Clinical science
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Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a disease of pregnancy associated with peripheral oedema and hypovolaemia, but few details are known about how women with PE handle a volume load of crystalloid fluid compared with healthy pregnant women. To study this issue, Ringer's acetate solution (12.5 ml/kg of body weight) was given by intravenous infusion over 30 min to eight women with PE and to eight healthy pregnant women matched with respect to gestational week (mean, 34 weeks). ⋯ Less excess volume accumulated in the central body fluid space in the presence of PE, whereas the rates of distribution and elimination were higher during and for 15 min after the infusion. It is concluded that Ringer's acetate solution fluid is both distributed and eliminated faster in women with PE than in matched pregnant controls.
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In the present study, we assessed the use of urinary natriuretic peptides [N-terminal proatrial natriuretic peptide (N-ANP) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (N-BNP) and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP)] in the diagnosis of heart failure. Thirty-four consecutive hospitalized heart failure patients (median age, 75.5 years; 14 female) were compared with 82 age- and gender-matched echocardiographically normal controls. All subjects provided plasma and urine specimens. ⋯ A urine N-BNP level cut-off point of 11.6 fmol/ml had a sensitivity and specificity for heart failure detection of 97% and 78% respectively, with positive and negative predictive values of 64.7 and 98%. In conclusion, although all three natriuretic peptides were elevated in urine in heart failure, urinary N-BNP had diagnostic accuracy comparable with plasma N-BNP. Use of urinary N-BNP for heart failure diagnosis may be suitable for high-throughput screening, especially in subjects reluctant to provide blood samples.
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In the daily clinical routine at the bedside, information on effective pulmonary blood flow (PBF) is limited and requires invasive monitoring, including a pulmonary artery catheter, to determine both cardiac output and intrapulmonary shunt. Therefore we evaluated a non-invasive method for the measurement of PBF in a clinical setting, including 12 patients with acute respiratory failure (acute respiratory distress syndrome) undergoing prone positioning. PBF was determined before (baseline), during and after prone positioning, by using a foreign gas rebreathing method with a new photoacoustic gas analyser. ⋯ The accuracy of the measurements is comparable with the thermodilution method. It is able to reliably reflect changes in PBF induced by prone positioning. Moreover, measuring PBF might be a promising tool to identify responders to prone therapy.
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Autonomic nervous tests and heart rate variability (HRV) have been used to assess cardiac autonomic function and to evaluate long-term prognosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term reproducibility of HRV parameters and autonomic nervous tests according to body position (supine or standing). The study group consisted of 26 healthy subjects. ⋯ Among the HRV parameters, we found that total power (TP), low (LF)- and high (HF)-frequency were reproducible not only for measurements made within the same day, but also during short- and long-term observations, and only the LF/HF ratio was dependent on body position. We conclude that only a few autonomic nervous tests are reproducible in the short- and long-term. Because HRV parameters obtained during spontaneous respiration showed high reproducibility for measurements made within the same day as well as in the short- and long-term, they should be used instead of autonomic nervous tests when long-term observations are carried out in a healthy population.
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Comparative Study
Association between inflammatory mediators and the fibrinolysis system in infectious pleural effusions.
The response of the fibrinolytic system to inflammatory mediators in empyema and complicated parapneumonic pleural effusions is still uncertain. We prospectively analysed 100 patients with pleural effusion: 25 with empyema or complicated parapneumonic effusion, 22 with tuberculous effusion, 28 with malignant effusion and 25 with transudate effusion. Inflammatory mediators, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and polymorphonuclear elastase, were measured in serum and pleural fluid. ⋯ PAI concentrations correlated with TNF-alpha, IL-8 and polymorphonuclear elastase when all exudative effusions were analysed, but the association was not maintained in empyema and complicated parapneumonic effusions. A negative association found between t-PA and both IL-8 and polymorphonuclear elastase in exudative effusions was strongest in empyema and complicated parapneumonic effusions. Blockage of fibrin clearance in empyema and complicated parapneumonic effusions was associated with both enhanced levels of PAIs and decreased levels of t-PA.