Minerva anestesiologica
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2006
ReviewMolecular biology on the ICU. From understanding to treating sepsis.
Mounting evidence suggests that beside well established factors, such as virulence of pathogens or site of infection, individual differences in disease manifestation are a result of the genetic predisposition of the patient on an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Specific genetic factors might not only predict the risk to acquire severe infections but also to develop organ dysfunction or ultimately to die. ⋯ Similarly, knowledge of genetic factors might in the near future help to identify ''patients at risk'', i.e. those with a high likelihood to develop organ dysfunction or to guide therapeutic interventions in particular regarding resource-consuming and/or expensive therapies (''theragnostics''). While therapeutic options in molecular intensive care medicine, such as stem cells in the treatment of organ failure or therapeutic gene transfer are possible along the road and might become an option in the future, recombinant DNA technology has already a well defined role in the production of recombinant human proteins from insulin to activated protein C.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Apr 2006
Case ReportsPurpura fulminans during meningococcal sepsis treated with Drotrecogin alpha. A clinical case.
A male patient, 29 years old, was admitted to our unit with purpura fulminans, coagulation deficiency, renal failure and subsequent septic shock accompanied by respiratory insufficiency in the absence of meningeal signs. The serum levels of endogenous protein C, ATIII and calcium were well below the norm. The bacteriological examination revealed the presence of gram-negative diplococci. ⋯ Forty-eight hours after being admitted, the recombinant protein C infusion was started at a dose of 24 microg/kg/h for the duration of 96 h. The skin lesions regressed, starting from the ecchymosis and the edema of the face, trunk and auricular pavilions. A week after the onset of the symptomatology the chest X-ray appeared clear, the renal function had normalised, and the signs of shock had disappeared.
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The recent onset of orthogonal polarization spectral (OPS) imaging techniques has allowed the direct visualization of the microcirculation at the bedside of critically ill patients. A systematic review with particular emphasis on recent findings and implications in pathophysiological processes is presented. Using OPS techniques various investigators have observed microcirculatory alterations in critically ill patients, and especially in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. ⋯ Microcirculation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of shock and organ dysfunction, especially in sepsis. The microcirculatory effects of various therapeutic interventions have still to be reported. OPS technique may become a valuable tool to monitor patients with circulatory failure.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Apr 2006
ReviewInterfacing spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation. New insights.
Mechanical ventilation (MV) with positive pressure insufflations of gas into the lung may be required to ensure sufficient oxygenation of blood and elimination of carbon dioxide in acute respiratory failure. Interfacing spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation has been used to improve gas exchange and may offer other advantages regarding integrity of lung tissue. Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV), or bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP), is a mechanical ventilatory mode with a low respiratory rate upon which spontaneous breaths can be superimposed during any time of the respiratory cycle. ⋯ Since blood flow goes preferentially to the dependent regions, the altered ventilation distribution results in improved matching of ventilation and perfusion, further enhancing or facilitating gas exchange. Moreover, there is less cyclic collapse, i.e. less re-collapse during expiration and reopening during inspiration than with MV alone. Further development of the interfacing technique can be expected, with synchronization and also dosing of the mechanical support and with triggering of the ventilator that is based on neural recordings rather than mechanical signals as pressure and flow.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Apr 2006
Non-invasive cardiac monitoring by aortic blood flow determination in patients undergoing hyperthermic intraperitoneal intraoperative chemotherapy.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the haemodynamic changes in patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy (IPHC) using an echo-Doppler device (Hemosonic 100). ⋯ These results suggest that the echo-Doppler device (Hemosonic 100) provided an easy-to-handle, non-invasive and reliable tool to monitor changes in cardiac parameters during IPHC.