Der Anaesthesist
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Contrary to the situation in "classical" clinical pharmacology, non-steady state phenomena play a fundamental role for clinical pharmacology in anesthesia. Their understanding is of tantamount importance for the safe and efficient application of drugs relevant to anesthesia. Concepts like optimised target-controlled infusion (TCI), effect compartment targeting and the small margin of error tolerable during maintained spontaneous ventilation, force the anesthesiologist to acquire a firm understanding of the difference between the concentration time course at the effect side vs. time course of the plasma concentration. The underlying concepts, their application for the rational use of muscle relaxants, propofol with TCI systems, volatile anaesthetics and opioids will be discussed.
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In emergency medicine accidental hypothermia (<35 degrees C) is a common epiphenomenon of many medical conditions. In contrast, severe hypothermia (<28 degrees C) occurs very seldom and presents a difficult medical situation. Here we present a female patient with severe urban hypothermia (core temperature of 20.7 degrees C) and circulatory arrest. ⋯ The survival of the patient and the favorable neurological outcome will be discussed considering the current literature. Due to the paucity of treatment guidelines or clear prognostic criteria of withholding or withdrawing treatment in severe hypothermia, the decision of prolonged resuscitation and rewarming strategy is solely dependent on the individual judgement and medical experience of the physician. The positive clinical outcome which can be gleaned from case reports or single retrospective studies should encourage the emergency physician to selectively rewarm a severe hypothermic patient with extracorporeal circulation under prolonged CPR.
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We report on a 49-year-old female patient suffering from recurrent carcinoma of the rectum, who underwent a palliative Hartmann operation for an anus praeter reconstruction. After a remifentanil bolus of 90 microg and a propofol bolus of 200 mg, anaesthesia was maintained with 0.25 microg/kg/min remifentanil and 4 mg/kg propofol, and after skin incision with 1.0 microg/kg/min remifentanil and 5 mg/kg/h propofol. Throughout the operation, the patient showed a stable blood pressure of 120-130/80 mmHg but 15 min after skin incision the heart rate suddenly rose to 140 beats/min, so remifentanil was increased to 1.8 microg/kg/min and propofol to 8 mg/kg/h. ⋯ After extubation the patient reported having heard conversations contributable to the end of the operation and the sentence: "now we're done" was clearly remembered. The patient stated that she had not been able to move any part of her body, that she had perceived the situation as extremely unpleasant and dangerous and that she had felt severe pain. At the postoperative rounds the patient refused any psychological and psychiatric help.
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Tracheostomy is a generally accepted procedure that assures free access to the airways in long-term lung ventilation. Apart from surgical tracheostomy, percutaneous dilational tracheostomy (PDT) has been increasingly employed in intensive care units. Presently, five dilatation methods are available, all equally allowing the performance of a secure and low-risk, bedside tracheostomy in the intensive care unit. ⋯ To minimize the risks, expertise in airway management during PDT and knowledge of the particularities of cannula replacement in dilational tracheostoma, are compulsory. Endoscopic control assures that the tracheostoma can be placed correctly and that possible complications can be recognised early. The incidence of a serious tracheal stenosis after PDT is low.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
[Influence of gender on the intubation conditions with rocuronium].
There is increasing evidence for gender differences in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of anaesthetic drugs and neuromuscular blocking agents, e.g. rocuronium (Roc). Females require 30% less Roc than males to achieve the same degree of neuromuscular block and onset times are shorter. However, whether this leads to an improvement of the intubation conditions in females is unclear. ⋯ The intubation conditions after Roc were significantly better in women than in men. The differences were Roc-related and did not occur in the control groups.