Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række
-
Local anaesthetics may alleviate pain more effectively than any other anaesthetic method. In regional anaesthesia/analgesia, rare but serious complications make it necessary to always consider the risk-benefit ratio. The article discusses these issues and gives advice on effective and safe conduct. ⋯ Optimal regional anaesthesia/analgesia may improve the postoperative result.
-
Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. · Jan 2010
Review[Acute respiratory failure concomitant with serious disease or injury].
Acute respiratory failure has an annual incidence of 20-75/100,000 and is the most common reason for admittance to an intensive care unit. A common cause is acute inflammatory changes in lung tissue. The article reviews clinical, etiological, pathophysiological and therapeutic aspects of acute respiratory failure, with an emphasis on failure secondary to proinflammatory processes. ⋯ No specific treatment is available for secondary tissue inflammation; it usually resolves when the precipitating injuries or disease processes are healed. Positive pressure ventilation can prevent serious hypoxemia from causing additional damage to affected tissue. With modern treatment in an intensive care unit only 10-15 % of the deaths are caused by the respiratory failure per se, most deaths are caused by failure of several additional organs (multiorgan failure).
-
Neutropenic enterocolitis is a life-threatening complication that usually occurs in connection with chemotherapy for acute leukemias. Our experience with diagnosis and treatment of these patients is presented. ⋯ Neutropenic enterocolitis is a heterogeneous condition and the treatment is mainly conservative. Surgical intervention is mandatory in patients with free intraabdominal air, ileus and intractable intestinal bleeding. The prognosis seems to worsen when aplasia develops after a short time and when there is a large number of affected bowel segments.