Therapeutische Umschau. Revue thérapeutique
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Rare cases of high anion gap metabolic acidosis during long-term paracetamol administration in therapeutic doses with causative 5-oxoproline (pyroglutamic acid} accumulation have been reported. Other concomitant risk factors such as malnutrition, alcohol abuse, renal or hepatic dysfunction, comedication with flue/oxacillin, vigabatrin, netilmicin or sepsis have been described. ⋯ Causative substances should be stopped. 5-oxoproline concentrations in urine can be quantified to establish the diagnosis. Adverse drug reactions, which are not listed or insufficiently described in the respective Swiss product information, should be reported to the regional pharmacovigilance centres for early signal detection. 5-0 xoproline acidosis will be integrated as a potential adverse drug reaction in the Swiss product information for paracetamol.
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The effect of medication is always a balance between their beneficial effects and any adverse reactions they might elicit. The main risk for adverse drug events {ADEs) is polypharmacy, which is the simultaneous use of multiple drugs. This often applies to older patients, who suffer from multiple diseases and therefore take multiple medications. ⋯ Nevertheless, only 40-60% ofA DEs are recognized in the emergency department. This might be explained by the broad clinical symptoms, ranging from bleeding due to anticoagulants to the more nonspecific symptom of weakness due to hyponatraemia secondary to thiazide diuretics. Detecting and avoiding ADEs could be aided by using lists such as Beers criteria or STOPP/FART which list medications which are potentially inappropriate for older patients.
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Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) summarizes various connected digital networked assisting technologies with the aim to support elderly and chronically ill people and to improve their quality of life. This paper defines the term AAL and shows different fields of application for AAL technologies. ⋯ We describe medical application areas with new opportunities for the use of AAL technologies. The article highlights further the importance of the technical acceptance of these technologies by the end users, which we deem to be the most critical factor for the diffusion and use of AAL technologies in the forthcoming years.
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Extracorporeal renal replacement therapy is one of the most successful stories of artificial organ replacement. The current article describes the important steps in the evolution of renal replacement therapy towards modern state of the art peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. Open questions and possibilities for future developments are discussed. ⋯ Late referral increases mortality and the necessity for a temporary central venous access represents an additional thrombotic and infectious risk. A patient first seen by the nephrologist at the occasion of an emergeny dialysis will never have the possibility to profit from a preemptive living kidney donation. Furthermore, such patients usually stay in the center and are difficult to motivate for home or selfcare dialysis.
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European and North-American guidelines for the diagnosis and therapy of arterial hypertension refer to hypertensive crisis as an acute and critical increase of blood pressure>180/120 mmHg. Presence of acute hypertensive target organ damage, such as stroke, myocardial infarction or heart failure, in this situation defines a “hypertensive emergency”. In these patients, immediate lowering of blood pressure (about 25% within one to two hours) in an intensive care setting is mandatory to prevent further progression of target organ damage. ⋯ In these patients, blood pressure should be lowered within 24 to 48 hours in order to avoid hypertensive target organ damage. In general, hospitalization is not required, and oral antihypertensive therapy usually is sufficient. However, further and continuing outpatient care has to be ensured.