Der Anaesthesist
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Hemorrhage is the single largest cause of avoidable death in trauma patients, whereby in civil emergency medicine in Europe most life-threatening hemorrhages occur in the abdomen and the pelvis. This is one reason why endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (EBOA), a procedure especially established in vascular surgery, is increasingly propagated for rapid bleeding control in these patients. ⋯ Additionally, outcomes reported in in the currently available literature are summarized and discussed. From this practical and user-oriented consequences for future successful introduction of REBOA in the field of emergency medicine are deduced.
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An important challenge in learning ultrasound-assisted interventions, such as pericardiocentesis, is the navigation of the needle in a three-dimensional space on the basis of a two-dimensional image. In order to learn this in vitro realistic simulators are required. ⋯ The models used proved to be technically simple to manufacture, hard wearing and realistic. They are therefore regularly used in our hospitals to learn ultrasound-assisted interventions.
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Epigenetics, i.e. an altered reading of the genome without altering the genes themselves is a growing scientific field. A distinction is made between changes in the DNA by modification of the histones and non-coding RNA that alter the messenger (m)RNAs. Epigenetic modifications can be triggered by personal circumstances or other external factors and therefore influence the occurrence of diseases. ⋯ Non-coding microRNAs known to be altered in a variety of perioperatively relevant diseases e. g. heart infarct, might serve as prognostic factors of perioperative outcome. Moreover, there are ways to influence epigenetic changes through life style and certain medications. In this review article, examples of anesthesia, intensive care and pain medicine-relevant diseases and the influence of epigenetics on them are presented.
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In an analysis of a critical incident reporting system (CIRS) in out-of-hospital emergency medicine, it was demonstrated that in 30% of cases deficient communication led to a threat to patients; however, the analysis did not show what exactly the most dangerous work processes are. Current research shows the impact of poor communication on patient safety. ⋯ A better interface communication helps to coordinate patient transfer and is an option for optimizing resources. Frequent training in communication is an option to avoid incidents.
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Anesthetic procedures may lead to severe and potentially life-threatening complications (e. g. difficult airway, allergic reactions, malignant hyperthermia). Most complications can be avoided in future anesthetic procedures with adequate preparation (e. g. awake intubation, trigger-free anesthesia). In Germany, anesthesia problem cards were introduced two decades ago to identify patients at risk and to increase patient safety by creating a standardized documentation system for anesthesia-related complications. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the utility and problems of anesthesia problem cards in clinical practice. ⋯ Anesthesia problem cards are considered a useful tool to increase patient safety and are frequently issued in clinical practice; however, in the document's current form its full potential for risk minimization cannot be exploited. Structural changes are required to increase documentation quality and reproducibility. Concerning its informational content, the spectrum of included complications and their individual solutions need to be expanded to meet the requirements of modern anesthetic practice.