Articles: sepsis.
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Critical care clinics · Oct 1986
ReviewThe cardiopulmonary effects of sepsis on the trauma patient.
The cardiopulmonary effects of acute infection are inflammation-induced. Inflammatory mediators can both initiate and perpetuate the characteristic hyperdynamic, hypermetabolic state.
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Comparative Study
Selective elevation of systemic blood pressure by epinephrine during sepsis-induced pulmonary hypertension in piglets.
In a piglet model of group B beta Streptococci (GBS)-induced pulmonary hypertension, we have determined hemodynamic responses to epinephrine (EPI) infusion in both the systemic and pulmonary circulations. Three groups of piglets (GBS + EPI, n = 6; GBS + placebo, n = 6; placebo, n = 6) were studied. GBS, infused intravenously at approximately 5 X 10(7) organisms/kg/min, reduced cardiac index and stroke volume index while elevating pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance index. ⋯ Systemic acid/base status and PaO2 did not differ among piglets who received GBS + EPI, GBS alone, or placebo. Extrapolation of these data to human infants must be approached with extreme caution. However, selective elevation of systemic blood pressure may be a feasible strategy for some infants to impede right-to-left shunting of blood often associated with sepsis-induced pulmonary hypertension.
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Case Reports
Angioneurotic edema, agranulocytosis, and fatal septicemia following captopril therapy.
Captopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor used in the treatment of hypertension, has been associated with hematologic as well as dermatologic side effects. Two patients with captopril-induced angioneurotic edema, one of whom had fatal granulocytopenia and overwhelming polymicrobial sepsis, are presented.
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Med. Clin. North Am. · Jul 1986
ReviewClinical indicators in sepsis and septic adult respiratory distress syndrome.
Sepsis and septic ARDS remain clinical problems of great significance because of the numbers of patients affected each year and the high mortality associated with development of the syndrome. The standard therapies for these conditions, judicious antibiotic administration and supportive care, continue to be the mainstays of treatment for these patients, but mortality even with optimal conventional therapy is between 50% and 90% for septic ARDS. ⋯ Two therapies that are used extensively in the intensive care unit today--corticosteroid administration and PEEP--have not been shown to reduce the overall mortality of sepsis or septic ARDS. Newer therapeutic modalities, designed to protect against or reverse cardiovascular consequences of sepsis, reduce the incidence of multiorgan system failure, and diminish the high incidence of uncontrolled infections in these patients, are needed; investigations of these interventions are in progress.