Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a new technique that might enable portable and non-invasive organ perfusion quantification at the bedside. However, it has not yet been tested in critically ill patients. We sought to establish CEUS's feasibility, safety, reproducibility and potential diagnostic value in the assessment of renal cortical perfusion in the peri-operative period in cardiac surgery patients. ⋯ CEUS appears feasible and well-tolerated in patients undergoing cardiac surgery even immediately after ICU admission. CEUS derived-parameters suggest a decrease in renal perfusion occurring within 24 hours of surgery.
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We hypothesized that mechanical ventilation per se increases abdominal edema and inflammation in sepsis and tested this in experimental endotoxemia. ⋯ Mechanical ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure increases abdominal edema and inflammation in intestine and liver in experimental endotoxemia by increasing systemic capillary leakage and impeding abdominal lymph drainage.