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Transient Tachypnea Of The Newborn
Transient tachypnea of the newborn is a respiratory problem that can be seen in the newborn shortly after delivery. It is caused by retained fetal lung fluid due to impaired clearance mechanisms. It is the most common cause of respiratory distress in term neonates. It consists of a period of tachypnea (rapid breathing, higher than the normal range of 30–60 times per minute). Usually, this condition resolves over 24–72 hours. Treatment is supportive and may include supplemental oxygen and antibiotics. The chest x-ray shows hyperinflation of the lungs including prominent pulmonary vascular markings, flattening of the diaphragm, and fluid in the horizontal fissure of the right lung. Signs and symptoms Symptoms of transient tachypnea of the newborn include respiratory distress and rapid breathing (tachypnea). This condition usually occurs within the first two hours of birth in full term and late term newborn infants. Pathophysiology Due to the higher incidence of transient ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Respiratory System
The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies greatly, depending on the size of the organism, the environment in which it lives and its evolutionary history. In terrestrial animal, land animals, the respiratory surface is internalized as linings of the lungs. Gas exchange in the lungs occurs in millions of small air sacs; in mammals and reptiles, these are called pulmonary alveolus, alveoli, and in birds, they are known as Bird anatomy#Respiratory system, atria. These microscopic air sacs have a very rich blood supply, thus bringing the air into close contact with the blood. These air sacs communicate with the external environment via a system of airways, or hollow tubes, of which the largest is the trachea, which branches in the middle of the chest into the two main bronchus, bronchi. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catecholamine
A catecholamine (; abbreviated CA), most typically a 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine, is a monoamine neurotransmitter, an organic compound that has a catechol (benzene with two hydroxyl side groups next to each other) and a side-chain amine. Catechol can be either a free molecule or a substituent of a larger molecule, where it represents a 1,2-dihydroxybenzene group. Catecholamines are derived from the amino acid tyrosine, which is derived from dietary sources as well as synthesis from phenylalanine. Catecholamines are water-soluble and are 50% bound to plasma proteins in circulation. Included among catecholamines are epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and dopamine. Release of the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine from the adrenal medulla of the adrenal glands is part of the fight-or-flight response. Tyrosine is created from phenylalanine by hydroxylation by the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase. Tyrosine is also ingested directly from dietary prote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corticosteroids
Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of these hormones. Two main classes of corticosteroids, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, are involved in a wide range of physiological processes, including stress response, immune response, and regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism, protein catabolism, blood electrolyte levels, and behavior. Some common naturally occurring steroid hormones are cortisol (), corticosterone (), cortisone () and aldosterone () (cortisone and aldosterone are isomers). The main corticosteroids produced by the adrenal cortex are cortisol and aldosterone. The etymology of the '' cortico-'' part of the name refers to the adrenal cortex, which makes these steroid hormones. Thus a corticosteroid is a "cortex steroid". Classes * Glucocorticoids such as cortisol affect carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism, and have anti-inflam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a form of positive airway pressure (PAP) ventilation in which a constant level of pressure greater than atmospheric pressure is continuously applied to the upper respiratory tract of a person. The application of positive pressure may be intended to prevent upper airway collapse, as occurs in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), or to reduce the work of breathing in conditions such as acute decompensated heart failure. CPAP therapy is highly effective for managing obstructive sleep apnea. Compliance and acceptance of use of CPAP therapy can be a limiting factor, with 8% of people stopping use after the first night and 50% within the first year. Medical uses Moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea CPAP is the most effective treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, in which the mild pressure from the CPAP prevents the airway from collapsing or becoming blocked. CPAP has been shown to be 100% effective at eliminating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supplemental Oxygen
A breathing apparatus or breathing set is equipment which allows a person to breathe in a hostile environment where breathing would otherwise be impossible, difficult, harmful, or hazardous, or assists a person to breathe. A respirator, medical ventilator, or resuscitator may also be considered to be breathing apparatus. Equipment that supplies or recycles breathing gas other than ambient air in a space used by several people is usually referred to as being part of a life-support system, and a life-support system for one person may include breathing apparatus, when the breathing gas is specifically supplied to the user rather than to the enclosure in which the user is the occupant. Breathing apparatus may be classified by type in several ways: * by breathing gas source: self-contained gas supply, remotely supplied gas, or purified ambient air, * by environment: underwater/hyperbaric, terrestrial/normobaric, or high altitude/hypobaric, * by breathing circuit type: open, semi-close ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulmonary Aspiration
Pulmonary aspiration is the entry of solid or liquid material such as pharyngeal secretions, food, drink, or stomach contents from the oropharynx or gastrointestinal tract, into the trachea and lungs. When pulmonary aspiration occurs during eating and drinking, the aspirated material is often colloquially referred to as "going down the wrong pipe". Consequences of pulmonary aspiration include no injury at all, chemical pneumonitis, pneumonia, or even death from asphyxiation. These consequences depend on the volume, chemical composition, particle size, and presence of infectious agents in the aspirated material, and on the underlying health status of the person. In healthy people, aspiration of small quantities of material is common and rarely results in disease or injury. People with significant underlying disease or injury are at greater risk for developing respiratory complications following pulmonary aspiration, especially hospitalized patients, because of certain factors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supportive Care
Symptomatic treatment, supportive care, supportive therapy, or palliative treatment is any medical therapy of a disease that only affects its symptoms, not the underlying cause. It is usually aimed at reducing the signs and symptoms for the comfort and well-being of the patient, but it also may be useful in reducing organic consequences and sequelae of these signs and symptoms of the disease. In many diseases, even in those whose etiologies are known (e.g., most viral diseases, such as influenza and Rift Valley fever), symptomatic treatment is the only treatment available so far. For more detail, see supportive therapy. For conditions like cancer, arthritis, neuropathy, tendinopathy, and injury, it can be useful to distinguish treatments that are supportive/palliative and cannot alter the natural history of the disease ( disease modifying treatments). Examples Examples of symptomatic treatments: * Analgesics, to reduce pain * Anti-inflammatory agents, for inflammatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meconium
Meconium is the earliest stool of a mammalian infant resulting from defecation. Unlike later feces, meconium is composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus: intestinal epithelial cells, lanugo, mucus, amniotic fluid, bile, and water. Meconium, unlike later feces, is viscous and sticky like tar – its color usually being a very dark olive green and it is almost odorless. When diluted in amniotic fluid, it may appear in various shades of green, brown, or yellow. It should be completely passed by the end of the first few days after birth, with the stools progressing toward yellow (digested milk). Clinical significance Meconium in amniotic fluid Meconium is normally retained in the infant's bowel until after birth, but sometimes it is expelled into the amniotic fluid prior to birth or during labor and delivery. The stained amniotic fluid is recognized by medical staff as a possible sign of fetal distress. Some post-dates pregnancies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surfactant
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension or interfacial tension between two liquids, a liquid and a gas, or a liquid and a solid. The word ''surfactant'' is a Blend word, blend of "surface-active agent", coined in 1950. As they consist of a water-repellent and a water-attracting part, they enable water and oil to mix; they can form foam and facilitate the detachment of dirt. Surfactants are among the most widespread and commercially important chemicals. Private households as well as many industries use them in large quantities as detergent, detergents and cleaning agents, but also for example as emulsion#Emulsifiers, emulsifiers, wetting agents, foaming agents, Antistatic agent, antistatic additives, or dispersants. Surfactants occur naturally in traditional plant-based detergents, e.g. Aesculus, horse chestnuts or Sapindus, soap nuts; they can also be found in the secretions of some caterpillars. Today one of the most commonly used anionic surfa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), also known as neonatal aspiration of meconium, is a medical condition affecting newborn infants. It describes the spectrum of disorders and pathophysiology of newborns born in meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) and have meconium within their lungs. Therefore, MAS has a wide range of severity depending on what conditions and complications develop after parturition. Furthermore, the pathophysiology of MAS is multifactorial and extremely complex which is why it is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in term infants. The word ''meconium'' is derived from the Greek word ''mēkōnion'' meaning ''juice from the opium poppy'' as the sedative effects it had on the foetus were observed by Aristotle. Meconium is a sticky dark-green substance which contains gastrointestinal secretions, amniotic fluid, bile acids, bile, blood, mucus, cholesterol, pancreatic secretions, lanugo, vernix caseosa and cellular debris. Meconium accumulates in the foeta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also known as surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD), and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants caused by developmental insufficiency of pulmonary surfactant production and structural immaturity in the lungs. It can also be a consequence of neonatal infection and can result from a genetic problem with the production of surfactant-associated proteins. IRDS affects about 1% of newborns and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. Data have shown the choice of elective caesarean sections to strikingly increase the incidence of respiratory distress in term infants; dating back to 1995, the UK first documented 2,000 annual caesarean section births requiring neonatal admission for respiratory distress. The incidence decreases with advancing gestational age, from about 50% in babies born at 26–28 weeks to about 25% at 30–31 weeks. The syndrome is more frequent in m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diagnosis Of Exclusion
A diagnosis of exclusion or by exclusion (''per exclusionem'') is a diagnosis of a medical condition reached by a process of elimination, which may be necessary if presence cannot be established with complete confidence from history, examination or testing. Such elimination of other reasonable possibilities is a major component in performing a differential diagnosis. Diagnosis by exclusion tends to occur where scientific knowledge is scarce, specifically where the means to verify a diagnosis by an objective method is absent. It can also commonly occur where objective diagnostic tests do exist, but extensive diagnostic testing or sufficient exploration of differential diagnosis by a multidisciplinary team is not undertaken due to financial constraints or assessment bias ( health inequity). The largest category of diagnosis by exclusion is seen among psychiatric disorders where the presence of physical or organic disease must be excluded as a prerequisite for making a functional dia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
