Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2017
Prognosis of patients with rheumatic diseases admitted to intensive care.
Variable mortality rates have been reported for patients with rheumatic diseases admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Due to the absence of appropriate control groups in previous studies, it is not known whether the presence of a rheumatic disease constitutes a risk factor. Moreover, the accuracy of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score for predicting outcome in this group of patients has been questioned. ⋯ There was no difference in the performance of the APACHE II score for predicting outcome in patients with rheumatic diseases and controls. This score, as well as a requirement for the use of inotropes or vasopressors, accurately predicted hospital mortality in the group of patients with rheumatic diseases. In conclusion, patients with a rheumatic condition admitted to intensive care do not do significantly worse than patients without such a disease.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2017
Observational StudyEvaluating team-based inter-professional advanced life support training in intensive care-a prospective observational study.
Recent focus on national standards within Australian hospitals has prompted a focus on the training of our staff in advanced life support (ALS). Research in critical care nursing has questioned the traditional annual certification of ALS competence as the best method of delivering this training. Simulation and team-based training may provide better ALS education to intensive care unit (ICU) staff. ⋯ Doctors' only statistically significant improvement was in their confidence in ALS provision outside ICU (8.7 versus 8.1, P=0.04). The new program cost approximately an extra $16,500 in nursing salaries. We concluded that team-based, inter-professional ALS training produced statistically significant improvements in nursing attendance, satisfaction with ALS education, confidence and role understanding compared to traditional ALS training.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2017
Altered blood levels of vitamin D, cathelicidin and parathyroid hormone in patients with sepsis-a pilot study.
It has been recognised that vitamin D (VitD) has a potential role in the regulation of inflammation and protection from infection. In a prospective clinical observational pilot study, we investigated the serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin-D3 (25(OH)D3), 1,25-hydroxyvitamin-D3 (1,25(OH)2D3), parathyroid hormone (PTH), and cathelicidin in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with or without systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). We included 32 patients with SIRS (septic patients), 16 ICU patients without SIRS, and 16 healthy controls. ⋯ We concluded that patients with sepsis have significantly lower VitD levels. In vitro, VitD modulates inflammation and increases the antibacterial activity of innate immune cells. These findings suggest that VitD insufficiency is mechanistically related to increased susceptibility to SIRS and sepsis.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2017
The addition of tick-boxes related to tobacco cessation improves smoking-related documentation in the anaesthesia chart.
The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) 'Guidelines on Smoking as Related to the Perioperative Period (PS12)' recommends that anaesthetists should always ask about smoking, advise quitting and refer patients to their general practitioner (GP) or a telephone quit-line for quit support. In this study we evaluated the effect of adding tick-boxes for 'quit advice given' and 'referral to GP/Quitline' to anaesthesia charts of elective surgical patients to assess whether this intervention changed documentation of compliance with the ANZCA guideline. The anaesthesia charts of all smokers were reviewed for evidence of asking, advising and referring, over two three-month periods (n=999) separated by the intervention of placing a sticker to modify the preoperative charts of all elective patients which added tick-box prompts of advice and referral. ⋯ Evidence of advice to quit was 1.8% prior to, rising to 18.7% after, the intervention (P <0.001), while evidence of referral rose from 0.9% to 5.8%. There was negligible change in non-elective patients, who did not receive the intervention. The addition of tick-boxes improved the documentation of smoking cessation support, but as documented rates of quit support remained relatively low even after the intervention, tick-boxes alone cannot be relied upon to improve alignment of care with the ANZCA guidelines.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jan 2017
Case ReportsElective use of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and high-flow nasal oxygen for resection of subtotal malignant distal airway obstruction.
We describe the use of peripheral veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) and high-flow nasal oxygen as procedural support in a patient undergoing debulking of a malignant tumour of the lower airway. Due to the significant risk of complete airway obstruction upon induction of anaesthesia, ECMO was established while the patient was awake, and was maintained without systemic anticoagulation to minimise the risk of intraoperative bleeding. This case illustrates that ECMO support with high-flow nasal oxygen can be considered as part of the algorithm for airway management during surgery for subtotal lower airway obstruction, as it may be the only viable option for maintaining adequate gas exchange.