Der Anaesthesist
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Anaesthesiologists must be familiar with the particularities of the respiratory physiology of newborns and infants when providing perioperative care to these patients. Even brief periods of inadequate respiratory support can cause atelectatrauma and volutrauma which in turn can have deleterious cardiorespiratory consequences and accentuate pre-existing lung disease. ⋯ Optimal PEEP and normal tidal volumes during conventional ventilation, high volume strategy during high frequency ventilation, and permissive hypercapnia are the corner stones of a lung protective strategy. Using an interdisciplinary approach, surgery in the intensive care unit using total intravenous anaesthesia with the uninterrupted use of the ICU equipment is an attractive option for the most vulnerable patients in this age group.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[Laryngeal tube versus laryngeal mask airway in anaesthetised non-paralysed patientsA comparison of handling and postoperative morbidity].
The purpose of this study was to compare the classical laryngeal mask airway (LMA) with the laryngeal tube (LT) in anaesthetised non-paralysed patients. ⋯ In anaesthetised non-paralysed patients the LT compares favourably to the LMA in terms of ease of insertion and postoperative morbidity.
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by perfusion in favor of non-ventilated areas of the lungs as the main cause of intrapulmonary right-to-left shunt and hypoxemia. Therapeutic interventions to selectively influence pulmonary perfusion in ARDS became possible with the introduction of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO), which provided a way not only to reduce pulmonary hypertension, but also to acutely improve ventilation-perfusion mismatch, and thus to treat severe hypoxemia. Clinical studies in ARDS demonstrated that the combination of iNO with other interventions, such as positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and prone positioning, yielded beneficial and additive effects on arterial oxygenation. Although randomized controlled trials of this concept have up to now failed to show an improved outcome, iNO is a valuable option for the treatment of severe refractory hypoxemia in ARDS patients.
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Case Reports
[Anaesthesia for radiation therapy of brain tumours in children. A multidisciplinary challenge].
Radiation therapy of childhood intracranial malignancies is always a challenge for radiation oncologists, anaesthetists and paediatric oncologists. Detailed knowledge of the course of the disease prior to radiation therapy and a critical evaluation of the child's actual physical status are mandatory in each case. Furthermore the anaesthetist should be informed about the child's individual preferences and aversions. ⋯ Interdisciplinary communication structures which must always involve the child's parents have to be established. Perfect adjustment of the mask that fixes the head during each radiation procedure is necessary to give the child the possibility to breathe spontaneously without an endotracheal tube or a laryngeal mask. Two case reports highlight these aspects of the complex procedure of paediatric radiation therapy which are relevant for the anaesthetist.
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In the German emergency medical system (EMS) psychiatric emergency situations (PES) are now responsible for up to 15% of all calls for the emergency physician (EP). A survey which was first conducted in 1996 to reveal knowledge about PES, reported a significant need for training. Seven years later it is interesting to investigate whether different conditions in the EMS may have changed assessments and attitudes. ⋯ The results indicate an increase of relevance of PES in the German EMS, however, assessments made by the EP only changed marginally over the time period. The subjective awareness of the frequency of PES underestimates the reality in emergency medicine. The importance of training programs remains high to improve knowledge and to reduce feelings of incapability.