Der Anaesthesist
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[Cardiorespiratory and microcirculatory effects following volume replacement using a new hydroxyethyl starch preparation].
Volume therapy is often necessary in cardiac surgery to maintain stable haemodynamics. Various different hydroxyethyl starch (HAES) solutions with different concentrations, mean molecular weights, and degrees of substitution are available for this purpose. In determining the ideal type of volume therapy, not only changes in macrohaemodynamics, but also the influence on microcirculatory blood flow have to be taken into account. ⋯ The improvement in macrohaemodynamics was of shorter duration after infusion of the new HAES 130 solution than after standard HAES 200. Volume replacement with HAES 200 resulted in an increase in microcirculatory blood flow that was more pronounced and of longer duration than in the HAES 130 patients. Thus, HAES 130 seems to be less effective than HAES 200 for volume replacement; HAES 200 should be preferred in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[Propofol versus midazolam. Long-term sedation in the intensive care unit].
Sedative-analgesic treatment of patients on long-term artificial ventilation aims at protection from stress related to their disease or therapy. By stabilising both the patient's vital functions and psychological state this treatment may contribute to therapeutic success. The choice of drugs depends primarily on the nature and course of the underlying disease. ⋯ In both groups this increase was associated with a reduction in peripheral resistance and an increase in rectal temperature. To achieve the desired sedation depth, midazolam was administered at a mean dosage of 0.11 mg/kg.h and propofol at 1.9 mg/kg.h. Catecholamine levels decreased in both groups within the first 8 h: after 8 h of sedation the plasma levels of noradrenaline and adrenaline were 525 and 65 pg/ml, respectively, in the midazolam group and 327 and 51 pg/ml in the propofol group. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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The first link in the "chain of survival" concept is the activation of the emergency medical system (EMS) by a bystander after recognition of cardiac arrest (CA) or its immediate prodrome. Our ongoing study is aimed at evaluating the current effectiveness of bystander EMS activation for all cases of CA in the city and area of Mainz. Methods. ⋯ In a higher percentage, the three-digit police number (110) was dialled. In cases where numbers other than emergency numbers were dialled (42%), the longest time intervals between collapse and receipt of call by the dispatchers occurred, associated with the longest time intervals until initiation of CPR and the lowest percentage of patients found in ventricular fibrillation. We conclude that establishment of a simple three-digit EMS phone number, preferentially Europe-wide, in combination with an intensification of public awareness, could be a vital step not only to reduce time intervals between collapse and CPR in our EMS system but also to improve survival.
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Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was continuously measured using a pulse oximeter in 214 spontaneously breathing adult patients in a recovery room. Hypoxaemia was defined as an SaO2 of 90% or below. The patients were divided into three groups: in group I (n = 83) monitoring was started immediately after arrival in the recovery room, just before oxygen therapy was begun. ⋯ The results indicate the necessity of oxygen administration during transport and in the early postoperative period to all patients. Even during and after regional anaesthesia or brief general anaesthesia, oxygen administration appears to be indicated. Monitoring of SaO2 with a pulse oximeter has become an increasingly standard procedure in modern anaesthesia and should be mandatory.
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The absorption of irrigation solution during transurethral prostatic resection may lead to the life-threatening condition of the so-called TUR syndrome. For a long time no early recognition procedure was easily and routinely available. This study was set up to investigate the effectiveness of ethanol as an early indicator of beginning absorption, as described by Hulten. ⋯ It was thus proven that the addition of ethanol to the irrigating fluid and monitoring of the patient's exhaled breath with the Alco-testmonitor is a simple, non-invasive system that can be routinely used for early detection of absorption during transurethral prostatic resection. Adequate adjustment of the further course of the operation was possible. The dreaded TUR syndrome did not develop in any of the patients monitored in this way.