Paralysis of the respiratory muscles in people with tetraplegia affects their ability to breathe and contributes to respiratory complications. Surface functional electrical stimulation (FES) of abdominal wall muscles can be used to increase tidal volume (V_{T}) and improve cough peak flow (CPF) in tetraplegic subjects who are able to breathe spontaneously. This study aims to evaluate the feasib...

BACKGROUND Bubble continuous positive airway pressure (BCPAP) has been used in neonates with respiratory distress for decades, but its lung-protective effect and underlying mechanism has not been investigated. OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that BCPAP use after extubation decreases lung injury and that alterations to lung nitric oxide synthase (NOS) 3 expression may be one of the underlyin...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between the rapid shallow breathing index and successful extubation in patients with traumatic brain injury. METHODS This study was a prospective study conducted in patients with traumatic brain injury of both genders who underwent mechanical ventilation for at least two days and who passed a spontaneous breathing trial. The minute volume and respirato...

CONTEXT: Today, through major technological advances in diagnostic resources within medicine, evaluation and monitoring of clinical parameters at the patient's bedside in intensive care units (ICUs) has become possible. CASE REPORT: This case report presents results and interpretations from predictive mechanical ventilation weaning indexes obtained through monitoring using chest electrical bi...

Objectives: Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) approach evaluates and activates the spinal stabilizers to optimize the performance of posture and respiratory system. This study investigated the effects of DNS breathing exercises on upper and lower chest wall mobility (UCM and LCM), trunk extensor endurance, and thoracic kyphosis in a group of sedentary students with poor posture. Method...

INTRODUCTION We hypothesized that mechanical ventilation per se increases abdominal edema and inflammation in sepsis and tested this in experimental endotoxemia. METHODS Thirty anesthetized piglets were allocated to one of five groups: healthy control pigs breathing spontaneously with continuous positive pressure of 5 cm H2O or mechanically ventilated with positive end-expiratory pressure of ...

BACKGROUND Cardioventilatory coupling is the triggering of inspiratory onset by preceding cardiac activity. We have observed two forms of coupling with a bimodal ('quantal') variation of respiratory period. METHODS We investigated the variables of inspiratory duration (TI), expiratory duration (TE), and tidal volume (VT) where respiratory period variation was bimodal. In 25 anaesthetized spon...

Sympathetic hyperactivity and parasympathetic withdrawal may cause and sustain hypertension. This autonomic imbalance is in turn related to a reduced or reset arterial baroreflex sensitivity and chemoreflex-induced hyperventilation. Slow breathing at 6 breaths/min increases baroreflex sensitivity and reduces sympathetic activity and chemoreflex activation, suggesting a potentially beneficial ef...

BACKGROUND Although evaluation of cardiac output by the partial carbon dioxide rebreathing technique is as accurate as thermodilution techniques under controlled mechanical ventilation, it is less accurate at low tidal volume. It is not clear whether reduced accuracy is due to low tidal volume or low minute ventilation. The effect of spontaneous breathing on the accuracy of partial carbon dioxi...