Articles: cations.
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Spinal endoscopy with epidural adhesiolysis is an interventional pain management technique which emerged during the 1990s. It is an invasive but important treatment modality in managing chronic low back pain that is nonresponsive to other modalities of treatment, including percutaneous spring guided adhesiolysis and transforaminal epidural injections. ⋯ Percutaneous endoscopic lysis of epidural scar tissue has been shown to be cost effective and a safe modality. This review discusses various aspects of endoscopic adhesiolysis, including clinical effectiveness, complications, rationale, and indications.
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Biochemical mechanisms to explain pain generation began relatively recently. Evaluating pain originating from the spine can be challenging because no historical or physical examination findings are sufficiently sensitive or specific for identifying each of the myriad of potential pain generators. These discrete anatomic structures include the nerve root, disc annulus, posterior longitudinal ligament, sacroiliac joint, and facet joint. ⋯ However, this test may not be necessary in the patient when the specific radiculopathy level diagnosis is apparent; this is the case when a characteristic history and physical examination have a corroborative single-level imaging lesion. Determining which level is generating symptoms has implications for subsequent physical therapy, therapeutic injections, and surgery. This review of selective nerve root blocks describes the relevant anatomy, pathophysiology, rationale, clinical utility, and complications.
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Early reports of late outcomes among survivors of ARDS indicated that most patients improved dramatically after their intensive care unit stay, and few lived with residua of their once-severe pulmonary injury. Over the last decade, a collection of new studies with improved methodology and novel questions has improved our understanding of life after ARDS. After reviewing these newer investigations in the context of previously published literature, we have drawn several preliminary conclusions: (1) Long-term survival after hospital discharge is unaffected by ARDS, but is strongly affected by ARDS risk factor and comorbidities. (2) Respiratory symptoms after ARDS are more prevalent than previously indicated, but improve over the first 12 months of recovery. (3) Pulmonary function testing reveals marked impairment soon after ARDS. ⋯ A small group of patients have severe impairment without improvement. (4) Quality of life, functional independence, and cognitive function are severely affected by ARDS, with dramatic improvement over the first year. Quality of life is lower than in matched critically ill controls. (5) Significant numbers of ARDS survivors suffer from posttraumatic stress syndrome. This is an exciting time for research in long-term outcomes of ARDS, with potential for future studies that validate these single-center hypotheses, explore their ramifications, and investigate the impacts of changing practices in the intensive care unit in the acute phase of ARDS.
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La ventilation non invasive est probablement un des progrès majeurs des dix dernières années dans le traitement de l'insuffisance respiratoire aiguë aux soins intensifs. Son efficacité a été démontrée dans plusieurs indications. ⋯ Comme il demeure toujours possible d'intuber le patient en cas d'échec, la VNI peut être tentée dans plusieurs situations cliniques. Finalement, les succès de la VNI dépendent de l'intérêt et de l'expérience de l'équipe soignante.
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Anion gap (AG) is a calculated value commonly used in clinical practice. It approximates the difference between the concentration of unmeasured anions (UA) and unmeasured cations (UC) in serum. At present, the reference range of anion gap has been lowered from 8-16 to 3-11 mmol/l because of the changes in technique for measuring electrolyte. ⋯ If one finds high incidence of increased anion gap (>24 mmol/l) or decreased anion gap (<2 mmol/l), one should check the quality control of electrolyte and whether the patients were hypoalbuminemia or hyperglobulinemia. An anion gap exceeding 24 mmol/l will suggest the presence of metabolic acidosis. It is very rare to find anion gap with the negative sign.