The marked effect of external and internal influences upon the blood flow through the peripheral parts of the body, and the consequent variability of the gaseous content of the venous blood from these areas, have led to the use of arterial blood for studies involving the blood gases. Aside from the necessity of ruling out the factors just mentioned, it frequently becomes necessary to ascertain ...

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of diamorphine on breathlessness and exercise tolerance in patients with severe chronic airflow obstruction and normal arterial carbon dioxide tension (PCO2) levels ("pink puffer" syndrome). In this double-blind, cross-over, randomized study we examined both acute and chronic effects of single and multiple doses of oral diamorphine in 14 "pink puf...

INTRODUCTION Tracheotomy is widely performed in the intensive care unit after long-term oral intubation. The present study investigates the immediate influence of tracheotomy on respiratory mechanics and blood gases during mechanical ventilation. METHODS Tracheotomy was performed in 32 orally intubated patients for 10.5 +/- 4.66 days (all results are means +/- standard deviations). Airway pre...

Point-of Care analysis is increasingly being applied in the prehospital scene. Arterial blood gas analysis is one of many new initiatives adding to the diagnostic tools of the prehospital physician. In this paper we present a study on the feasibility of the Radiometer ABL-90 in a ground-based Mobile Emergency Care Unit and report on some clinical situations in which the apparatus has proven ben...

The effects of intravenous ketamine (1 mg/kg) on cerebral cortical blood flow and O2 uptake were evaluated in 13 anesthetized, ventilated rabbits. Blood flow was measured either directly (Group 1) or by the H2 clearance method (Group 2). In those animals of Groups 1 and 2 with normal control arterial pH (pHa), ketamine produced a significant increase in cerebral cortical blood flow of 18 and 34...

BACKGROUND Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis is useful in evaluation of the clinical condition of critically ill patients; however, arterial puncture or insertion of an arterial catheter may cause many complications. The aim of this study was to determine whether venous blood gas (VBG) values can be used as an alternative to arterial blood gas measurements in patients under mechanical ventilati...