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A pulmonary shunt is the passage of deoxygenated blood from the right side of the heart to the left without participation in gas exchange in the pulmonary capillaries.
A pulmonary shunt occurs when there is re-diversion of blood from its usual path through pulmonary circulation. This can occur when there is an abnormal flow of blood from the right side of the heart to the left side of the heart, bypassing the lungs.
There are examples of blood shunting even in the healthy cardiopulmonary system, but shunts may arise or worsen with disease and cause systemic hypoxemia. Here we will look at some of the causes of shunts and how to calculate their severity.
In conditions with left-to-right shunt, blood from the systemic arterial circulation mixes with systemic venous blood. Multiple factors influence the extent of flow through the shunt and its physiologic effects. The pathophysiology of left-to-right shunts is reviewed here.
Pulmonary shunt refers to the passage of venous blood into the arterial blood system bypassing the alveoli-blood gas exchange. Pulmonary shunt is defined by a drop in the physiologic coupling of lung ventilation and lung perfusion.
The effect of physiologic right-to-left shunts is minimized by hypoxic vasoconstriction in the pulmonary circulation, which redirects blood flow to better-ventilated areas of the lungs for more efficient exchange.
Pulmonary shunt, an abnormal passage of blood through the pulmonary circulation without adequate gas exchange, poses significant challenges in critical care. This comprehensive review explores the pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches, and management strategies associated with pulmonary shunt.
Pulmonary shunt, an abnormal passage of blood through the pulmonary circulation without adequate gas exchange, poses significant challenges in critical care. This comprehensive review explores the pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches, and management strategies associated with pulmonary shunt.
Pulmonary circulation is the system of transportation that shunts de-oxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs to be re-saturated with oxygen before being dispersed into the systemic circulation. Deoxygenated blood from the lower half of the body enters the heart from the inferior vena cava.
A pulmonary shunt is described as a diffusion or perfusion impairment resulting in decreased oxygenated blood returning into arterial circulation. From: Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, 2012