Pulmonary Toxins Hong K. Kim and Rama B. Rao BACKGROUND The pulmonary system has multiple important physiologic functions. The most essential—oxygenation of hemoglobin—occurs across a layer of endothelial cells in…

High Risk Pulmonary Embolism Tsuyoshi Mitarai BACKGROUND In an autopsy series of hospital deaths, pulmonary embolism (PE) was found in approximately 15% of the cases and—after excluding incidental PE—to be…

Sickle Cell Disease Richard Ward BACKGROUND Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic disorders in North America, affecting an estimated 70,000 individuals. It results from a…

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Darryl Abrams and Daniel Brodie BACKGROUND Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by the rapid onset of hypoxemia and bilateral pulmonary infiltrates consistent with pulmonary…

Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage Parvathi A. Myer and Shai Friedland LOWER GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING Background Lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB), defined as bleeding below the ligament of Treitz, accounts for 20% of all acute…

Acute Pulmonary Edema Nina Patel Shah and Margaret J. Neff BACKGROUND No single test can distinguish cardiogenic from non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema. A clear understanding of the physiology of each disease…

Ventilation Strategies in COPD, Asthma, and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Jey K. Chung, Paul K. Mohabir, and Stephen Ruoss BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)…

Management of the Post–Cardiac Arrest Patient Cappi Lay BACKGROUND In the United States, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) affects roughly 300,000 people each year.1 Despite herculean efforts in improving outcome, mortality…

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Vidya K. Rao, Darryl Abrams, Cara Agerstrand, and Daniel Brodie BACKGROUND Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a term often used broadly to describe an extracorporeal circuit that…