Der Anaesthesist
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Injuries to the oro-dental tissue are still one of the most frequent mishaps during endotracheal intubation and general anaesthesia. However, damage to the soft and hard tissues in most cases involves oral structures already showing advanced pathogenic alterations. Injuries to the teeth are therefore rather more often due to the disease of the teeth than to mistakes during anaesthesia. ⋯ This review gives information about the causes and types of injuries to the oral and maxillofacial region during general anaesthesia. In addition, the anatomical conditions and pathological changes associated with an increased risk for oro-dental injuries and the facilities for prevention are discussed. Finally, the main aspects of emergency treatment of injuries to the dental hard tissues are presented.
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Review Retracted Publication
[Volume replacement in critically ill intensive-care patients. No classic review].
Effective fluid therapy is a mainstay of managing the critically ill. The ideal kind of volume replacement in this situation still remains a challenge. In spite of an immense number of contributions to this problem there is still no solution yet. ⋯ However, there seems to be no convincing clinical advantage on patients' outcome for either solution. The lack of acceptance of synthetic colloids such as hydroxyethyl starch (HES) solution for volume replacement is most likely due to reports on abnormal coagulation function. This cannot be used as an argument when new modern HES preparations with low molecular weight (70,000 or 200,000 dalton) and low degree of substitution (0.5) are used.
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In this article current indications and limitations of neuromuscular monitoring are reviewed. Attention is mainly focused on detection of residual curarisation. ⋯ Surprisingly in this context, despite the benefit of neuromuscular monitoring, its utilisation in clinical practice is rather an exception than the routine. A lack of standardisation of neuromuscular monitoring is probably the major problem on the way to a widespread utilisation of the monitoring.
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Procalcitonin (PCT), a glycoprotein consisting of 116 amino acids, has been proposed as a new marker of severe infection. The site of production under this condition remains unknown. The serum PCT concentration is determined by an immunoluminometric assay of 40 microliters serum or plasma requiring approximately two hours. ⋯ Therapeutic actions that confine the infection locally are reflected by a decrease of the PCT value. PCT may be elevated within the first days after extended surgery or polytrauma, in some malignancies, heat-stroke and during treatment of some hematologic diseases without an existing sepsis or severe infection. Previous studies indicate certain benefits of PCT compared to traditional markers of inflammation or sepsis, where the ability to indicate a generalized infection is the primary advantage.
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Innate and acquired immunity plays a pivotal role in the host defense response. Pain, stress, necrotic tissue and invading microorganisms are known modulators of the complex immune response of patients undergoing major surgery. Anaesthesia itself or perioperative interventions of the anaesthesiologist may substantially alter the immune function with potential impact on the postoperative course. ⋯ However, these actions may only be apparent with high or supraclinical concentrations and/or long-term exposure. Regarding the latter, evidence suggests that long-term sedation using thiopentone in neurosurgical patients is paralleled by infectious complications in a dose-dependent manner. At present, no data are available regarding the significance of the observed alterations associated with various anaesthetic procedures of the incidence of postoperative complications associated with impaired immunity, such as infection or metastatic spreading in oncological surgery.