Articles: function.
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To discuss the role of echocardiography for the hemodynamic evaluation of critically ill patients. ⋯ Echocardiography has now become an important tool for hemodynamic evaluation of the critically ill patient. Echocardiography should be performed in most patients with circulatory and respiratory failure.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A pilot study of cerebral tissue oxygenation and postoperative cognitive dysfunction among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting randomised to surgery with or without cardiopulmonary bypass.
Coronary artery bypass surgery, performed with or without cardiopulmonary bypass, is frequently followed by postoperative cognitive decline. Near-infrared spectroscopy is commonly used to assess cerebral tissue oxygenation, especially during cardiac surgery. Recent studies have suggested an association between cerebral desaturation and postoperative cognitive dysfunction. ⋯ Three months after surgery, 11 patients (39%) in the cardiopulmonary bypass group displayed cognitive dysfunction, compared with four (14%) in the non-cardiopulmonary bypass group (p = 0.03). The use of cardiopulmonary bypass was identified as an independent risk factor for the development of late cognitive dysfunction (OR 6.4 (95% CI 1.2-33.0) p = 0.027. In conclusion, although cerebral oxygen desaturation was rare in our population, postoperative cognitive decline was common in both groups, suggesting that factors other than hypoxic neuronal injury are responsible.
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Comparative Study
The right ventricle explains sex differences in survival in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Male sex is an independent predictor of worse survival in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This finding might be explained by more severe pulmonary vascular disease, worse right ventricular (RV) function, or different response to therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying cause of sex differences in survival in patients treated for PAH. ⋯ This study suggests that differences in RVEF response with initiation of medical therapy in idiopathic PAH explain a significant portion of the worse survival seen in men.
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Observational Study
Quality-adjusted Survival Following Treatment of Malignant Pleural Effusions with Indwelling Pleural Catheters.
Malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) are a frequent cause of dyspnea in patients with cancer. Although indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) have been used since 1997, there are no studies of quality-adjusted survival following IPC placement. ⋯ IPC placement has significant beneficial effects in selected patient populations. The determinants of quality-adjusted survival in patients with MPE are complex. Although dyspnea is one of them, receiving treatment after IPC placement is also important. Future research should use patient-centered outcomes in addition to time-to-event analysis.
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The ultimate purpose of fluid administration in states of hypovolemia is to correct cardiac output to improve microcirculatory perfusion and tissue oxygenation. Observation of the microcirculation using handheld microscopes gives insight into the nature of convective and diffusive defect in hypovolemia. The purpose of this article is to introduce a new platform for hemodynamic-targeted fluid therapy based on the correction of tissue and microcirculatory perfusion assumed to be at risk during hypovolemia. ⋯ We hypothesized that the optimal amount of fluid needed for correction of hypovolemia is defined by a physiologically based functional microcirculatory hemodynamic platform where convection and diffusion need to be optimized. Future clinical trials using handheld microscopes able to automatically evaluate the microcirculation at the bedside will show whether such a platform will indeed optimize fluid therapy.