Simulated ventilation of two patients with a single ventilator in a pandemic setting.

Simultaneous ventilation of two patients may lead to hypoventilation in one patient and hyperinflation in the other patient. In a simulation of ventilation in two patients using artificial lungs, we voluntarily directed gas flow to one patient by using three-dimensional-printed Y-adapters and stenosis adapters during volume- and pressure-controlled ventilation in the first set up. We continuously modified the model using a special one-way valve on the flow-limited side and measured it in pressure-controlled ventilation with the flow sensor of the ventilator adjusted on both sides in a second and third setup. In the first setup, volume- or pressure-controlled ventilation resulted in comparable minute volumes in both lungs, even when one side was obstructed to 3 mm. In the second setup, with a 3-mm flow limitation, we had a minute ventilation of 9.4 ± 0.3 vs. 3.5 ± 0.1 L/min. In the third setup, ventilation with a 3-mm flow limitation resulted in minute ventilation of 7.2 ± 0.2 vs. 5.70 L/min at a compliance of 30 vs. 70 mL/mbar. It is possible to override the safety features of a modern intensive care ventilator and thus direct tidal volumes in different lung conditions to one lung using three-dimensional-printed flow limiters. While this ventilation setting was technically feasible in a bench model, it would be unstable, if not dangerous, in a clinical situation.

Anaphylactic reaction after systemic application of aprotinin triggered by aprotinin-containing fibrin sealant.

We report a 67-yr-old male after multiple surgical procedures for treatment of arterial occlusive disease who suffered an anaphylactic reaction after administration of aprotinin (Trasylol) prior to urgent coronary artery bypass surgery. The patient had been treated with aprotinin-containing fibrin sealant in 2004 and in 2007, 2 wk before coronary artery bypass surgery. The postoperative serologic screening revealed positive results for qualitative aprotinin-specific IgG, highly elevated quantitative aprotinin-specific IgG and moderately elevated aprotinin-specific IgE antibodies.