Respiratory care
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Patients who develop ARDS from medical or traumatic causes typically present after the inciting event has already occurred. Postoperative ARDS is unique in that the inciting insult potentially responsible for ARDS is known ahead of time, which provides an opportunity to study the early pathophysiology of ARDS. The objective of this study was to better understand the early pathophysiology of postoperative ARDS through a temporal analysis of key biomarkers of interest. ⋯ Our study supported the hypothesis that dysregulated coagulation, inflammation, and epithelial injury are pathophysiologic features of early postoperative ARDS. Interleukin-8, plasminogen activator-1, and surfactant protein-D may help predict development of postoperative ARDS.
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The aim of this work was to determine the effect of fill volume and humidification change on aerosol delivery during single-limb noninvasive ventilation (NIV). ⋯ Increasing the fill volume of a jet nebulizer is essential to increase the amount of inhaled medication reaching a subject. In contrast, there is no need to increase fill volumes when using a vibrating mesh nebulizer. There is no need to switch off the humidifier while delivering aerosol through a single-limb NIV circuit.