Minerva anestesiologica
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2013
Evaluation of acid-base status in brain dead donors and the impact of metabolic acidosis on organ retrieval.
Background: Pathophysiologic changes after brain death can lead to acid-base disturbances. The primary aim of this study was to clarify the acid-base state and its source in brain dead donors using Stewart's approach. Additionally, we investigated whether the presence of metabolic acidosis affected the number of organs retrieved from donors. ⋯ Although more organs were retrieved from the donors without metabolic acidosis than those with metabolic acidosis (P=0.012), serum albumin level (P=0.010) and donor age (P<0.001), rather than metabolic acid-base disturbances, significantly correlated with the number of organs retrieved in multivariate regression analysis. Conclusion: Most brain dead donors exhibited metabolic acid-base disturbances. However, rather than metabolic acidosis, serum albumin level and donor age were well correlated with the number of organs retrieved.
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyPolyurethane does not protect better than polyvinyl cuffed tracheal tubes from microaspirations.
Mechanically ventilated patients are prone to develop ventilator associated pneumonia due to microaspirations of subglottic secretions around the endotracheal tube cuff (usually constructed of polyvinyl material). A novel polyurethane cuff has been designed to minimize these leakages. The aim of the study was to compare the tracheal sealing capacities between the two tubes. ⋯ These preliminary results suggest that both tubes are poorly effective in preventing microaspirations.