Minerva anestesiologica
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Some may consider anesthesia a risky endeavor. However, anesthesia is safer now than ever before, and compared to other disciplines, anesthesiology is still among the leading disciplines with regard to patient safety. ⋯ Given the facts that errors and adverse events associated with patient harm and deaths continue to occur and that the complexity of our health care system will steadily increase, it is clear that more needs to be done in order to make anesthesia safer. With its proposals for training on patient safety, the European Society of Anesthesiology (ESA) makes an important contribution thereto, which merits expeditious and efficient implementation both in academia and everyday practice.
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Securing an adequate airway and ventilation is of outmost importance in day case anesthesia/sedation, as elsewhere in anesthesia. Since its introduction, the LMA has made a major contribution to the development of safe and efficacious airway management in elective day case anesthesia. ⋯ The use of a LMA should always be based on individual patient assessment, and a rescue plan for inadequate airway and or ventilation should be in place. Intubation is still the technique of choice in emergency situations.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jan 2010
Etiology of respiratory failure is related to mortality in critically ill patients affected by a hematological malignancy: a retrospective study.
The outcomes of patients affected by hematologic malignancies (HM) admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICUs) because of life-threatening complications are still considered to be poor. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and impact of cardiac dysfunction on the outcome of these patients. ⋯ ICU patients with HM have high mortality. Respiratory failure caused by cardiac dysfunction seems to be associated with a lower risk of death.