13CO2 recovery fraction in expired air of septic patients under mechanical ventilation

The continuous intravenous administration of isotopic bicarbonate (NaH13CO2) has been used for the determination of the retention of the 13CO2 fraction or the 13CO2 recovered in expired air. This determination is important for the calculation of substrate oxidation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, in critically ill patients with sepsis under mechanical ventilation, the 13CO2 recovery fraction in expired air after continuous intravenous infusion of NaH13CO2 (3.8 µmol/kg diluted in 0.9% saline in ddH2O). A prospective study was conducted on 10 patients with septic shock between the second and fifth day of sepsis evolution (APACHE II, 25.9 ± 7.4). Initially, baseline CO2 was collected and indirect calorimetry was also performed. A primer of 5 mL NaH13CO2 was administered followed by continuous infusion of 5 mL/h for 6 h. Six CO2 production (VCO2) measurements (30 min each) were made with a portable metabolic cart connected to a respirator and hourly samples of expired air were obtained using a 750-mL gas collecting bag attached to the outlet of the respirator. 13CO2 enrichment in expired air was determined with a mass spectrometer. The patients presented a mean value of VCO2 of 182 ± 52 mL/min during the steady-state phase. The mean recovery fraction was 0.68 ± 0.06%, which is less than that reported in the literature (0.82 ± 0.03%). This suggests that the 13CO2 recovery fraction in septic patients following enteral feeding is incomplete, indicating retention of 13CO2 in the organism. The severity of septic shock in terms of the prognostic index APACHE II and the sepsis score was not associated with the 13CO2 recovery fraction in expired air.Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade de São Paulo (USP)(FAEPA) Fundação de Amparo ao Ensino, Pesquisa e AssistênciaFAPES

Fulminant Nonocclusive Mesenteric Ischemia Just after Hip Arthroplasty

Nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI) is not a rare clinical entity in intensive medicine, and it can be a consequence of several clinical or surgical situations. This pathology results from reduced intestinal microvascular blood supply associated with an acute inflammatory process, culminating with bowel necrosis. This is a case on a female patient who developed immediate postsurgical NOMI following hip arthroplasty and died. Since diagnosis of this potentially fatal condition remains a dilemma, NOMI should always be considered an eventual postoperative complication in high-risk surgical patients such as elderly individuals with previous history of nicotine abuse, congestive heart failure, and essential hypertension. The present paper highlights the importance of early diagnosis and prompt adequate treatment of NOMI in subjects with diminished cardiac output and severe abdominal pain

A relação com o doente sem possibilidade de manejo terapêutico

The ability of medical science to prolong life through technology, especially in the setting of intensive care units, has generated much debate among health professionals and different segments of society about the extent to which the physician should maintain the treatment of terminal patients or patients with no possibility of therapeutic management. Several studies have shown that most of the deaths in intensive care units occur after refusal of a particular treatment. Many health professionals are unaware of this reality and therefore have difficulty in accepting it. Thus, it is of the utmost importance to discuss the decisions about the terminal stage as well as the definition of such stage among intensive care physicians and assistants, and the entire multidisciplinary team that provides care for the patient. The present review article deals with the main aspects involved in the care of patients with no possibility of therapeutic management.A capacidade da ciência médica de prolongar a vida através de tecnologia, principalmente no âmbito das unidades de terapia intensiva, tem gerado muitos debates, entre profissionais de saúde e segmentos diversos da sociedade, sobre o quanto o médico deve manter o tratamento de pacientes terminais ou sem possibilidade terapêutica. Estudos demonstraram que a maioria das mortes nos Centros de Terapia Intensiva ocorre após a recusa ou restrição de um tratamento em particular. Muitos profissionais da área da saúde desconhecem essa realidade e, conseqüentemente, têm dificuldade em aceitá-las. Torna-se de suma importância que as decisões sobre o estágio terminal e/ou sobre as medidas para prolongamento da vida sejam discutidas, desde sua definição, entre os médicos intensivistas e assistentes, enfim entre toda a equipe multidisciplinar que está assistindo o paciente. Este artigo de revisão aborda os principais aspectos envolvidos no atendimento do paciente sem possibilidades de manejo terapêutico

Circulatory shock syndrome

Circulatory shock is marked by critical reductions on tecidual perfusion, causing severe systemic alterations, impairing cellular and organic function, with a high mortality rate as result. The prompt diagnosis and therapeutics should be based on individual response, emphasizing ventilatory and hemodynamic support. The knowledge of physiopathology directs therapeutic decisions, since the objectives to be reached are based on physiopathology. Several recent therapies are being investigated on patients with circulatoty shock, such as fluid resuscitation, red cells bood substitutes, and therapies directed to mediators (cytokines, endotoxins, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and platelet-activating factor).O choque circulatório é marcado por reduções críticas na perfusão tecidual, provocando alterações sistêmicas graves, com comprometimento da função celular e orgânica, com alto índice de mortalidade. O diagnóstico e a instituição de medidas terapêuticas devem ser precoces e baseados na resposta individual de cada paciente, dando-se ênfase ao suporte ventilatório e hemodinâmico. O conhecimento profundo da sua fisiopatologia norteia as decisões terapêuticas, uma vez que através dela se estabelecem objetivos a serem atingidos. Diversas condutas recentes estão sendo pesquisadas em pacientes com choque circulatório. Estas medidas incluem reposições volêmicas, simples, soluções substitutas de hemácias e terapias dirigidas aos mediadores (citoquinas, endotoxinas, prostaglandinas, leucotrienos e fator de ativação plaquetária)