Respiratory care
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Identifying Cancer Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure at High Risk for Intubation and Mechanical Ventilation.
We sought to identify risk factors for mechanical ventilation in patients with malignancies and acute respiratory failure (ARF). ⋯ In cancer patients with ARF, hypoxemia, extent of pulmonary infiltration on chest x-ray, or hemodynamic dysfunction are risk factors for invasive mechanical ventilation. Mortality was not significantly different between NIV failure and first-line intubation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effect of Drug Targeting Nebulization on Lung Deposition: A Randomized Crossover Scintigraphic Comparison Between Central and Peripheral Delivery.
Recent technological advances in nebulization permit researchers to target specific parts of the lungs by modifying delivery method. The aim of this study was to compare the central and peripheral targeted modalities of administration. ⋯ This study shows for the first time that choosing 2 different specific drug targeting nebulization modes does not influence the amount of drug delivered into the lung in healthy male subjects. Moreover, the modes do not modify the site of deposition under the conditions of our study.
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Hypercapnia and hypocapnia commonly complicate conditions that are present in critically ill patients. Both conditions have important physiologic effects that may impact the clinical management of these patients. For instance, hypercapnia results in bronchodilation and enhanced hypoxic vasoconstriction, leading to improved ventilation/perfusion matching. ⋯ Buffering hypercapnic acidosis should be considered only for a specific clinical indication (eg, hemodynamic instability). For clinicians choosing to buffer hypercapnic acidosis, tris-hydroxymethyl aminomethane is recommended over sodium bicarbonate, as it is more effective in correcting pH and is not associated with increased carbon dioxide production. Future studies should aim to address these areas of uncertainty to help guide clinicians in the therapeutic use and management of hypercapnia/hypocapnia in critically ill patients.
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Multicenter Study
Inhaled Corticosteroids Do Not Influence the Early Inflammatory Response and Clinical Presentation of Hospitalized Subjects With COPD Exacerbation.
Inhaled corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory medications that can down-regulate the immunologic response in patients with COPD; however, their role at onset of COPD exacerbation is still not understood. The aim of this study was to assess the early inflammatory response and clinical presentation of patients with COPD exacerbation mediated by inhaled corticosteroids. ⋯ Our study demonstrates a lack of inhaled corticosteroid influence in the early systemic inflammatory response to and clinical presentation of COPD exacerbation.
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Oxygen is essential for normal aerobic metabolism in mammals. Hypoxia is the presence of lower than normal oxygen content and pressure in the cell. Causes of hypoxia include hypoxemia (low blood oxygen content and pressure), impaired oxygen delivery, and impaired cellular oxygen uptake/utilization. ⋯ Clinical management of tissue hypoxia usually focuses on global hypoxemia and oxygen delivery. As we move into the future, the clinical focus needs to change to assessing and managing mission-critical regional hypoxia to avoid unnecessary and potential toxic global strategies. We also need to focus on understanding and better harnessing the body's own adaptive mechanisms to hypoxia.