal positive pressure support.
The management of patients with respiratory failure from cardiogenic pulmonary edema may require intubation and mechanical ventilation. This provides both ventilatory assistance as well as the beneficial hemodynamic effects of positive intrathoracic pressure. As the need for ventilation is usually short term, noninvasive ventilatory support may be adequate. We report the use of biphasic positive airway pressure by nasal mask (BiPAP system) to successfully manage two patients with respiratory failure due to pulmonary edema.
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The scimitar sign is characteristic of partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage into the inferior vena cava (IVC). We encountered two variant cases of scimitar sign. ⋯ Retrograde balloon occlusion angiography of the scimitar vein was diagnostic. In the other case, the scimitar vein showed a meandering course, and then drained into the LA without any connection with the IVC, and surgical intervention was not required.