Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin
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Patients with signs of an acute abdomen continue to be a challenge for both the emergency physician and the intensivist. Clinical symptoms usually result from secondary peritonitis possibly progressing to intraabdominal sepsis. ⋯ Beyond routine diagnostic procedures, patients with an acute abdomen often require a CT scan which helps to detect the septic focus, thereby often allowing an interventional source control. Therapy consists of three main elements: source control, broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy, and supportive intensive care medicine.
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Med Klin Intensivmed Notfmed · Sep 2014
Case Reports[Turkish patient with syncope and accompanying vegetative symptoms with bradycardia after eating pontin honey].
A 52-year-old man with Turkish background presented with nausea, emesis, one experience of syncope with loss of consciousness for a few seconds, and documented sinus bradycardia. During monitoring, several phases of bradycardia were observed. After 24 h of monitoring, the patient was free of complaints. ⋯ Because of the anamnesis and the typical characteristics, grayanotoxin poisoning was diagnosed. Typical symptoms of this poisoning are hypotension, bradycardia, syncope, and loss of consciousness. When these symptoms are found and a typical anamnesis exists, this kind of intoxication has to been taken into consideration as part of the differential diagnosis.
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Acute aortic syndrome (AAS) is a life-threatening disease. Quick and accurate diagnosis is crucial. Patients should be transferred to a competence center without any delay as soon as AAS is suspected. ⋯ However, when associated with complications, endovascular treatment is recommended. A symptomatic intramural hematoma, a penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer or pending aortic rupture are associated with a substantial risk. Therefore, surgical or endovascular therapy is recommended.
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Perioperative acute kidney injury (AKI) is common and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes, excess mortality, and an increased risk for chronic renal failure. Recommendations to prevent perioperative AKI include the early identification of patients at risk, the avoidance of nephrotoxic drugs, and early goal-directed haemodynamic stabilization. The major causes for perioperative AKI are severe sepsis and septic shock, hypovolemia, bleeding and cardiac failure. ⋯ Data from a recent meta-analysis show that, in surgical patients, mortality is reduced when renal replacement therapy is started early. In certain surgical diseases, i.e. acute occlusive disease of the abdominal aorta (Leriche's syndrome) following surgical reperfusion, patients are at risk of severe metabolic acidosis and life-threatening hyperkalemia. In such cases, intraoperative dialysis using a mobile batch system can help to avoid these complications by delivering an effective dialysis therapy at the time of reperfusion.