Der Anaesthesist
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Major incidents are high-profile events where many lives are at stake. The response of the health-care-related agencies has to be well-planned and co-ordinated, thus retaining the public's confidence in the emergency services whilst efficiently responding to those in need. The communication between supervising officers such as medical incident officer (MIO) and ambulance incident officer (AIO) with the ambulance personnel is vital for the proper employment of doctors and ambulance teams at the incident scene. In Germany the experience gained at such events has not yet been collected into a single coherent and comprehensive analysis. This study investigates the delivery of ambulance vehicles and personnel at major incidents. Was appropriate emergency treatment and transport for each seriously injured patient possible? Were the communication structures between the supervising officers and the ambulance teams sufficient to provide effective co-ordination and utilisation of the teams at the scene? ⋯ Quality assurance in emergency medicine can only be achieved by research and documentation. Analysis of the data for this study revealed a severe documentation gap. Only in Bavaria did a one-page documentation form for major incidents exist. For a comprehensive analysis of the health-care-related response to major incidents, a standardised and detailed documentation form should be introduced. According to the data from this study, ambulance staff and vehicles can be quickly and sufficiently provided for the vast majority of major incidents in Germany. For the optimal use of these resources, however, communication skills and knowledge and understanding of on-side supervision structures such as the MIO and AIO need to be promoted.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[Single-dose spinal anesthesia with a mixture of isobaric bupivacaine 0.5% and hyperbaric mepivacaine 4%].
Single-dose spinal anaesthesia with hyperbaric local anaesthetic provides profound analgesia and motor blockade and allows exact assessment of the analgesic level. The present prospective, randomised study compares a mixture of plain 0.5% bupivacaine and hyperbaric 4% mepivacaine with hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine with regard to onset time of analgesia and duration of the sensory and motor blockade. ⋯ The local anaesthetic mixture may be preferred to hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine in patients requiring a fast onset of analgesia associated with a 2-3 h duration of sensory and motor block.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
[Neostigmine and edrophonium. Antagonism of profound and shallow mivacurium blockade].
Mivacurium has a short duration of action because it is rapidly hydrolysed by plasma cholinesterase. There is ongoing controversy concerning the antagonism of mivacurium-induced neuromuscular block, firstly because of its short spontaneous recovery time, and secondly because the metabolism of mivacurium may be inhibited by anticholinesterases. We therefore compared neostigmine and edrophonium reversal of deep and moderate mivacurium-induced blocks. ⋯ Two theoretical reasons, the very rapid onset time and the fact that it does not inhibit plasma cholinesterase, suggest edrophonium to be the preferred antagonist of a mivacurium-induced blockade. These two characteristics are reflected in our results: only edrophonium was able to shorten the recovery index significantly and, administered at a profound level of mivacurium-induced neuromuscular block, only edrophonium was successful in shortening recovery time significantly. Therefore, edrophonium should be the anticholinesterase of choice to antagonise a mivacurium-induced neuromuscular block.
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Review
[Early care or quick transport? The effectiveness of preclinical treatment of emergency patients].
"Stay and play," especially in emergency patients with unstable vital functions, offers definite advantages compared to "scoop and run" policies. Typical medical and tactical aspects can be identified to judge the amount of diagnostic and therapeutic measures necessary at the site and during transport. Scoop and run seems to be appropriate only rarely in a area with an emergency medical system in the German style.
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Nociceptors can be defined as sensory receptors that are activated by noxious stimuli that damage or threaten the body's integrity. Nociceptors belong to the slowly conducting afferent A delta and C fibres. They are classified according to their responses to mechanical, thermal, and chemical stimuli. ⋯ Experimental and clinical progress has been achieved in using the nociceptor as a target for chemical anti-nociception and treatment of pain. Substances that act directly or indirectly on the nociceptor are steroidal and non-steroidal analgesics, capsaicin analogs, bradykinin antagonists, opioids, and (in the trigeminal system) 5-hydroxytryptamine agonists.