Wiener klinische Wochenschrift
-
Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Nov 2020
Recommendations for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in COVID-19 patients : Consensus paper of the Medical University of Vienna.
The pandemic from the SARS-CoV‑2 virus is currently challenging healthcare systems all over the world. Maintaining appropriate staffing and resources in healthcare facilities is essential to guarantee a safe working environment for healthcare personnel and safe patient care. ⋯ Although only a limited proportion of COVID-19 patients develop respiratory or circulatory failure that is refractory to conventional treatment, it is of utmost importance to clearly define criteria for the use of ECMO in this steadily growing patient population. The ECMO working group of the Medical University of Vienna has established the following recommendations for ECMO support in COVID-19 patients.
-
Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Nov 2020
SARS-CoV-2: recommendations for treatment in intensive care medicine.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) progresses mildly in most of the cases; however, about 5% of the patients develop a severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Of all COVID-19 patients 3% need intensive care treatment, which becomes a great challenge for anesthesiology and intensive care medicine, medically, hygienically and for technical safety requirements. ⋯ Due to the immense medical challenges, the following treatment guidelines were developed by the ÖGARI (Österreichische Gesellschaft für Anästhesiologie, Reanimation und Intensivmedizin), FASIM (Federation of Austrian Societies of Intensive Care Medicine) and ÖGIAIN (Österreichische Gesellschaft für Internistische und Allgemeine Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin). The recommendations given in this article are to be understood as short snapshots of the moment; all basic guidelines are works in progress and will be regularly updated as evidence levels, new study results and additional experience are gathered.
-
We analyze the age and sex distribution of the reported COVID-19 deaths in Austria. In accordance with international studies, the Austrian data also suggests that the risk of death increases substantially with age. The observed age dependency of the proportions of registered COVID-19 deaths in relation to the population sizes in the age groups is approximately exponential, similar to the age dependency of the general age specific mortality rate. ⋯ The parallels to the general age specific mortality rates do not imply that COVID-19 does not pose an additional risk. On the contrary, it follows from the structure and magnitude of the infection fatality rate that it is substantial, especially for higher age groups. However, since in many cases persons with severe pre-existing conditions are affected, it is not yet possible to estimate what effects COVID-19 will have on life expectancy.
-
Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Nov 2020
Emergency reconstruction of large general hospital under the perspective of new COVID-19 prevention and control.
To summarize the successful experience of timely crisis management, correct measures, and successful display of the hospital image in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (FAHZU), to improve the ability of emergency response. ⋯ The successful cases of FAHZU provided a valuable experience for large medical institutions on how to address public health emergencies and how to carry out diagnosis and treatment and streamline the layout and related facilities in emergency reconstruction.