Definition and goals ofhome mechanical ventilation Born during the polio epidemics of 50 years ago, home mechanical ventilation has evolved towards two distinct concepts-a life support system for patients without respiratory independence (high cervical spinal cord injury, end stage neuromuscular disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and elective therapy for patients with progressi...

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have been intubated and mechanically ventilated may prove difficult to wean. Noninvasive ventilation may be used in an attempt to avoid new endotracheal intubation. The efficacy of administration of noninvasive pressure support ventilation was evaluated in 30 COPD patients with postextubation hypercapnic respiratory insufficiency, c...

1 Bach JR. Alba AS, Bohatiuk G, Saporito L, Lee M. Mouth intermittent positive pressure ventilation in the management of post-polio respiratory insufficiency. Chest 1987; 91:859-64 2 Bach JR. O’Brien J, Krotenberg R, Alba A. Management of end stage respiratory failure in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Muscle Nerve 1987; 10:177-82 3 Bach JR. Alba AS, Mosher R, Delaubier A. Intermittent positive pr...

Factors responsible for major complications following thyroid surgery in 598 patients were studied. Patients with non toxic multinodular goiter involving both lobes of thyroid constituted the maximum bulk subjected to thyroidectomy. The most frequent procedure was bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy. Reactionary hemorrhage occurred in 6 patients, all following bilateral procedures and among them 5...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Adrenal insufficiency is being diagnosed with increasing frequency in critically ill patients. There exists, however, much controversy in the literature as to the nature of this entity, including its pathophysiology, epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. The review summarizes our current understanding of the causes and consequences of adrenal insufficiency in critically ill p...

OBJECTIVE To assess if the bilateral mediastinal lymphadenectomy results in lymphatic congestion in the lungs producing clinically significant impairment of respiratory function. METHODS In the prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical study, non-small cell lung carcinoma patients underwent preoperatively mediastinoscopy or the transcervical extended mediastinal lymphadenectomy (TEMLA). ...