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Biomedical subjects

B Lundell

Publications and source records attributed to B Lundell.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Inhaled nitric oxide in neonates and children with pulmonary hypertension.

Fourteen critically ill neonatal and paediatric intensive care patients with various primary diagnoses and signs of associated pulmonary hypertension received inhaled nitric oxide (NO), 20-80 ppm, after failure of conventional therapy to improve oxygenation. NO administration was found to be associated with a significant improvement in postductal arterial oxygen tension (pre-NO: 3.75 (SD 1.39) kPa; post-NO: 6.05 (SD 1.70) kPa; p = 0.004). In 10 patients, NO was found to increase arterial oxygen tension with more than 1 kPa. In 2 of these patients, ECMO treatment could be avoided due to the pronounced improvement in gas exchange seen after the initiation of NO administration. The remaining 4 patients failed to respond to NO administration. One patient developed methaemoglobinaemia (13.9%) which required treatment with methylthionine. Since we were unable to produce any beneficial effect of NO in the late phase of the pulmonary disease process, we believe that, in order to be successful, inhaled NO should be instituted when conventional treatment has failed and the administration of an iv vasodilator is usually considered.

Administration, Inhalation

Nicotine and cotinine concentrations in the nursing mother and her infant.

Twenty-two smoking mothers and their healthy newborn infants (mean postnatal age of 3.7 days) were studied in the maternity ward. A close correlation was found (r = 0.94) between nicotine concentrations in the mothers' plasma and milk after smoking, the milk: plasma ratio being 2.9. The amount of nicotine transferred to the infant increased from 0.09 to 1.03 micrograms/kg infant body weight when mothers smoked before breast-feeding. The daily dose of nicotine via the mothers' milk was 6 micrograms per kg infant body weight. Cotinine but not nicotine concentrations in the plasma and milk of the mothers and the urine of the infants reflected the smoking habits of the mothers during pregnancy. There was no correlation between nicotine and cotinine concentrations in the infant's urine and the amount of nicotine given to the infant via the mother's milk.

Breast Feeding

Intrauterine cranial gunshot wound in a 32-week fetus.

Intrauterine cranial gunshot wounds are rare and usually associated with a fatal outcome for the fetus. We present a case where preterm delivery, neonatal intensive care, and later removal of the bullet resulted in a normal child without any untoward sequelae.

Adult

Cardiac function and sympathoadrenal activity in the newborn after cesarean section under spinal and epidural anesthesia.

Left ventricular systolic time intervals, bupivacaine concentrations, adrenaline and noradrenaline levels were determined in 19 neonates delivered by elective cesarean section. Ten of the cesarean sections were performed under spinal and nine under epidural anesthesia. Plain bupivacaine 0.5% was used for the epidural anesthesia and bupivacaine 0.5% in glucose 8% for the spinals. The noradrenaline and adrenaline levels were higher in the neonates whose mothers received epidural anesthesia. The differences in catecholamine and bupivacaine concentrations were not associated with differences in left ventricular dynamics, or the timing of postnatal circulatory changes. The significant exposure of the neonate to bupivacaine, at maternal epidural anesthesia, seems to have no negative effect on early neonatal circulation in the healthy term infant.

Anesthesia, Epidural

Pulmonary lesions mimicking pericardial effusion on ultrasonography.

Two children with right middle lobe lesions mimicking pericardial effusion on ultrasonography are presented. They were admitted with fever and chest radiographs showed atelectasis or consolidation of the middle lobe of the right lung along the right heart border. A low-echogenic layer suggesting pericardial fluid was seen on ultrasonography, but with a spatial distribution closely corresponding to the lesions seen on the chest radiographs. If the possibility that a lung lesion adjacent to the heart can simulate pericardial fluid on ultrasonography is kept in mind, the correct diagnosis should not be difficult to make.

Child, Preschool

Reproducibility of intracranial Doppler flow velocimetry.

Doppler velocimetry for assessment of flow in deep cerebral arteries was investigated in 9 term and 11 preterm healthy infants. A combined range gated and continuous wave Doppler instrument was used. A satisfactory reproducibility was found with a variation coefficient of 8-10% between repeated measurements. No systematic difference between examiners or head positions was recorded. The term infants had significantly higher mean flow velocities, 21.1 (3.1) cm/s (mean and 1 SD), compared to the preterm infants', 15.1 (3.6) cm/s (p less than 0.01). Both systolic and diastolic flow velocities were higher in the term infants, whereas the pulsatility index was higher in the preterm infants. Recordings from the intracranial part of the internal carotid arteries were found to be easy to obtain with a satisfactory reproducibility.

Blood Flow Velocity

Catecholamine surge and metabolic adaptation in the newborn after vaginal delivery and caesarean section.

The immediate postnatal metabolic adaptation and sympatho-adrenal activation were studied in infants delivered vaginally or by elective caesarean section. Vaginally delivered infants showed high catecholamine levels at birth compared to infants born by caesarean section under epidural or general anaesthesia. Umbilical arterial glucose levels were significantly higher in the vaginal group than in both caesarean section groups. At 30 min, all groups showed a marked decrease with several infants showing asymptomatic hypoglycaemia in the caesarean section group. C-peptide levels showed no difference at birth but later became significantly higher in the vaginal group. Although the levels of free fatty acids and glycerol were low at birth, they were significantly higher in the vaginal group. In all groups they increased substantially with time. Considering the marked differences in catecholamine levels, the differences in metabolic adaptation were unexpectedly small. This implies an attenuated metabolic response to sympatho-adrenal stimulation in the newborn.

Adaptation, Physiological

Catecholamine surge and lung function after delivery.

Lung function was measured at 30 minutes and again at 2 hours after birth in 12 infants delivered vaginally, in 15 infants delivered by elective caesarean section under general anaesthesia (GA), and in 15 delivered under epidural anesthesia (EDA). Umbilical arterial blood was analysed for pH and for concentrations of catecholamines and cortisol. No important differences in gestational age, birthweight, Apgar scores, or haematocrit were found among the three groups. Tidal volume and minute ventilation measured 30 minutes after birth were lower in infants delivered by caesarean section than in those delivered vaginally and at 2 hours the tidal volume was still lower in the babies delivered by caesarean section than in those delivered vaginally. Dynamic compliance was lower at 30 minutes in the group that had a caesarean section than in the vaginal group, and this difference was significant at two hours. Tidal volume, minute ventilation, and dynamic compliance in the GA and EDA groups did not differ. The catecholamine and cortisol concentrations at birth were higher in the vaginal group than in the group delivered by caesarean section. Two hours after birth there was a significant correlation (r = 0.84) between the catecholamine concentrations of the infants born vaginally and lung compliance. The lower dynamic lung compliance in infants delivered by elective caesarean section might be explained by delayed absorption of liquid in the lung due to lack of catecholamine surge.

Anesthesia, Epidural