Procedurer The commonest error in paracentesis is not performing it. Every patient admitted with ascites should undergo a diagnostic paracentesis , because spontaneous bacterial peritonitis often…

…a threatened airway, a marked risk of aspiration, or failure that is not rapidly reversed by an antidote B Respiratory rate, saturation, chest movement and…

…therapeutic studies of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The threshold is not absolute: patient phenotype, risk factors for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, echocardiographic findings…

…asthma. Severity in COPD Arterial blood gas Type 1 respiratory failure: PaO₂ < 8 kPa with a normal or low PaCO₂ — a problem of oxygenation…

…below 7.35 with raised pCO₂ Acute or acute on chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure Rapidly falling pH An urgent ventilatory problem Focal chest pain or…

…crisis. Contraindications There are no absolute contraindications in hypoxaemia. Take particular care in: A risk of hypercapnic respiratory failure — COPD, severe obesity with hypoventilation, neuromuscular…

…especially in young women. Non coronary mechanisms that reduce oxygen supply include severe bradyarrhythmia, respiratory failure with severe hypoxaemia, severe anaemia, and hypotension or shock…

…in renal failure, heart failure, a history of peptic ulcer, and old age Titrate according to the effect and the respiratory rate, not to a…

…When ACE is inhibited, the resulting accumulation of these peptides irritates afferent neural pathways in the respiratory tract. This process is not dose dependent. Similarly…

…for example, ketoacidosis A venous sample is often sufficient if respiratory failure is not suspected Shock with a large arteriovenous difference Arterial sample, sometimes supplemented…