Wiener klinische Wochenschrift
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Jan 2000
Review[Informed consent and responsibility for patient education in oncology. Review of Austrian and German jurisprudence].
Informed consent is currently an ethical, medical and legal requirement. Increasing public discussion concerning real or supposed malpractice has caused patients to adopt a critical attitude and has caused courts to increasingly demand informed consent for patients. ⋯ In addition, the law has failed to establish explicit guidelines for physicians. We review the elements of informed consent based on current Austrian and German jurisdiction in the particular field of oncology and summarise the legal and medical realities with the aim of delineating specific criteria for decision making.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Oct 1999
Review[High altitude headache: epidemiology, pathophysiology, therapy and prophylaxis].
Headache is known to be the predominant symptom in acute mountain sickness which is also frequently accompanied by nausea, vomiting and insomnia. Nowadays, every year millions of skiers and mountaineers are attracted to mountains all over the world. At altitudes between 2500 m and 5000 m about 20% to 90% of those who are not adapted to high altitude will experience high altitude headache (HAH). ⋯ Acetazolamide, dexamethasone, and aspirin were also found to prevent HAH. The most beneficial effects however, may be achieved by the combined application of acetazolamide and aspirin. This combination increases oxygenation and reduces prostaglandin synthesis.
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Non invasive ventilation is defined as mechanical ventilation without the use of endotracheal intubation and has been increasingly established within intensive care units during the last decades. Negative pressure ventilation and non invasive positive pressure ventilation have been successfully applied, first in chronic respiratory failure (CRF) due to various causes and later in acute respiratory failure (ARF). In this review ventilation modes, indications, contraindications and side effects of non invasive ventilation are analysed and the impact of non invasive ventilation on the physiology, pathophysiology and outcome of CRF and ARF, and possible applications in CRF (restrictive chest and pulmonary diseases, neuromuscular diseases and COPD) and ARF are discussed. It is concluded that non invasive ventilation should be included in the routine management of respiratory failure at all intensive care units.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Apr 1998
Review[Risk and procedure education in anesthesiology. Overview of Austrian and German legal regulations].
Informed consent is currently an ethical, medical and legal requirement. An increase in public discussion of real or supposed malpractice has led to critical attitude in patients and increased demands on informed consent by the courts. ⋯ In addition, laws have not set forth clear guidelines for physicians to follow. We review the elements of informed consent based on current Austrian and German jurisdiction in the particular field of anesthesiology and summarize the legal and medical realities in order to point out specific criteria for decision making.