Der Anaesthesist
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Review
Ventilator autotriggering : An underestimated phenomenon in the determination of brain death.
Ventilator autotriggering (VAT) may induce uncertainty in diagnosing brain death because it may falsely suggest a central respiratory drive in brain-dead patients where no intrinsic respiratory efforts exist. Since the lack of international standardization of brain death criteria contributes to the loss of potential donor organs, it is important to be aware of this phenomenon, which is a not well-known confounder in the process of diagnosing brain death. ⋯ The phenomenon of VAT is inconsistently addressed in the national guidelines and recommendations for the determination of brain death and should, therefore, be included in future harmonized brain death codes. Detection and correction of VAT should be implemented as early as possible by a structured procedure. Additional training and information on this phenomenon should be made available to the entire intensive care unit staff.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Efficacy of midazolam addition to local anesthetic in peribulbar block : Randomized controlled trial.
Peribulbar block is considered a safe option for patients undergoing cataract surgery. The limited duration of regional eye blocks was shown to be the main problem. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of adjuvant midazolam (in two concentrations) to lidocaine in the peribulbar block. ⋯ Addition of midazolam to local anesthetic significantly improved the quality of peribulbar block, hastened the onset of sensory anesthesia, lid and globe akinesia and increased the duration of analgesia without notable side effects.
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Nonopioid analgesics are frequently used for perioperative pain management in children. In many countries, the nonopioid metamizole (dipyrone) is administered as an alternative to paracetamol and traditional NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as ibuprofen and diclofenac; however, concerns over possible life-threatening adverse events (agranulocytosis) have prompted a debate over the use of metamizole. ⋯ The survey confirmed that metamizole is frequently used in children in the perioperative setting. Intravenous metamizole is the preferred nonopioid analgesic administered intraoperatively for pain prophylaxis. Clinical symptoms of agranulocytosis should be monitored and patients should be better informed about metamizole-related side effects.