Der Anaesthesist
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Restrictions of duty hours in medicine are an ambivalent matter with respect to patient safety. Continuity of treatment carries the risk of medical errors from declining performance capability and must be balanced against the risk of communication failure and information loss due to personnel changes. ⋯ The relevance of anesthesiological care for the perioperative outcome also seems to vary depending on the specialist discipline involved. While standardized handover protocols seem to be only of limited effectiveness for the improvement of transfer of information, they are nevertheless a reasonable approach for optimization of interprofessional communication and reduction of treatment errors.
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The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented severe test for emergency medicine in Germany. In addition to in-hospital emergency medicine, prehospital emergency medicine has the decisive task of fully guaranteeing emergency medical healthcare. In this article the Berlin Fire Brigade shows new ways for emergency medical services to fulfil these increased responsibilities during the pandemic in prehospital emergency medicine in the State of Berlin. ⋯ The continuing pandemic reveals that tasks and responsibilities of public services in emergency rescue go far beyond the immediate medical prevention of danger to life and limb. In addition to the controller and triage functions in the integrated dispatch center of the Berlin Fire Brigade (112), the emergency and healthcare measures could be ensured. This was accomplished by comprehensive measures for situation control, situation reports and mastering situations despite the lack of alternative outpatient care options, especially in the areas of general practitioner, public health care and medical specialist practices.
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Postdural puncture headache (PDPH) occurs in up to 11% of patients after spinal anesthesia and in more than 80% after dural perforation upon epidural anesthesia. It represents a severe anesthesiological complication in obstetric patients. If conservative medication measures do not result in a timely relief of symptoms, the current guidelines recommend the early implementation of an epidural blood patch; however, although performing an epidural blood patch is effective to treat PDPH, potential side effects include neurological complications, spinal hematoma and infections. Assumed to reduce cerebral vasodilatation as a potential pathophysiological driver of PDPH, the transnasal block of the sphenopalatine ganglion with local anesthetics is discussed as an alternative approach. ⋯ The described noninvasive and simple procedure represents a valuable addition to previously known treatment options for PDPH and a potential alternative to an epidural blood patch in obstetric patients with PDPH. Prospective studies are needed to validate the findings.