Lung recruitment maneuvers markedly reduced cardiac output and left ventricular end-diastolic areas in hemodynamically stable patients following cardiac surgery.

In this animal lung injury model, lung recruitment maneuvers significantly decreased left-ventricular end-diastolic volume and cardiac output at hypovolemia. Hypervolemia did partly counteract this compromise. In addition, a marked right-ventricular dysfunction during the maneuver was found.

Neither the rapid frequency modes nor the low frequency volume-controlled mode kept the surfactant deficient lungs open. Pressure-controlled inverse ratio ventilation (20 bpm) kept the lungs open at reduced end-inspiratory airway pressures and hence reduced risk of barotrauma. Reducing I:E ratio in this latter modality from 2:1 to 1.5:1 further improved oxygen delivery.

Background: The aims of this study were to determine the agreement between pulmonary artery thermodilution (PA-TD), transpulmonary thermodilution (TP-TD) and the pulse contour method, and to test the ability of the pulse contour method to track changes in cardiac output. Methods: Cardiac output was determined twice before cardiac surgery with both PA-TD and TP-TD. The precision (two standard deviations of the difference between repeated measurements) and agreement of the two methods were calculated. Post-operatively, cardiac output was determined with the PA-TD and pulse contour methods, and the bias and limits of agreement were again calculated. Finally, in patients with heart rates below 60 beats/min or a cardiac index of less than 2.5 l/min/m