Clustering barotrauma patients in ICU–A data mining based approach using ventilator variables

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 9273

Polymicrobial interactions in infections: the case Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans in ventilator-associated pneumonia

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica (área de especialização em Engenharia Clinica)

Evaluation of the DPMFoam solver

[Extrat] Multiphase flows are relevant in several industrial processes, thus the availability of accurate numerical modeling tools, able to support the design of products and processes, is of much significance. OpenFOAM version 2.3.x comprises a multiphase flow solver able to couple Eulerian and Lagrangian phases using the discrete particles method (DPM), the DPMFoam. In this work the DPMFoam solver is assessed by comparing its predictions with analytical results and experimental and simulated data available in the literature. They are results from Goldschmidt’s [1] and Hoomans’s [2] theses and the analytical Ergun equation. The goal was to define accuracy and performance of DPMFoam in general scientific or commercial applications. Obtained results demonstrate a good agreement with the reference simulation data and is within reasonable deviations from the experimental values. (...)

Autoimmune diseases and pregnancy: analysis of a series of cases

BACKGROUND: An autoimmune disease is characterized by tissue damage, caused by self-reactivity of different effector mechanisms of the immune system, namely antibodies and T cells. All autoimmune diseases, to some extent, have implications for fertility and obstetrics. Currently, due to available treatments and specialised care for pregnant women with autoimmune disease, the prognosis for both mother and child has improved significantly. However these pregnancies are always high risk. The purpose of this study is to analyse the fertility/pregnancy process of women with systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases and assess pathological and treatment implications. METHODS: The authors performed an analysis of the clinical records and relevant obstetric history of five patients representing five distinct autoimmune pathological scenarios, selected from Autoimmune Disease Consultation at the Hospital of Braga, and reviewed the literature. RESULTS: The five clinical cases are the following: Case 1-28 years old with systemic lupus erythematosus, and clinical remission of the disease, under medication with hydroxychloroquine, prednisolone and acetylsalicylic acid, with incomplete miscarriage at 7 weeks of gestation without signs of thrombosis. Case 2-44 years old with history of two late miscarriages, a single preterm delivery (33 weeks) and multiple thrombotic events over the years, was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome after acute myocardial infarction. Case 3-31 years old with polymyositis, treated with azathioprine for 3 years with complete remission of the disease, took the informed decision to get pregnant after medical consultation and full weaning from azathioprine, and gave birth to a healthy term new-born. Case 4-38 years old pregnant woman developed Behcet's syndrome during the final 15 weeks of gestation and with disease exacerbation after delivery. Case 5-36 years old with autoimmune thyroiditis diagnosed during her first pregnancy, with difficult control over the thyroid function over the years and first trimester miscarriage, suffered a second miscarriage despite clinical stability and antibody regression. CONCLUSIONS: As described in literature, the authors found a strong association between autoimmune disease and obstetric complications, especially with systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome and autoimmune thyroiditis.

Mechanical ventilation for the treatment of severe excessive dynamic airway collapse

[Excerpt] We read with interest the case report by Ismael et al1 describing a patient with Sjo¨gren’s syndrome and cystic lung disease who could not be weaned from a ventilator due to severe central excessive dynamic airway collapse (EDAC) of the lower part of the trachea and proximal bronchi. EDAC corresponds to the expiratory bulging of the tracheobronchial wall without known airway structural abnormalities, leading to a decrease of at least 50% in internal diameter.2 It is a rare and underdiagnosed entity, commonly confused with other respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD. Although noninvasive procedures such as cervicothoracic computed tomography scan on inspiration and expiration may suggest the disorder, the accepted standard method for diagnosis is bronchoscopy.3-7 (...).

Strategies to combat infections of Acinetobacter baumannii biofilms

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica (área de especialização em Engenharia Clínica)

Tendências da pesquisa em comunicação organizacional em Portugal: um estudo desde 1990 a 2009

ISBN 978-972-8932-91-6

Contributos para a elucidação do modo de ação de própolis português: o caso do própolis do Pereiro

Dissertação de mestrado em Genética Molecular

Critical events in mechanically ventilated patients

Mechanical Ventilation is an artificial way to help a Patient to breathe. This procedure is used to support patients with respiratory diseases however in many cases it can provoke lung damages, Acute Respiratory Diseases or organ failure. With the goal to early detect possible patient breath problems a set of limit values was defined to some variables monitored by the ventilator (Average Ventilation Pressure, Compliance Dynamic, Flow, Peak, Plateau and Support Pressure, Positive end-expiratory pressure, Respiratory Rate) in order to create critical events. A critical event is verified when a patient has a value higher or lower than the normal range defined for a certain period of time. The values were defined after elaborate a literature review and meeting with physicians specialized in the area. This work uses data streaming and intelligent agents to process the values collected in real-time and classify them as critical or not. Real data provided by an Intensive Care Unit were used to design and test the solution. In this study it was possible to understand the importance of introduce critical events for Mechanically Ventilated Patients. In some cases a value is considered critical (can trigger an alarm) however it is a single event (instantaneous) and it has not a clinical significance for the patient. The introduction of critical events which crosses a range of values and a pre-defined duration contributes to improve the decision-making process by decreasing the number of false positives and having a better comprehension of the patient condition.