Minerva anestesiologica
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jun 2012
Perioperative management in orthotopic liver transplantation: results of an Italian national survey.
No data are available on the perioperative approach during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in Italy, apart from sporadically single center studies. ⋯ The results of this survey show that in Italy the perioperative management of patients undergoing OLT is not homogeneous. This database allows to debate on the best practices and pathways for perioperative management of these patients, and to stimulate future clinical trials aimed to assess the different component and steps forwards of the whole process.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jun 2012
Case ReportsTreatment with daptomycin for Corynebacterium Jeikeium left-sided prosthetic valve endocarditis.
Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a serious complication with potential fatal consequences, classified as early or late PVE, depending on whether typical symptoms occur within or later than 12 months from surgery. The incidence of early PVE is under 1%, but it carries high morbidity and mortality rates. ⋯ Described is an unusual case report of a 57-year-old man who had early aortic PVE due to Corynebacterium Jeikeium infection complicated by dehiscence of the prosthesis, complete atrio-ventricular block, perforation of the interventricular septum and septic shock. Prompt diagnosis, choice of daptomycin as antibiotic therapy although it has only been approved by the European Medicine Agency (EMEA) for right-sided endocarditis and timely open heart surgery, resulted in a successful outcome.
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The term "chronic" is often used in daily clinical practice to indicate a type of pain that lasts over time and is accompanied by diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. The common feeling is that in this category are actually collected many different clinical cases with the unique characteristic that the pain lasts a long time. It follows that treatment failures are common and patients roam from doctor to doctor in search of an effective care program. ⋯ Differences among patients in developing chronic pain can be related to differences in the ability of the brain to continuously adapt its functional and structural organization. It is obvious that the care plan for these complex patients is profoundly different from that needed for patients with pain linked to a chronic disease or stabilized pain mechanisms. The purpose of the present article is to provide a review of the most noteworthy developments in this field and to propose some observations that may help to understand this pain condition and the patients.