Predicted preoperative maximal static respiratory pressures in adult cardiac surgeries: evaluation of two formulas.

Objectives: Cardiac surgery (CC) determines systemic and pulmonary changes that require special care. Awareness of the importance of respiratory muscle dysfunction in the development of respiratory failure motivated several studies conducted in healthy subjects to assess muscle strength. These studies were carried out by evaluating the maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) values.

Nitrite exhaled breath condensate study in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass cardiac surgery.

Background: There is a relative lack of studies on postoperative changes in nitrite (NO2 - ) concentrations, a marker of injury, following cardiac surgery. In this context, investigations on how exhaled NO concentrations vary in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery will certainly contribute to new clinical findings.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the EBC NO levels in both the pre and postoperative (24 hours) periods of cardiac surgery.

Exhaled breath condensate collection for nitrite dosage: a safe and low cost adaptation.

Purpose: Standardization of a simple and low cost technique of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) collection to measure nitrite.

Methods: Two devices were mounted in polystyrene boxes filled either with crushed ice/salt crystals or dry ice/crushed ice. Blood samples were stored at -70 degrees C for posterior nitrite dosages by chemiluminescence and the Griess reaction.

Immunohistochemical evaluation of three nitric oxide synthase isoforms in human saphenous vein exposed to different degrees of distension pressures.

The effect of short duration and different degrees of distension pressures was investigated by means of immunohistochemistry of the three nitric oxide synthase isoforms in the human saphenous vein conventionally harvested from 20 patients submitted to coronary artery bypass graft. The human saphenous vein distal portion was divided into four segments, each one allocated to a different group. In Group I (control group), the human saphenous vein segment was not exposed to distension pressure.

Will use of exhaled breath condensate be useful for the intensive care unit routine?

Endogenous production of nitric oxide can be detected and monitored in exhaled air of men and animals. The main objective of this review was to discuss if nitric oxide in exhaled breath condensate is a useful tool when investigating respiratory dysfunctions in intensive care units. Specialized literature reveals an increasing interest in the use of exhaled breath condensate as a non-invasive method to investigate pulmonary disease.

Glycol methacrylate-embedding medium to study morphological alterations of saphenous vein under brief and crescent pressurizations.

Purpose: This study sought to evaluate the efficiency of glycol methacrylate-embedding medium to detect morphological alterations of human saphenous vein submitted to brief and crescent pressurizations.

Methods: Saphenous veins of 20 CABG patients were randomly distributed into four experimental groups (control, 100, 200 and 300 mmHg pressures during 15 seconds). To quantify the percentage of endothelium spread over vein surface a microscope magnification of 100x was used for measurements.