Journal of clinical monitoring and computing
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J Clin Monit Comput · Oct 2021
Observational StudyPeripheral arterial tonometry as a method of measuring reactive hyperaemia correlates with organ dysfunction and prognosis in the critically ill patient: a prospective observational study.
Predictions of mortality may help in the selection of patients who benefit from intensive care. Endothelial dysfunction is partially responsible for many of the organic dysfunctions in critical illness. Reactive hyperaemia is a vascular response of the endothelium that can be measured by peripheral arterial tonometry (RH-PAT). ⋯ RH-PAT is correlated with disease severity and seems to be an independent marker of early mortality, cardiovascular and renal dysfunctions. RH-PAT variation predicts late mortality. There appears to be an RH-PAT impairment in the acute phase of severe diseases that may be reversible and associated with better outcomes.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Aug 2021
Unexpected deposits in the anesthetic circuit: a possible cause of PEEP/Pmax valve malfunction.
PEEP is regulated by the internal PEEP/maximum peak inspiratory pressure limit (Pmax) valve. Malfunctioning of the PEEP/Pmax valve can result in the creation of unintentional or unstable PEEP, and a reduction of inspired tidal volume. Some of our Dräger Fabius® anesthesia machines were noted to exhibit changes in expiratory waveforms and unstable PEEP during general anesthesia. ⋯ The build-up of deposits occurred within a year after the previous regular inspection. Our troubleshooting process determined the issue with the PEEP/Pmax valve, which could go unnoticed because the valve is encased inside the breathing circuit, and requires disassembly for close inspection. Our findings should raise awareness regarding the importance of the preventive maintenance cycle as a safety precaution to keep the anesthetic circuit free of unexpected contamination.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Aug 2021
Observational StudyComparing the effect of positioning on cerebral autoregulation during radical prostatectomy: a prospective observational study.
Surgery in the prolonged extreme Trendelenburg position may lead to elevated intracranial pressure and compromise cerebral hemodynamic regulation. We hypothesized that robot-assisted radical prostatectomy with head-down tilt causes impairment of cerebral autoregulation compared with open retropubic radical prostatectomy in the supine position. ⋯ Compared with open radical prostatectomy in the supine position, robot-assisted surgery in the extreme Trendelenburg position with capnoperitoneum did not lead to an impairment of cerebral autoregulation during the perioperative period in our study population.