Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Pulmonary microvascular fat: the significance?

T A Gitin1, T Seidel, P J Cera

  • 1Department of Pathology, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA 17822-2037.

Critical Care Medicine
|May 1, 1993
PubMed
Summary

Fat emboli are not the primary cause of cardiopulmonary dysfunction in critically ill patients. This study found that other factors are more likely responsible for observed symptoms, challenging previous assumptions.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Pneumocandins from Zalerion arboricola. III. Structure elucidation.

The Journal of antibiotics·1992
Same author

Sphingofungins E and F: novel serinepalmitoyl transferase inhibitors from Paecilomyces variotii.

The Journal of antibiotics·1992
Same author

Overexpression of oskar directs ectopic activation of nanos and presumptive pole cell formation in Drosophila embryos.

Cell·1992
Same author

Use of paraffin wax embedded bone marrow trephine biopsy specimens as a source of archival DNA.

Journal of clinical pathology·1992
Same author

Acute myeloid leukemia with T-lymphoid expression and distinct chromosomal abnormalities.

Blood·1992
Same author

Physicians' assistants doing endoscopy?

The American journal of gastroenterology·1992

Area of Science:

  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Pulmonary Medicine
  • Pathophysiology

Background:

  • Fat embolism syndrome is a potential complication in critically ill patients, often implicated in cardiopulmonary dysfunction.
  • The precise role and impact of fat emboli on cardiopulmonary function in this population remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between the presence of fat emboli in pulmonary microvasculature and cardiopulmonary function in critically ill patients.
  • To determine if fat emboli are a significant contributing factor to observed cardiopulmonary dysfunction in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective study conducted in a tertiary referral medical/surgical shock/trauma ICU.
  • Pulmonary artery catheters were used to obtain blood samples for fat content analysis (Oil Red-O staining) at multiple time points.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Fat scores were correlated with various clinical parameters including chest radiography, hemodynamics, respiratory mechanics, and laboratory data.

    • Main Results:

    • Pulmonary microvascular fat was detected in a significant proportion of patients, with higher grades associated with trauma as the reason for ICU admission.
    • Chest compliance and body temperature showed significant associations with fat emboli, but in directions opposite to expected.
    • No clear or consistent associations were found between fat emboli and key cardiopulmonary parameters like oxygenation or ventilation, suggesting other etiologies for dysfunction.

    Conclusions:

    • The cardiopulmonary dysfunction frequently attributed to fat emboli in critically ill patients is likely caused by other underlying conditions.
    • This study suggests a re-evaluation of the role of fat embolism as a primary cause of respiratory and hemodynamic compromise in the ICU setting.