Effect of Inhaled Epoprostenol on Oxygenation, Outcome, and Diuresis in Critically Ill Patients

The Use of Inhaled Prostaglandins in Patients With ARDS

“…Th is is demonstrated by the 25 publications included in the analysis, as well as the discovery of several other studies not meeting the inclusion criteria. [55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62] Th e data would also suggest that use is increasing in frequency, as approximately 75% of the patients were from studies published in the last 3 years. This is an interesting phenomenon when put into context of other fi ndings in this analysis: (1) a lack of clinical outcome data demonstrating benefi t, (2) overall low quality for the majority of data, and (3) signifi cant heterogeneity in the data that does exist.…”

Unexpected Interruptions in the Inhaled Epoprostenol Delivery System: Incidence of Adverse Sequelae and Therapeutic Consequences in Critically Ill Patients

“…Inhaled epoprostenol (iEpo) is a synthetic prostacyclin analog that is used off-label as a selective pulmonary vasodilator (SPV) in critically ill patients with refractory hypoxemia, right ventricular failure, and postcardiac surgery pulmonary hypertension (PH) ( 1 , 2 ). By relaxing pulmonary vascular smooth muscle in ventilated portions of the lung, iEpo improves ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) matching and reduces pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) ( 3 , 4 ). Published studies suggest that SPV therapy decreases pulmonary artery pressures, augments cardiac output, and improves oxygenation ( 2 , 5 ).…”