SURGERY DURING INHALATION WITH NITRIC-OXIDE IN A PATIENT WITH SEVERE ADULT-RESPIRATORY-DISTRESS-SYNDROME (ARDS)

Nitric oxide (NO) is increasingly used in intensive care units (ICU) i n order to treat serious hypoxaemia secondary to ARDS. Since interrupt ing NO delivery in such patients for more than a few minutes could lea d to serious adverse events, moving the patient outside the ICU has be en very difficult. Recently developed equipment (Noresc 1503(R)) enabl ed us to deliver 10 or 20 ppm NO from a ventilatory bag with reservoir . This is used for ventilation under transport from the ICU to the ope rating theatre (OT) or radiology department. We present a patient with severe ARDS undergoing major surgery while being treated with NO. The patient could be moved to the OT and operated on during five hours wi thout significant changes in vital functions.