Background: Traditional approaches to mechanical ventilation use tidal volumes of 10–15 ml/kg body weight and may cause stretch-induced lung injury in patients with acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome. We therefore conducted a trial to determine whether ventilation with lower tidal volumes would improve the clinical outcomes in these patients. Methods: Patients with ac...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to determine how tidal volumes may affect the lung and haemodynamics during mechanical ventilation. MATERIALS AND METHODS With the approval of the Ethics Committee, the study included a total of 24 healthy piglets, average weight 30 kg (range 28-33 kg). The animals were ventilated for 90 minutes under general anaesthesia with two different tidal volume stra...

BACKGROUND A study was performed to determine the elastic equilibrium volume (Vr) of the respiratory system in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS Voluntary relaxed expiration from total lung capacity (TLC) was studied in three groups of subjects: seven patients with severe chronic airways obstruction (COPD), 10 normal subjects, and 15 subjects with restrictive...

BACKGROUND Based on the association between the neutrophil and ventilator-induced lung injury, the authors hypothesized that neutrophil inhibition with fucoidin would be beneficial and stimulation with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) would be harmful in a rat model of lethal ventilator-induced lung injury. METHODS Animals (n = 111) were randomly assigned to be pretreated with fu...

The aims were to examine the gas exchange and arterial blood gas abnormalities among patients with scoliosis, and the correlation of these abnormalities with age and severity of deformity. Means among 51 patients were as follows: age 25.4 +/- 17.5 yr, angle of scoliosis 80.2 +/- 29.9 (SD), vital capacity 1.94 +/- 0.91 (SD) (i.e. 60.6 +/- 19.2% of predicted), PaO2 85.8 +/- 12.0 (SD), PaCO2 42.4 ...

1. Atropine is known to diminish bronchomotor tone. In order to investigate the acute effect of atropine on respiration and alveolar gas mixing, a dose of 2.4 mg was given intravenously. 2. Ten normal male volunteers were each studied three times with a nitrogen washout method, once before administration of atropine and then 20 min and 60 min thereafter. 3. After the administration of atropine ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate how different ways of handling the neonatal self-inflating bag influences peak pressure and tidal volume. METHODS This is an experimental study involving 141 different professionals (physicians, resident physicians, physiotherapists, nurses and nursing technicians), who ventilated an artificial lung, adjusted to simulate the lung of a term neonate, using a self-inflating...

BACKGROUND Mechanical ventilation and concomitant administration of hyperoxia in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome can damage the alveolar epithelial and capillary endothelial barrier by producing inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species. The Src tyrosine kinase and Smad3 are crucial inflammatory regulators used for ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). The mechanisms...

[Purpose] This study was designed to compare and clarify the relationship between expiratory rib cage compression and expiratory abdominal compression in patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation, with a focus on tidal volume. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were 18 patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation, who had undergone tracheostomy. Each patient received expiratory rib cage com...

Our main aim was to determine an appropriate time for lung function measurements in infants, prior to environmental influences upon their respiratory tract. Tidal flow-volume loops, respiratory system compliance (Crs) and resistance (Rrs) (single breath passive occlusion technique) were measured in 24 healthy, awake awake infants, at one hour and on the following four days of life to investigat...