Der Anaesthesist
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This article reports a case of massive postoperative pneumocephalus in a patient following general anesthesia for a urological procedure. The patient had sustained a severe head injury more than 10 years ago with long-term treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) including decompressive craniectomy, tracheostomy followed by rehabilitation, decanulation and cranioplasty. The patient recovered but suffered severe hemiparesis and mild neurocognitive deficits. ⋯ A cranial computed tomography (CT) scan revealed massive intracranial air and frontobasal skull defects. After frontobasal reconstruction, removal of an old lumboperitonal shunt and placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, intracranial air was no longer observed. In summary a frontobasal injury may become symptomatic many years after injury, especially when face mask ventilation with positive pressure is applied during surgical interventions.
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A case of delivery of a hypoxic gas mixture to a patient during total intravenous anesthesia is described. A progressive fall in inspiratory oxygen concentration followed by a drop in oxygen saturation below 90 % occurred during the advanced stages of a hitherto uneventful general anesthesia of a female patient undergoing anterior cervical fusion surgery. A malfunctioning defective rubber seal of a vaporizer manifold was identified as the cause of the gas leak. ⋯ The problem of hypoxic gas mixtures and uncommon leaks in modern anesthesia equipment is discussed. The importance of locating a leak in the high or low pressure circuits is explained. An algorithm for the management of an unexpected decrease of inspiratory oxygen concentration or any other manifestation of a gas leak along with a systematic approach to locating the source of a gas leak is presented.
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This study assessed the publication performance of university departments of anesthesiology in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The number of publications, original articles, impact factors and citations were evaluated. ⋯ The research performance varied among the university departments of anesthesiology in Germany, Austria and Switzerland whereby larger university departments, such as Berlin or Vienna published most. Publication output in Germany, Austria and Switzerland has decreased. Data processing in PubMed should be improved.
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New oral anticoagulants (NOAC) inhibit factor Xa (Stuart-Prower factor) or factor IIa (thrombin) and are alternatives to vitamin K antagonists. Perioperative indications are deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis for prosthetic hip and knee replacement, therapeutic anticoagulation for deep vein thrombosis as well as the prophylaxis of stroke for patients with atrial fibrillation. Patients on NOACs pose multiple perioperative challenges for all medical disciplines involved. ⋯ The individual risk for uncontrolled bleeding versus the urgency for surgery needs to be evaluated on an individual basis. The determination of drug serum levels enables a rough estimation of anticoagulant activity. Emergency procedures in coagulopathy due to active bleeding are treated with the unspecific administration of blood products and coagulation factor concentrates.
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The provision of physician-staffed emergency medical services (EMS) has become difficult in German territorial states. However, the precise details are so far unknown. ⋯ The described problems are complex. Besides financial incentives, they necessitate greater general appreciation of the preclinical work of emergency physicians. Further studies including the emergency physicians concerned are necessary. The low percentage of female emergency physicians requires special consideration.