Minerva anestesiologica
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Sepsis is a condition at high risk for the patients to develop organ(s) or system dysfunction/failure and represent a very limiting process for survival. Researchers and clinicians proposed standardization of terminology for sepsis and related problems to improve communication and to evaluate the efficacy of preventive measures and therapeutic interventions. Interrelationship among systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), infection and sepsis are surrounded by non infectious satellite events such as trauma, burns, pancreatitis, haemorrhagic shock, immune-mediated organ injury and infectious cause such as fungemia, parasitemia, viremia. ⋯ Multiple sources of sepsis is a phenomenon clearly associated with poor prognosis and all the sepsis trials managed in the last decades have failed on reducing mortality rate in enrolled patients. Development of scoring system routinely used at bedside represent an important method to establish cost-effectiveness in this exiting area of study and clinical management. Controversial results on sepsis need a sort of consensus at different level from researchers to clinician experiencing new strategies for prevention and more appropriately therapeutic approach for the management of this syndrome.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jul 1999
Case Reports Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial[Use of remifentanil in ambulatory obstetric-gynecologic surgery. A dose-effect study].
Remifentanil, a recently commercialised opioid, is characterised by a predictable and non cumulative effect which vanishes rapidly without determining side effects in the long term. These characteristics make remifentanil an ideal opioid in continuous infusion for the ambulatory surgery setting. Aim of this study was to assess the ideal dose of remifentanil, administered in bolus before propofol, in patients undergoing uterine curettage and assisted by mask ventilation in 100% oxygen. ⋯ The administration in bolus of remifentanil, before the inducing agent, permits short-term surgery in ambulatory surgery settings thanks to the rapid recovery of vital functions. Compared to the other doses, the 1.5 micrograms/kg dose guaranteed a good control over surgical stress without influencing the speed of awakening and without determining uncomfortable side effects.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jul 1999
Case ReportsElectric nerve stimulation: analysis of two clinical cases of failed nerve electrolocation by using sheathed needles.
The aim of this work was to explain the reasons of two unsuccessful blocks of sciatic nerve even if anaesthetic solution was injected through insulated needle on elicited twitch. The clinical cases were two outpatients undergoing diagnostic arthroscopy of knee under anaesthetic block of sciatic and femoral nerves. In both patients, the muscular twitch appeared when the ischiatic bone was kept in unexpected touch with needle tip. ⋯ Referred events disagree with some experimental works performed out of clinical environment, which found that total amount of administered current through an insulated needle gathers always in front of the tip. Our clinical observations seems to confirm an electrolocation mistake called "electrical shadow". The ability of sheathed needles to work as occasional capacitor due to the alternation of two conductor layers (needle shaft and tissue) and of a dielectric (coating material) can explain some missing electrolocations, as the appearance of electric fields within dielectric needle sheathing.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jul 1999
Case Reports[Pulmonary re-expansion edema. Description of two cases and observations about its management].
Two cases of Reexpansion pulmonary edema (RPE), an uncommon complication of the treatment of chronic lung collapse secondary to pneumothorax or pleural effusion, are described. RPE is generally unilateral and occurs when the lung is rapidly reexpanded by active evacuation of large amounts of air or fluid. Nevertheless, both cases observed confirm that RPE can be seen when the pulmonary collapse is of short duration and the lung is reexpanded without suction. ⋯ Therapy was supportive and proportional to the severity of the clinical picture. Both needed mechanical ventilation, while only in case 1 was a hemodynamic support applied. Since the outcome is still fatal in 20% of cases, physicians treating chronic lung collapse must be aware of the possible causes and try to prevent the occurrence of this complication.