[Antibiotic prophylaxis in thoracic surgery, pulmonary endoscopy, thoracic injuries and lung transplantation].

Effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotics is at present time well documented for many surgical procedures. In lung surgery, numerous randomized double-blinded studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of 1st or 2nd generation cephalosporins, administered over a short period of time, not exceeding 24 h. In the opposite, thoracic injuries do not seem to require prophylactic antibiotics, except penetrating injuries of the chest, which could benefit from a single antibiotic injection.

Performance evaluation of three vaporizing humidifiers and two heat and moisture exchangers in patients with minute ventilation > 10 L/min.

Study Objective: To compare the thermal and humidification capacity of three heated hot water systems (HHWSs) and two heat and moisture exchangers (HMEs) in ICU patients submitted to minute ventilation > 10 L/min.

Design: Prospective, controlled, randomized, not blinded study.

Setting: ICU of a university hospital.

[Pharmacokinetics and tissue penetration of single-dose netilmicin used for antibiotic prophylaxis during colo-rectal surgery].

Pharmacokinetics and tissue penetration of netilmicin were studied after the use of a single dose (6 mg/kg) given for antibioprophylaxis in colo-rectal surgery. Thirteen patients, scheduled for elective surgery, were given 6 mg/kg IV netilmicin over 30 min, together with 1000 mg IV ornidazole. Netilmicin peak serum concentration (10 min after end of infusion) was 24.