BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the postoperative hemodynamic effects of nitroglycerin inhalation on patients with pulmonary hypertension undergoing mitral valve replacement surgery. METHODS Twenty patients who underwent mitral valve replacement surgery were included in the study. In the surgical intensive care unit, at T0 (before the inhalation of nitroglycerin), basal sy...

Eight patients with a diagnosis of atherosclerotic heart disease and a history of typical angina pectoris, uncomplicated by cardiac dilatation or heart failure, were studied by means of standardized, symptom-limited treadmill exercise test. Repeatability of such testing was determined during two control tests 1-1.5 hours apart. From two to six days later, the same patients performed two treadmi...

The effects of sodium nitroprusside alone and in combination with phenylephrine were studied at the time of cardiac catheterisation in 10 patients with normal left ventricular function. Nitroprusside was infused to reduce mean arterial pressure in 5 patients with the heart rate free (group 1) and in 5 with the heart rate fixed by atrial pacing (group 2). In group 1 nitroprusside increased heart...

Many snakes exhibit large increases in metabolic rate during digestion that place extensive demands on efficient oxygen transport. In the present study, we describe blood oxygen affinity following three weeks of fasting and 48 h after feeding in the Burmese python (Python molurus). We also report simultaneous measurements of arterial blood gases and haematological parameters. Arterial blood was...

Blood oxygen transport and tissue oxygenation were studied in 28 calves from the Belgian White and Blue breed (20 healthy and 8 hypoxaemic ones). Hypoxaemic calves were selected according to their high respiratory frequency and to their low partial oxygen pressure (PaO2) in the arterial blood. Venous and arterial blood samples were collected, and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, adenosine triphosphate, ...

Raising the hepatic venous pressure experimentally duplicates the type of hepatic congestion seen in many clinical situations including congestive heart failure. Venous pressure was controlled using a hepatic venous long circuit preparation and was raised by 6 cm blood (4.7 mm Hg) or 10 cm (7.8 mm Hg). Total splanchnic blood flow and oxygen uptake were reduced by these maneuvers but hepatic art...

OBJECTIVES To derive a relationship between the SpO2/FIO2 ratio and PaO2/FIO2 ratio across the entire range of SpO2 values (0-100%) and to evaluate whether mortality prediction using the Pediatric Index of Mortality-3 can be improved by the use of PaO2/FIO2 values derived from SpO2/FIO2. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. SETTING A regional PICU transport service...

• Vol 9 • December 2007 874 Impaired tissue oxygenation and cellular hypoxia are major components in the pathophysiology of a large variety of clinical conditions, including acute and chronic ischemia, wounds and tissue trauma, infections, physical and chemical injuries, as well as inflammatory joint and connective tissue diseases [1]. Tissue hypoxia triggers an inflammatory response. Mechanism...

BACKGROUND Most patients with sepsis develop potentially irreversible cerebral dysfunctions. It is yet not clear whether cerebral haemodynamics are altered in these sepsis patients at all, and to what extent. We hypothesized that cerebral haemodynamics and carbon dioxide reactivity would be impaired in patients with sepsis syndrome and pathological electroencephalogram patterns. METHODS After...

We studied the central hemodynamic, leg blood flow, and metabolic responses to maximal upright bicycle exercise in 30 patients with chronic heart failure attributable to severe left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction, 24+8%) and in 12 normal subjects. At peak exercise, patients demonstrated reduced oxygen consumption (15.1±+4.8 vs. 32.1±9.9 ml/kg/min, p <0.001), cardiac output (8.7±3.2 ...