Medicina intensiva
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This aim of this review is to provide a detailed review of the physiologic conditions and variables of the cardiac output, as well as review the different techniques available for its measurement. We also want to establish the clinical situations in which the measurement of cardiac output can add valuable information for the management of critically ill patients. ⋯ Pulse wave analysis allows a continuous minimally invasive cardiac output measurement. Other methods, such bioreactance, Doppler technique or echocardiography currently provide a valid, fast and non-invasive measurement of cardiac output.
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Up to 60% of all children that receive to bone marrow transplantation (BMT) develop respiratory distress. It constitutes a common complication in this kind of patients, due to the increasing number of therapeutic applications of BMT and to improvement in the therapeutic approach to the problems associated with this procedure. We describe the different causes of respiratory distress after BMT in relation to its initiation or the presence of infection in its origin. The diagnosis and treatment are also reviewed.
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Respiratory distress is a common phenomenon in children with cancer. It is the most frequent cause of admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in this group of patients. ⋯ This review describes the most prevalent forms of respiratory distress in children with cancer without bone marrow transplantation. The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are commented.
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Electrical impedance tomography has been described as a new method of monitoring critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation. It has recently gained special interest because of its applicability for monitoring ventilation and pulmonary perfusion. ⋯ This review explains the physical concept of bioimpedance and its clinical application, and summarizes the scientific evidence published to date with regard to the implementation of electrical impedance tomography as a method for monitoring ventilation and perfusion, mainly in the patient with acute lung injury, and other possible applications of the technique in the critically ill patient. The review also summarizes the limitations of the technique and its potential areas of future development.