Der Anaesthesist
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Review Meta Analysis
[Integration of palliative care into intensive care : Systematic review].
One of the prime aims of intensive care is to cure patients or at least to extend life duration, sometimes to the extent of losing quality of life. Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of patients with life-limiting conditions; however, some patients need both intensive and palliative care. About 5-10% of all deaths in Germany and 20% of all deaths in the USA occur in an intensive care unit (ICU) and many of those as well as other patients may benefit from palliative care consultation. Palliative care consultations are increasingly available for intensive care patients but are still infrequently used. ⋯ Trigger factors can reduce barriers which hold back the integration of palliative care in ICUs. Early integration of palliative care can improve quality of care by offering psychological support to patients and their families and by providing collegial consultation. An ongoing prospective study is investigating the acceptance of trigger factors in the daily routine among ICU physicians in Germany.
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The application of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is gaining more and more importance in daily clinical practice. The use of IONM allows the localization of neural structures and to control functioning of the peripheral and central nervous systems in anesthetized patients. This enables surgeons to identify and to protect neural structures and cerebral areas. ⋯ It is important to avoid bolus injections of hypnotics to achieve stable blood concentrations. Long- acting neuromuscular blocking agents should be avoided, because they disturb the signals of electromyography and motor-evoked potentials. By using IONM anesthesiologists and surgeons can identify changes in the function of the peripheral and central nervous system prior to irreversible damage.
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The introduction of nonvitamin K antagonistic, direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) made thromboembolic prophylaxis easier for patients. For many physicians, however, there is still uncertainty about monitoring, preoperative discontinuation, and restarting of DOAC therapy. Guidelines for the management of bleeding are provided, but require specific therapeutic skills in the management of diagnostics and therapy of acute hemorrhage. ⋯ However, PCC or aPCC at higher doses potentially provoke thromboembolic complications. However, idarucizumab, a specific, fast-acting, antidote for dabigatran, provides immediate and sustained reversal with no intrinsic or prohemostatic activity. This review article provides an overview of the pharmacology and potential risk of DOAC and the management in the perioperative period with a focus of current concepts in the treatment of DOAC-associated bleeding.
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Review Biography Historical Article
[Hans Franz Edmund Killian - nestor of German anesthesia : Critical appraisal on the 125th anniversary of his birth].
The surgeon Hans Killian was born on 5 August 1892 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Together with the pharmacologist Hellmut Weese and the surgeon Helmut Schmidt he was one of the nestors of modern German anesthesia. Early on during his scientific and clinical career, he addressed problems of surgical anesthesia and in 1928 he became one of the editors of the first German journal of anesthesia Narcosis and Anesthesia ("Narkose und Anästhesie"). ⋯ Because of his merits in the foundation of the German Society of Anesthesia on 10 April 1953 he became its first honorary member. Killian died on 7 March 1982 in Freiburg, Germany. Excerpts of his autobiography which he wrote a few years before his death and which were part of his inheritance are published here for the first time.
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Microsurgical procedures for construction of anastomoses present new challenges for anesthetists in the perioperative setting. Despite their increasing importance, so far no perioperative management guidelines for these patients existed. ⋯ Perioperatively, the choice of anesthetic procedure as well as the management of fluid infusion, blood glucose, temperature and blood transfusion are of great importance. Adequate analgesia as well as strict control should be performed as soon as possible postoperatively, preferably in a surveillance unit to detect and treat any complications as early as possible.