Anaesthesiology intensive therapy
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Anaesthesiol Intensive Ther · Nov 2014
ReviewTen good reasons why everybody can and should perform cardiac ultrasound in the ICU.
Critical care ultrasonography (CCUS) has been defined as an ultrasound evaluation of the heart, abdomen, pleura and lungs at the bedside by the intensivist, 24/7. Within CCUS, critical care echocardiography (CCE) is used to assess cardiac function and more generally haemodynamics. Experts in haemodynamics have published a 'consensus of 16' regarding an update on haemodynamic monitoring. ⋯ Whether it is operator-independent is obviously more debatable and is discussed in this review. All these characteristics are arguments for the extensive use of CCE by intensivists. This is why experts in the field have recommended that a basic level of CCE should be included in the training of all intensivists.
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Anaesthesiol Intensive Ther · Nov 2014
ReviewWhy hydroxyethyl starch solutions should NOT be banned from the operating room.
This review summarises the new insights into the physiology of perioperative fluid therapy and analyses recent studies of the safety of the use of HES solutions in the fluid management of critically ill patients. This analysis reveals a number of methodological issues in the three major studies that have initiated the recommendation of the European Medicine Agency to ban hydroxyethyl starches from clinical practice. It is concluded that, when used in the proper indication, and taking into account the recommended doses, hydroxyethyl starches continue to have a place in perioperative fluid management.
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Anaesthesiol Intensive Ther · Nov 2014
ReviewWhy crystalloids will do the job in the operating room.
The current trend in anaesthesia is to choose crystalloid over colloid fluids for volume replacement in the operating room. Outcome-oriented studies and kinetic analyses have recently provided more insight into how crystalloid infusions should be managed. These fluids have a much better short-term effect on the plasma volume than previously believed. ⋯ Clinicians who do not want to prolong the length of the hospital stay by 1-2 days due to such problems may use colloid fluid selectively, but calculations show that the therapeutic window for colloids is quite narrow. Inflammation is likely to decrease the fluid efficiency of colloid fluids, while its effect on crystalloids is unclear. However, some recent evidence suggests that inflammation accelerates the turnover of crystalloid fluid as well.
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Anaesthesiol Intensive Ther · Nov 2014
Review Meta AnalysisFluid overload, de-resuscitation, and outcomes in critically ill or injured patients: a systematic review with suggestions for clinical practice.
Sepsis is associated with generalised endothelial injury and capillary leak and has traditionally been treated with large volume fluid resuscitation. Some patients with sepsis will accumulate bodily fluids. The aim of this study was to systematically review the association between a positive fluid balance/fluid overload and outcomes in critically ill adults, and to determine whether interventions aimed at reducing fluid balance may be linked with improved outcomes. ⋯ A positive cumulative fluid balance is associated with IAH and worse outcomes. Interventions to limit the development of a positive cumulative fluid balance are associated with improved outcomes. In patients not transgressing spontaneously from the Ebb to Flow phases of shock, late conservative fluid management and late goal directed fluid removal (de-resuscitation) should be considered.