The Influence of Positive End-Expiratory Pressure on Leakage and Oxygenation Using a Laryngeal Mask Airway: A Randomized Trial.

Background: The value of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in maintaining oxygenation during ventilation with a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) mask is unclear. To clarify the potential benefit or harm to PEEP application during positive pressure ventilation with a ProSeal LMA® mask, we compared the effect of PEEP versus zero end-expiratory pressure (ZEEP) on gas leakage and oxygenation. We hypothesized that a PEEP of 8 mbar (8.

Chronified Pain Following Operative Procedures.

Background: Over 18 million operative procedures are performed each year in Germany alone. Approximately 10% of surgical patients develop moderate to severe chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP), which can severely impair their quality of life. The pain must persist for at least three months to be called chronic; pain that arises after a symptom-free interval is not excluded.

[Chemosensory Evoked Changes of Breathing Pattern During Propofol-induced Sedation].

Background: The affective valence of an olfactory stimulus will be encoded in its respiratory response. Unpleasant odors shorten the inhalation of the first stimulated breaths in wakefulness and sleep. The aim of the present study was to assess the effekt of intravenous anesthetic propofol on the chemosensory evoked changes of breathing pattern.

Effects of staff training on the care of mechanically ventilated patients: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Adherence to guidelines to avoid complications associated with mechanical ventilation is often incomplete. The goal of this study was to assess whether staff training in pre-defined interventions (bundle) improves the quality of care in mechanically ventilated patients.

Methods: This study was performed on a 50-bed intensive care unit of a tertiary care university hospital.

Decreased susceptibility of contractile function to hypoxia/reoxygenation in chronic infarcted rat hearts.

Cardiac hypertrophy is associated with modifications in Ca2+ transport processes, enzymes of energy metabolism and antioxidant capacity. It is unknown whether these changes occur in infarct-induced hypertrophy with regard to an altered susceptibility to ischemia/reperfusion injury. We examined changes in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ transport, creatine kinase (CK) system, and the antioxidant enzymes glutathionperoxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in rats 6 weeks after infarction due to coronary ligation (MI).