ObjectiveTo explore the influence of norepinephrine on the prediction of fluid responsiveness by passive leg raising (PLR) during septic shock. MethodsForty-six septic shock patients in intensive care unit of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were prospectively observed from September to November 2012. Among which 36 septic shock patients were enrolled with a positive PLR test (defined by an increase in stroke volume index ≥10%). A PLR test was performed at baseline (PLR1). A second PLR test (PLR2) was performed at returning to supine position for 10 min and the dose of norepinephrine was increased to maintain MAP ≥65 mmHg for 20 min. The changes of heart rate(HR),mean arterial pressure(MAP),central venous pressure(CVP),cardiac index(CI),stroke volume index(SVI),index of systemic vascular resistance(SVRI),global end-diastolic volume index(GEDVI),and cardiac function index(CFI) were monitored by transpulmonary thermodilution technique (PiCCO). ResultsPLR1 significantly increased SVI by (20.54±9.63)%,CI by (20.57±9.89)%,MAP by (7.64±5.77)%,and CVP by (25.83±23.39)%. As the dose of norepinephrine increased,SVI was increased by (16.97±9.06)%,CI by (16.78±8.39)%,GEDVI by (9.08±4.47)%,MAP by (28.07±12.48)%,and CVP by (7.86±8.52)%. PLR2 increased SVI by (13.74±8.79)%,CI by (13.79±9.08)%,MAP by (2.93±5.06)%,and CVP by (13.36±14.74)%. The PLR2 and the dose increase of norepinephrine augmented SVI to a significantly lesser extent than the PLR1 performed at baseline (both P<0.05). However,SVI increased by <10% in 6 patients while the baseline PLR was positive in these patients. ConclusionIn septic patients with a positive PLR at baseline,norepinephrine increases cardiac preload and cardiac output and influences the fluid responsiveness.
To investigate the influence of the preload and supporting stiffness on the hearing compensation performance of round window stimulation, a coupling finite model composed of a human ear, an actuator and a support was established. This model was constructed based on a complete set of micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) images of a healthy adult’s right ear by reverse engineering technology. The validity of the model was verified by comparing the model’s calculated results with experimental data. Based on this model, we applied different amplitude preloads on the actuator, and changed the support’s stiffness. Then, the influences of the actuator’s preload and the support’s stiffness were analyzed by comparing the corresponding displacements of the basilar membrane. The results show that after applying a preload on the actuator, its hearing compensation performance was increased at the middle and high frequencies, but was deteriorated at low frequencies; besides, compared with using the fascia as the actuator’s support in clinical practice, utilizing the titanium alloy to fabricate the support would enhance the hearing compensation performance of the round window stimulation in the whole frequency range.
Aiming at the problem of the influence of preloading force on its mechanical response in soft tissue compression experiments, an elimination method of preloading force based on linear loading region is proposed. Unconfined compression experiments under a variety of different preloading forces are performed. The influence of the preloading force on the parameters of constitutive model is analyzed. In the preload phase, the mechanical response of the soft tissue is taken as a linear model. The preloading force is eliminated by taking the preloading phase into account throughout the response process. According to five different preloading forces of the unconfined compression experiments, the elimination method is validated with two different constitutive models of soft tissue, and the error between the models obtained by the preloading force elimination method and the traditional method with the experimental results is compared. The results show that the error obtained by preloading force elimination method is significantly smaller than the traditional method. The preloading force elimination method can eliminate the influence of preloading force on mechanical response to a certain extent, and constitutive model parameters which are closer to the true properties of soft tissue can be obtained.