Robert J. Awe

Left ventricular function during respiratory failure.

Indirect measures of left ventricular function were studied in seven patients with respiratory failure secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to determine if there were a relationship between left ventricular function and treatment of the pulmonary disease. All patients were studied during acute episodes while in respiratory failure having arterial Pco2, (Paco2) values greater than 49 torr with no clinical evidence of left ventricular failure. Indirect methods to evaluate left ventricular function included the use of the Swan-Ganz catheter for pulmonary capillary wedge pressure measurement, systolic time intervals, and cardiac output. There was improvement in left ventricular function with treatment of the respiratory failure manifested by decreases in the wedge pressure and pre-ejection period/left ventricular ejection time ratio, and an increase in the dp/dt/pulmonary capillary wedge pressure with treatment of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The improvement in left ventricular function suggests that there is a depression of left ventricular function in respiratory failure. The depressed function improved with therapy of the lung disease without additional medication directed at cardiac function.

Case Report: Pasteurella Multocida Liver Abscess

A previously healthy 61-year-old woman was seen with an abnormal chest roentgenogram and a 3-week history of fever, chills, malaise, and right upper quadrant pain. Blood cultures revealed Pasteurella multocida sensitive to penicillin. Liver spleen radioisotope scan and CT scan revealed space occupying lesions in the right lobe of the liver. The patient was a gardener with no pets or animal exposure. This case illustrates P. multocida septicemia and a liver abscess in a patient without animal exposure. In addition, the possibility of soil as another reservoir of infection is raised.