Case report of a 28-year-old man with aortic dissection and pulmonary shadow due to granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

BACKGROUND: Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is characterised by the main violation of the upper and lower respiratory tract and kidney. GPA is considered a systemic vasculitis of medium-sized and small blood vessels where aortic involvement is extremely rare. CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old male was admitted to the hospital due to 4 h of chest pain. Computed tomography scan of the aorta showed a thickened aortic wall, pulmonary lesions, bilateral pleural effusion and pericardial effusion. The aortic dissection should be considered. An emergency operation was performed on the patient. Surgical biopsies obtained from the aortic wall showed destructive changes, visible necrosis, granulation tissue hyperplasia and a large number of acute and chronic inflammatory cells. Nearly a year later, the patient was re-examined for significant pulmonary lesions. His laboratory studies were significantly positive for anti-neutrophilic antibody directed against proteinase 3. Finally, the diagnosis of GPA was obviously established. CONCLUSIONS: Although GPA rarely involves the aorta, we did not ignore the fact that GPA may involve large blood vessels. In addition, GPA should be included in the systemic vasculitis that can give rise to aortitis and even aortic dissection.

Effects of ultrasound-guided radial artery catheterization: an updated meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Previous meta-analyses have shown that ultrasound guidance is an effective technique for radial artery catheterization. However, these reports neglected to include several non-English language studies. Therefore, an updated meta-analysis including more eligible studies was performed to assess the effectiveness of ultrasound-guided radial artery catheterization. METHODS: Eligible studies were identified by systematically searching PubMed, EMBASE, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure literature databases. The outcome measure was the rate of first-attempt success. Two investigators identified the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for inclusion and independently extracted data from these RCTs. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Jadad score. The relative risk (RR) for dichotomous outcomes and the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and pooled using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Eleven RCTs involving 803 patients met the inclusion criteria. Ultrasound-guided radial artery catheterization was generally associated with a 47% improvement, as compared with the palpation technique, in terms of the rate of first-attempt success (RR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.22-1.76; P < .0001). Specifically, the ultrasound-guided technique significantly improved the rate of first-attempt success for adult (RR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.13-1.72; P = .002) and pediatric (RR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.15-2.47; P = .008) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Adult and pediatric patients benefited from ultrasound-guided radial artery catheterization in terms of the rate of first-attempt success. Given the potential bias and significant heterogeneity of the available data in the present study, further investigation is required to confirm the present findings and to identify other effects of the ultrasound-guided technique.

[Comparison of the effects of BiPAP ventilation combined with lung recruitment maneuvers and low tidal volume A/C ventilation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of BiPAP ventilation combined with lung recruitment maneuvers (LRM) with low tidal volume A/C ventilation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). METHODS: A prospective, randomized comparison of BiPAP mechanical ventilation combined with lung recruitment maneuvers (test group) with low tidal volume A/C ventilation (control group) was conducted in 28 patients with ARDS. FiO2/PaO2 ratio, respiratory system compliance (Cs), central venous pressure (CVP), duration of ventilation support were recorded at 0 h, 48 h and 72 h separately. The ventilation associated lung injury and mortality at 28 d were also recorded. RESULTS: The FiO2/PaO2 ratio were (298+/-16) and (309+/-16) cm H2O, Cs were (38.4+/-2.2) and (42.0+/-1.3) ml/cm H2O, CVP were (13.8+/-0.8) and (11.6+/-0.7) cm H2O in the test group at 48 h and 72 h separately. In the control group, FiO2/PaO2 ratio were (212+/-12) and (246+/-17) cm H2O, Cs were (29.5+/-1.3) and (29.0+/-1.0) ml/cm H2O, CVP were 18.6+/-1.1 and (16.8+/-1.0) cm H2O. The results were better in the test group as compared with the control group (t=10.03-29.68, all P<0.01). The duration of ventilation support in the test group was shorter than the control group [(14+/-3) d vs (19+/-3) d, t=4.80, P<0.01]. The mortality in 28 d and ventilation associated lung injury were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSION: The results show that combination of LRM with BiPAP mode ventilation, as compared with the control group, contributes to improved FiO2/PaO2 ratio, pulmonary compliance, stable hemodynamic and shorter duration of ventilation support in patients with ARDS.

[Efficacy of goal-directed therapy in the treatment of septic shock].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and effect on outcome of goal-directed therapy in patients with septic shock compared with conventional therapy. METHODS: Sixteen patients with septic shock were randomly assigned to receive goal-directed therapy, with central venous pressure (CVP) 8-12 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa), mean arterial pressure (MAP) >or=65 mm Hg, venous oxygen saturation (SvO(2))>0.70 (superior vena cava saturation), and urine output >or=0.5 ml/min as therapeutic goals. Another 17 patients received conventional therapy as controls. The arterial oxygen saturation (SaO(2)), SvO(2), MAP, CVP, heart stroke volume cardiac index (CI), serum lactate, volume of fluid, amount of vasopressors, the numbers of organ injured and patients who needed continuity blood purification (CBP) and/or ventilation were recorded serially for 6-48 hours, and they were compared between the two groups. The mortality of the patients in two groups on 7 days and 14 days were also recorded. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to base-line characteristics. During the interval from 24 to 48 hours, the patients assigned to goal-directed therapy had a significantly higher in SaO(2), SvO(2), MAP, CVP, CI (P<0.05 or P<0.01), a lower lactate concentration (P<0.01), significantly more fluid during 6-24 hours and less vasopressors (both P<0.01). Seven and 14 days in-hospital mortality were lower in goal-directed therapy group as compared with the control group(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The efficacy of goal-directed therapy in patients with septic shock is significantly better than conventional therapy in ameliorating outcome of shock and can be easily used in intensive care unit (ICU).