Anesthesia Key

Pearls • Patients with severe acute asthma exacerbations should be promptly and aggressively managed in the emergency department with inhaled β-agonist agents, inhaled ipratropium bromide, oxygen, and a systemic corticosteroid….

Pearls • Both pulmonary and nonpulmonary disorders must be considered as leading to neonatal respiratory distress. • It is important to distinguish respiratory disorders from the normal neonatal cardiorespiratory transition….

Pearls • Children younger than 5 years have nearly equal peripheral and central airway resistance. This makes them more susceptible to developing respiratory failure with illnesses that affect the lower…

Pearls • Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a restrictive lung disease with clinical manifestations of hypoxemia, low respiratory system compliance, and new pulmonary infiltrates. Pathologically, ARDS is characterized by…

Pearls • Gas exchange is optimized when pulmonary perfusion (Q) and alveolar ventilation (V A ) are tightly matched. The fractal design of the lung and gravitational effects on the…

Pearls • Pulse oximetry is based on the principles that the pulsatile component of the optical absorbance detected from tissue is primarily from arterial blood and that oxyhemoglobin and reduced…

Pearls • Lungs increase in volume from about 250 mL at birth to 6000 mL in the adult. • Each lung lobe is subdivided into 19 bronchopulmonary segments, which receive…

Pearls • Three pathways to breathing failure are impaired neural control, failure of the muscles of breathing, and dysfunction of the mechanics of breathing. • Dysfunction of the mechanics of…

Pearls • The structures of the upper airway undergo extensive changes from infancy through young adulthood. An understanding of the numerous variations, congenital anomalies, and resulting special vulnerabilities of the…