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Biomedical subjects

F Jardin

Publications and source records attributed to F Jardin.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Does positive end-expiratory pressure ventilation improve left ventricular function? A comparative study by transesophageal echocardiography in cardiac and noncardiac patients.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) has been proposed to improve cardiac output in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. This study was designed to compare quantitative global and regional LV performance in response to PEEP in patients with normal and poor LV function. DESIGN: A prospective clinical trial. SETTING: Adult medical ICU in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Twelve critically ill patients requiring respiratory support and divided into two groups according to baseline transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) measurements: normal LV dimensions and fractional area of contraction (FAC=61+/-5%) (n=7) and dilated cardiomyopathy with reduced FAC (21+/-1%) (n=5). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: All patients were studied when two successive levels of PEEP (best PEEP as the highest value of respiratory compliance and high PEEP as best PEEP+10 cm H2O) were applied. Global systolic LV performance and quantitative regional wall motion analysis performed by the centerline method were assessed on the TEE transgastric short-axis view. End-systolic wall stress (ESWS) was used as a reliable indication of LV afterload. PEEP reduced LV dimensions asymmetrically in both groups of patients and septolateral diameter significantly decreased without affecting global LV systolic performance. Additionally, high PEEP produced a significant impairment in septal kinetics as evidenced by the centerline method. High PEEP also decreased ESWS for all patients (-27% in normal group and -23% in cardiac group, p<0.05) without significant improvement in global systolic LV performance (FAC: +2% in normal group and +0% in cardiac group; not significant). CONCLUSIONS: PEEP cannot be recommended routinely to improve LV performance in patients with severe dilated cardiomyopathy.

Adult↗

[The value of transesophageal echocardiography for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism with acute pulmonary heart disease].

Transoesophageal echocardiography is a method of visualising intracardiac thrombi and could therefore be useful for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, but its diagnostic value is unknown. The authors carried out a prospective study with this diagnostic tool in massive pulmonary embolism. The study protocol was to perform transthoracic echocardiography in patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolism and then to perform transoesophageal echocardiography when there were signs of acute cor pulmonale. The results of both echocardiographic investigations were compared with two reference radiological techniques: the spiral CT scan and/or pulmonary angiography. Fifty-six patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography. In the 34 patients with transthoracic echocardiographic signs of acute cor pulmonale, the positive predictive value of the investigation for pulmonary embolism was 91% and the negative predictive value was 54%. Twenty of these 34 patients underwent transoesophageal echocardiography. The sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of proximal embolism were 85% and 86% respectively. The limitations of the method were poor visualisation of the left pulmonary artery in which only one thrombus was detected, compared with 6 by spiral CT scan, and the absence of visualisation of lobar arteries. Consequently, the real sensitivity of transoesophageal echocardiography for visualisation of all thrombi in the pulmonary arteries in acute cor pulmonale was only 55%. In acute cor pulmonale, the diagnostic value of transoesophageal echocardiography is poor because the sensitivity for visualisation of intra-pulmonary arterial thrombi is low compared with other radiological techniques. However, in patients with proximal emboli in the right or main pulmonary artery, the diagnosis may be established in a few minutes without the need of other more invasive techniques. Nevertheless, normal transoesophageal echocardiography does not rule out the presence of proximal in the left pulmonary artery or distal emboli in the lobar arteries.

Acute Disease↗

[Measles with respiratory involvement in adults. 2 cases].

BACKGROUND: Measles is usually considered to be a childhood disease. Recent epidemiology data suggest that it is in progress amongst the adult population despite generalized vaccination. CASE REPORT: Within a 3-week period, two brothers, aged 19 and 21 years, developed fever and interstitial pneumonia. Characteristic maculopapulous eruptions occurred later leading to measles diagnosis. DISCUSSION: Although the clinical course is usually benign, measles can cause severe complications, particularly respiratory involvement that occurs in 3 to 10% of adult measles cases. The virus can affect the respiratory epithelium directly leading to bronchopneumonia which develops prior to the cutaneous eruption; all manifestations then regress together as in our two cases. Later complications due to bacterial superinfections can occur. Measles should be considered in adults with fever and interstitial pneumonia.

Adult↗

Influence of acute renal failure on FPIA rapid serum assay of midazolam and its main metabolite.

We recently developed a simple and fast assay technique, providing the possibility of monitoring of midazolam (M) during sedation. We compared HPLC vs FPIA for the measurement of the sum M plus alpha 1-hydroxymidazolam (OM), its main and pharmacologically active metabolite, in the serum of sedated ICU patients; this activity referred to as M-like. We identified certain patients in whom M-like activity appeared abnormally high in comparison with HPLC assays. Their common denominators were: long-term sedation with M, and seriously impaired renal function. Further, the conjugates of OM (OMG) accumulated in patients with acute renal failure could contribute to the sedation. We compared the metabolic and analytic behavior of M, OM, and OMG in 2 groups of sedated patients either presenting with normal renal functions (group 1) or with a picture of acute renal failure (group 2). Blood samples were assayed by HPLC and by FPIA and analysis was performed before and after hydrolysis of OMG. Before hydrolysis there was a dramatic accumulation of OMG in the patients of group 2, HPLC vs FPIA results were not different within group 1, while in group 2 the FPIA response exceeded that of HPLC. After hydrolysis, measurement by HPLC was greatly increased in group 2, in each group (vs HPLC) and from one group to another, the FPIA signal (the M-like activity) showed a significant increase. It would be important to take OMG into account as a coprotagonist in sedation whenever circumstances predispose to its accumulation.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

[Management of severe amiodarone-induced pneumopathy using inhaled nitric oxide].

Treatment of amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity generally consists in simply discontinuing the drug with subsequent improvement in clinical condition and radiologic abnormalities. Corticosteroid therapy, when used, may accelerate recovery. Early diagnosis is however necessary and mandates the immediate cessation of the drug otherwise diffuse interstitial and alveolar damage can develop and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome with a high rate mortality. To our knowledge, the use of inhaled nitric oxide to improve arterial oxygenation in amiodarone-induced ARDS has not yet been described. Here we report the case of a patient in whom 2 ppm inhaled nitric oxide in association with mechanical ventilation dramatically improved a life-threatening hypoxemia. We therefore submit that inhaled nitric oxide could be of benefit in patients with amiodarone-induced ARDS.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Comparison of high-performance liquid chromatography and polyclonal fluorescence polarization immunoassay for the monitoring of midazolam in the plasma of intensive care unit patients.

Midazolam (M) is used as an induction agent for anesthesia. The main metabolite is alpha-hydroxymidazolam (OM), which is pharmacologically active. Use of M for sedation is a recent application, rapidly gaining favor. Monitoring of the level of sedation is fundamental in that an excessive and prolonged effect is associated with the risk of complications. Thus, it was felt both necessary and useful to measure circulating M levels. We compared a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay with fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) for the measurement of M in the serum of 138 sedated patients in the intensive care unit (i.e., 179 samples). Response of the OM was also assessed. The degree of crossover of the metabolite was between 76.8 and 32.7%. The equation of the regression line for sigma HPLC (i.e., the sum M + OM) versus FPIA was TDx = 1.1585 sigma HPLC + 143.42 (R = 0.966). The 95% confidence interval for the slope was 1.1551, 1.1619. The regression slope differed significantly from 1 (p < 0.001) and shows that FPIA measurements overestimated concentrations obtained by HPLC on the order of 19%. The discrepancy between the two techniques was all the more notable when concentrations were > 1,000 ng/ml. The relative selectivity of Abbott industrial reagent in terms of benzodiazepines leads to the identification of what might be called a midazolam-like (M-like) activity covering both M and OM. The development of a global FPIA method for measurement of this M-like activity in sedated patients provides a satisfactory solution to the question raised.

Adult↗

Incidence of tricuspid regurgitation and vena caval backward flow in mechanically ventilated patients. A color Doppler and contrast echocardiographic study.

In 40 patients requiring mechanical ventilation for an episode of respiratory failure of various causes, prevalence of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) or other cause of vena caval backward flow (VCBF) was systematically investigated using transthoracic Doppler echocardiography. Quantification of TR was obtained from planimetry of the regurgitant jet during color Doppler examination. The influence of cyclic mechanical lung inflation was examined by contrast echography of the inferior vena cava and hepatic veins. All the 40 patients studied had TR, which was mild in 21, moderate in 9 and severe in 10. Using a planimetric scale, TR was more marked during mechanical ventilation, when compared with a brief period of spontaneous breathing. Moreover, contrast echocardiography demonstrated that systolic TR reached inferior vena cava and hepatic veins in 16 cases, and also evidenced direct mechanical action of lung inflation producing a pancardiac VCBF in 15 cases. This high incidence of TR and VCBF partially may explain the relatively poor reliability of the thermodilution method for measurement of cardiac output when used in ventilated patients.

Contrast Media↗

[Clinical guide scale for the developmental stages of treated autism].

An evolutionary diagram that takes into account the development of personality and its structuring or restructuring was developed thanks to a better understanding of autistic disorders from a psychodynamic point of view through long term psychoanalytic treatment of autistic children. This grid is organised around the major stages of the formation of the bodily ego which autistic children helped us understand better. The construction of space and the capacities of cognitive instrumentation are logically within this line of structuring. These major stages are defined: the first is the "successful" autistic state; the second is the stage where the primary skin is recovered (feeling of a circular envelope); the third is the symbiotic phase which includes vertical splitting then horizontal splitting of the image of the body; finally, the fourth is the phase of individuation/separation into a whole body. At each stage the following are assessed: state of the image of the body, of the gaze, of language, of writing, the autistic symptoms, emotional-relational manifestations, exploration of space and objects, recognition in time, the aggressive behaviours, reactivity to pain and to immune states (somatic and psychosomatic manifestations).

Autistic Disorder↗

Invasive monitoring combined with two-dimensional echocardiographic study in septic shock.

OBJECTIVE: An investigation into the incidence and the clinical implication of discrepancies which may sometimes occur between invasive and non-invasive hemodynamic evaluation in septic patients. DESIGN: A prospective, consecutive comparison. SETTING: Department of Intensive Care Medicine at a University Hospital. PATIENTS: 32 patients undergoing therapy for an episode of septic shock. INTERVENTIONS: Conventional hemodynamic support (including volume expansion in all cases and inotropic support if necessary) required to obtain a stable hemodynamic status. MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS: Cardiac output (thermodilution method), cardiac pressures (right heart catheterization) and left ventricular (LV) volumes (two-dimensional echocardiography) were simultaneously recorded. A comparison was thus made between both procedures, particularly concerning preload evaluation and assessment of left ventricular systolic function. Pulmonary artery occlusion pressure measurement was evidence as an unreliable index of LV end-diastolic volume, determining preload. Assessment of LV systolic function by both methods was conflicting in 11 cases out of the 32. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent discrepancies between to invasive and non-invasive procedure were observed. The reasons for these discrepancies, including low vascular resistance, reduced LV compliance, and a possible overestimation of cardiac output by the thermodilution method, are examined in the light of data recorded. It was concluded that invasive hemodynamic evaluation by right heart catheterization in septic patients should be seriously questioned.

Bias↗