[Usefulness of oxygen saturation in the assessment of children with moderated laryngitis]. / Utilidad de la saturación de oxígeno en la valoración del niño con laringitis moderada.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of oxygen saturation (SaO2) in the assessment of a child with moderate laryngitis (croup). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective study was carried out on 54 cases of moderate laryngitis (score of 2 to 6 of a possible 16) attended at our emergency department. Clinical score, heart rate, respiratory rate and SaO2 were recorded upon arrival. We analyzed the relationship between SaO2 and the requirement of nebulized epinephrine, parenteral dexamethasone and admission to the hospital. RESULTS: Patients who received epinephrine showed SaO2 values lower than those who did not (96.8 +/- 1.9 vs 97.9 +/- 1.7), although this was not a significant difference (p = 0.11). Similar findings were seen when the requirement of parenteral dexamethasone was analyzed (96.7 +/- 1.9 vs 97.3 +/- 1.8, p = 0.28). Children admitted to the hospital showed SaO2 values significantly lower than those discharged (96.5 +/- 1.9 vs 97.6 +/- 1.7, p = 0.03). No differences were seen when heart rate or respiratory rate were analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the measurement of is SaO2 useful in initial assessment of a child with acute laryngitis, essentially in order to better identify those patients who require admission to the hospital. It appears reasonable to include it in the initial assessment score.

[Pulmonary function in the full-term newborn infant without respiratory problems]. / Estudio de la mecánica pulmonar en recién nacidos a término sin problemas respiratorios.

Pulmonary function was measured by computerized pneumotacography in 13 term newborn infants without respiratory problems. Mean (+/- SD) for birth weight, gestation and postnatal age were 3149 +/- 366 g, 39.1 +/- 0.9 weeks, and 4.7 +/- 2.4 days. Esophageal balloon, differential transducer and nasal progs were used. The following parameters were measured in each respiration by the mean squears method: Dynamic compliance (Cdyn), total respiratory resistance (RRt) and work (WRt), respiratory time constant (KTt), rate (RR) and maximal inspiratory and respiratory flows (PIF, PEF). Reproductiveness was found to be good, as the differences between two determinations were not significant (p less than 0.05). The mean differences but for Cdyn (11.9%) were of less than 5%. The mean (+/- SD) and the 3 and 97 percentiles for each parameter studied were: RR 43.8 +/- 7.6 (32.6-61.2) rpm, Tv 6.6 +/- 0.7 (5.8-7.9) ml/kg, Vmin 285 +/- 55.6 (201-405) ml/min, Cdin/kg 1.64 +/- 0.31 (1.13-2.17) ml/cm/kg, RPt 65.2 +/- 21.6 (28.4 +/- 111.4) cm/L/seg, TRt 30.6 +/- 13.7 (15.3-58.8) g/cm/kg, PIF 2.9 +/- 0.6 (1.8 +/- 4.4) L/min y PEF 2.4 +/- 0.7 (1.2-4) L/min.