View clinical trials related to Pulmonary Valve Insufficiency.
Filter by:Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a means of artificially performing the function of the human lung and/or heart outside the body. Its use is escalating in a wide range of clinical settings in the adult population without evidence or guidelines to support this practice. This study involves a nationwide questionnaire which has two components. The initial pilot survey will attempt to identify all institutions currently practicing ECMO or those intending to do so in the future, and are willing to participate in prospective data collection. The second phase will involve a monthly survey of these centres regarding the extent of ECMO use, practice details implemented, and outcome data. It is hoped that the collection of this information will later assist in the development of guidelines for this expensive and presently unsubstantiated practice, together with the construction of appropriate training programs for staff.
Heart failure is a common reason for respiratory failure in ICU patients. The rapid and accurate differentiation of heart failure from other causes of respiratory failure remains a clinical challenge. BNP levels are significantly higher in patients with congestive heart failure as compared to patients with respiratory failure due to other causes. Therefore, rapid measurement of BNP might be very helpful in establishing or excluding the diagnosis of heart failure in patients with respiratory failure in the ICU. The aim is to test the hypothesis that a BNP guided diagnostic strategy would improve the evaluation and management of patients presenting with primary (on admission) or secondary (while in the ICU) respiratory failure in the ICU and thereby reduce total treatment time and total cost of treatment. Primary endpoints are time to discharge and total cost of treatment. Secondary endpoints are ICU length of stay, ICU cost, in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality, cost-effectiveness, 6 and 12 month mortality, 6 and 12 month dyspnea score.
Patients may be very agitated during the weaning period from mechanical ventilation. Administration of loxapine, a neuroleptic that does not notably affect ventilatory drive, may help in obtaining an adequate level of cooperation and, therefore, in reducing the duration of mechanical ventilation.
The purpose of this study is to compare the mechanical and infectious complications of peripheral versus central venous catheters in critically ill patients. Group allocation will be performed by randomization.
Repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), the most common form of cyanotic congenital heart disease, usually involves surgery on the outflow of the right ventricle (RV) and the pulmonary valve in order to relieve obstruction to blood flow from the RV to the lungs. This procedure often leads to regurgitation (leakage) of the pulmonary valve, which puts the burden of handling a larger than normal amount of blood flow on the RV. Over the years, that extra burden leads to enlargement of the RV and to a decrease in its function. Treatment often includes surgical insertion or replacement of a new pulmonary valve. Replacement of the damaged pulmonary valve aims to minimize the leakage and help the RV function better. This study is designed to compare two methods of how the operation (called pulmonary valve replacement [PVR]) is performed. In the first method, a new valve is inserted and only the area of the old valve is operated on; this is the standard PVR. The second method involves inserting the new valve in the same way as the standard method but, in addition, areas of the right ventricular wall that are scarred and not functioning well are removed (PVR plus right ventricular remodeling). This study will evaluate which method is more effective based on the size and function of the RV measured by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) six months following surgery, as compared to its size and function before the operation.