Der Anaesthesist
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Nonopioid analgesics are frequently used for perioperative analgesia; however, insufficient research is available on several practical issues. Often hospitals have no strategy for how to proceed, e.g., for informing patients or for the timing of perioperative administration of nonopioid analgesics. ⋯ The use of nonopioid analgesics as part of a perioperative multimodal concept should be approved and established as an interdisciplinary and interprofessional concept for the adequate treatment of postoperative pain.
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Review Case Reports
[Noninvasive ventilation and positional therapy in COVID-19 : Case report and literature review].
If noninvasive ventilation (NIV or high-flow CPAP) fails in severe cases of COVID-19, escalation of treatment with orotracheal intubation and intermitted prone positioning is provided as standard care. The present case reports show two COVID-19 patients with severe refractory hypoxemia despite NIV treatment during the first wave (first half year 2020) and the resulting influence on the treatment regimen during the second wave (since October 2020) of the pandemic. Both patients (aged 63 years and 77 years) voluntarily positioned themselves on the side or in a prone position without prior sedation and oral intubation. ⋯ The oxygenation index improved in the following days with continued NIV and intermittent prone and side position. The recovered patients were transferred from the intensive care unit at days 5 and 14, respectively after admission. The case reports, along with other reports, show that prone or lateral positioning may be important in the treatment of SARS-CoV‑2 pneumonia in awake and not yet intubated patients.
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Case Reports
[SARS-CoV-2 positive child-What to do if inhalation induction of anesthesia is unavoidable?]
Induction of anesthesia by inhalation is very common in children due to difficult venous conditions and especially in uncooperative children. During the study on complications in the pediatric anesthesia in Europe (APRICOT study) including almost 30,000 patients, 48% of the children were induced by inhalation. ⋯ Rapid sequence induction is recommended for anesthesia induction and definitive airway management for adults and children in the current pandemic situation. The present case demonstrates that there can be situations in children in which induction of anesthesia by inhalation is unavoidable and shows a potential procedure for reducing the risk of infection for the anesthesia personnel.
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In the context of sepsis and septic shock, coagulopathy often occurs due to the close relationship between coagulation and inflammation. Sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC) is the most severe and potentially fatal form. Anticoagulants used in prophylactic or therapeutic doses are discussed to potentially exert beneficial effects in patients with sepsis and/or SIC; however, due to the lack of evidence recent guidelines are limited to recommendations for drug prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE), while treatment of SIC has not been addressed. ⋯ The heterogeneity of answers collected in the survey suggests that a systematic approach to this topic via clinical trials is urgently needed to underline individualized patient care with the necessary evidence.
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As the incidence of diseases during pregnancy that necessitate intensive medical care is very low, intensive care physicians are faced with a multitude of unfamiliar challenges in the treatment of these patients. The physiological and pathophysiological alterations during pregnancy induce some specific features with respect to the intensive medical treatment of pregnant or postpartum patients. After the most important principles and current recommendations on the care of pregnant or postpartum patients who need intensive medical treatment were dealt with in the first article in this CME series, the second article focuses on the diagnostics and treatment of special selected pathologies.