Pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with left heart disease (PH-LHD) is the most common type of PH, but its natural history is not well understood. PH-LHD is diagnosed by right heart catheterisation with a mean pulmonary arterial pressure ≥25 mmHg and a pulmonary capillary wedge pressure >15 mmHg. The primary causes of PH-LHD are left ventricular dysfunction of systolic and diastolic origin,...

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, ...

The normal presentation of a patient with a drug induced methemoglobinemia is a low pulse oximetry (SpO2) reading, usually in the mid 80% range, while having a very high PaO2 on an arterial blood gas (ABG)1. We present a case where the initial ABG showed a very high PaO2 and a metabolic alkalosis while the SpO2 fluctuated (85% 99%). Those findings combined with hemodynamic instability complicat...

BACKGROUND Arterial puncture can be a painful procedure for many patients. This study investigates whether precooling of a puncture site with ice can reduce the pain associated with arterial puncture. METHODS This was a stratified randomized controlled trial of a convenience sample of out-patients with a physician order for an arterial blood gas (ABG) test. The intervention group had a plasti...

BACKGROUND Usually, pleural fluid (PF) pH is measured immediately following thoracentesis, and if there is any delay in the measurement, the PF sample is preserved on ice. OBJECTIVE To determine if PF pH changes significantly at room temperature during the first hour following thoracentesis. DESIGN Prospective, self-controlled. SETTING Tertiary care center. PATIENTS All patients undergo...

SEE PAGE 9 W hen pulmonary hypertension (PH), defined by mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) $25 mm Hg, is associated with an abnormally elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) >15 mm Hg or left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) >18 mm Hg (1), it has been variably termed World Health Organization Group 2 PH (1), pulmonary venous hypertension (2), “post-capillary PH” (3), o...

BACKGROUND Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by arterial vascular remodelling and alteration in vascular reactivity. Since gap junctions are formed with proteins named connexins (Cx) and contribute to vasoreactivity, we investigated both expression and role of Cx in the pulmonary arterial vasoreactivity in two rat models of PH. METHODS Intrapulmonary arteries (IPA) were isolated fr...

BACKGROUND Patients with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) present a poor outcome. Specific PH treatment could improve the clinical and hemodynamic status of these patients but may worsen arterial blood gases. OBJECTIVES Our study retrospectively included 28 patients with severe precapillary PH (mean pulmonary arterial pressure >35...

journal.publications.chestnet.org elevated pulmonary arterial pressures were not required for enrollment in the Flolan International Randomized Survival Trial (FIRST). 2 However, all patients underwent right-sided heart catheterization, and most subjects ( . 75%) did, in fact, have PH as defi ned by mean pulmonary arterial pressure . 25 mm Hg. This makes it unlikely that epoprostenol is of sign...

An i.v. solution of 5% dextrose with doxapram 2 mg ml-1 or 5% dextrose alone was administered to 53 patients following lateral thoracotomy. Estimations of arterial PO2, PCO2 and pH were made before operation, during infusion and 7 days after after operation. Respiratory function tests were carried out before and 7 days after operation. There were no significant differences in arterial PO2, PCO2...