Monaldi archives for chest disease = Archivio Monaldi per le malattie del torace / Fondazione clinica del lavoro, IRCCS [and] Istituto di clinica tisiologica e malattie apparato respiratorio, Università di Napoli, Secondo ateneo
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Monaldi Arch Chest Dis · Jun 2011
Chest physiotherapy and breathing exercises for cardiac surgery patients in Sweden--a national survey of practice.
Various chest physiotherapy techniques are recommended after cardiac surgery around the world. There is limited published data on what breathing exercises actually are recommended to patients after surgery in Europe. The aim of this national survey was to establish the current practice of chest physiotherapy and breathing exercises for adult patients following cardiac surgery in Sweden. ⋯ Breathing exercises are regularly prescribed during the initial post-operative days after cardiac surgery in Sweden. Hourly deep breathing exercises performed with or without a PEP device were reported to be first choice treatments during the hospital stay. Instructions concerning how long patients should continue the exercises after discharge varied notably.
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Monaldi Arch Chest Dis · Jun 2011
Review Case ReportsSea drowning: a case report and review of the literature.
400,000 incidents of sea drowning take place every year. We report the case of a woman, 34 years old, attended on the beach by external hospital emergency services after suffering immersion in seawater resulting in drowning due to acute respiratory failure. ⋯ The respiratory function improved and FiO2 requirements were gradually reduced following the procedure. After 8 days of mechanical ventilation the patient was extubated, with good clinical tolerance and was transferred to a ward.
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Monaldi Arch Chest Dis · Jun 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialN-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduces post-operative atrial fibrillation incidence in patients undergoing "on-pump" coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative and postoperative therapy with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in reducing the incidence of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. ⋯ N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids administration significantly reduces the incidence of post-operative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing "on-pump" coronary artery bypass graft surgery. N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids therapy is not associated with a shorter hospital stay.
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Monaldi Arch Chest Dis · Dec 2010
Case ReportsInfluenza A triggered status asthmaticus requiring emergency ECMO.
We describe a case of acute respiratory failure due to severe pneumonia triggered by the influenza A virus, rapidly evolving into a refractory status asthmaticus requiring emergent ECMO assistance, in order to facilitate the clinical management of patients suffering from this rare but life-threatening condition. This case report demonstrates that infection with influenza A virus can present with severe pneumonia and status asthmaticus refractory to medical and ventilatory treatment. When medical treatment and mechanical ventilation fail, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy should not be delayed as it will avoid injury resulting from inadequate mechanical ventilation and lung hyperinflation.
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Monaldi Arch Chest Dis · Dec 2010
Comparative StudyAcute myocardial infarction in non-cardiac critically ill patients: a clinical-pathological study.
In patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for non cardiac disease, the diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes can be challenging. The aim of the study was to define the rate of discrepancies concerning the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction and to evaluate the presence of risk factors that could be helpful in identifying patients at higher risk of missed diagnosis. ⋯ Our experience strengthens the role of post-mortem examination as a source of feed-back of the overall diagnostic and therapeutic approach especially in septic patients, where the diagnostic error is more frequent.