Nurses Helping Nurses
allnurses Network: Central | Jobs | Books | Newsletter
allnurses: A Nursing Community for Nurses
Home General News Blogs Articles Students Region Specialty Degrees F.A.Q.
MICU and SICU Nursing Forum /

Lung transplant: balance between sparing lungs and administering fluid.



Did You Know?
allnurses is the largest community for nurses on the web. We now have over 388,270 members! Join today to network with other nurses, laugh, share, and much more.

Sep 12, 2009 03:31 AM

Lung transplant: balance between sparing lungs and administering fluid.


Just curious what the concensus is out there with thoracic transplant nurses. I am relatively new to the thoracic specialty (8 mos thoracic, but RN for 5 years with Neuro ICU background prior) and I haven't figured out the balance between tolerating a low MAP and CI versus giving fluid to bolster the index of a lung transplant pt. I know giving fluid potentially sacrifices the health of the new lungs even when it improves numbers.

I have a pt who was transplanted a week ago (relatively healthy young pt in 30's) and got a large pair of lungs...so large that they opened the pt back up for several days to allow the inflammatory process to ease before closing the chest again (after repeat periods of SVT 170's and CI <1.2). So the pt is closed but still on NO and 80% O2 and Maps are now low 50's, CI 1.6-1.9, SVO2 low 60's, UOP amazingly 30-40/hr, HR low 100's. pt sedated but follows commands c stimulation. Pt numbers just hang here and occasionally drops lower. CVP is about 7. I know that the ideal cvp is 4-7 for lung transplants so I hesitate to give fluid, but it's unnerving to see an index bounce from 1.6-1.9 (postop this pt was very fluid dependant for index) with a young, previously healthy heart. What are your thoughts? When should I start pushing for fluids, especially in light of the fact that the pt was fluid dependant for CI postop? I'm at a teaching hospital on noc shift so the residents aren't exactly pros at this and I have to be proactive to get things done. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. thanks.


Share

Search Tags
None
Top

 
Advertisement
Sponsored Links
 
Reply
2 Comments
No. 1
from ShyViolet
Old Sep 14, 2009, 06:38 PM

Default Re: Lung transplant: balance between sparing lungs and administering fluid.
I have seen both heart and lung transplants kept fairly dry for the most part, with inotropic support for MAP and CI. Our surgeons' drug of choice for this is usually either epi or milrinone or some combination thereof.
Top
 
No. 2
from ghillbert
Old Sep 16, 2009, 11:45 PM

Default Re: Lung transplant: balance between sparing lungs and administering fluid.
My surgeon loves to run his lung tx's DRYYYYYYYYYY. Woe betide the foolish nurse who overloads the patient.

Now, I'm biased because I work mostly with heart failure and mechanical support devices BUT.....

OP, your patient sounds like he has cardiac failure. He needs inotropes +/- mechanical support. If he had a healthy heart, he wouldn't be unable to maintain perfusion with normal filling pressures. How are the lungs? PVR? Perhaps despite NO you have high PAPs and the RV is failing from high afterload and unable to get blood across to the LV. Epi would help there, although it's going to compromise your HR.

You do have to give 'enough' fluid and perhaps your patient needs more. But really I would want to know pulmonary pressures and resistance, as well as echo visualization of the heart so I could tell how much is cardiac and how much is respiratory failure.

In any case, your patient is in extremis. MAPs of 50 and CI 1.6 in new postop, young patient? Very much not good. What happens with a fluid challenge? Does it improve the index? Poor man's method of checking - raise legs and see if your CI improves. If it does, he needs volume. If it doesn't, he needs inotropic support.

In terms of the balance between sparing lungs and fluid - alive and perfused wins over lung condition in my book. No point having lovely lungs and being brain injured or chronically nephropathic.

Please let us know.
Top
 
Reply




Thread Tools


Who's Online
352 members
3,584 guests
3,936

0

Interesting article on ThedaCare's Collaborative Care Model

2

Possible breakthrough regarding MS

35

16th Philly area hospital to stop delivering babies: Mercy...

7

Really interesting article on Indian open hearts

4

High-Tech Pump Does What Her Heart Can't

2

Air Force RN Force RN Found Not Guilty

13

Hospital Falters as Refuge for Illegal Immigrants

6

California Imposes Stricter Rules Regarding Drug Abuse In...

38

Are older nurses being forced out of the profession?

3

An outlook in California?






Currently Reading This Page: 1 (0 members & 1 guests)

Interested in the hottest topics of the week? Subscribe to the Nurse-zine Newsletter.
Enter email address: