Der Anaesthesist
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Although almost 10% of all newborn infants need some form of respiratory assistance after birth, only 1% will require more advanced forms of resuscitation. Because these rare events cannot always be anticipated, pediatricians and neonatologists may not be readily available and resuscitation will have to be performed by anesthesiologists. In recent years, international guidelines for neonatal resuscitation have been revised by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Heart Association (AHA), as well as the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). ⋯ The use of 100% oxygen in neonatal resuscitation is increasingly being challenged. In the rare event of a newborn whose heart rate drops below 60 beats/min, more advanced resuscitation (chest compressions using the 2-thumb-encircling-hands technique, epinephrine 10-30 mug/kgBW i.v.) will be required. Finally, the guidelines mention the possible neuroprotective effect of therapeutic hypothermia after asphyxia, but finally only recommend that hyperthermia should be avoided.
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Transport of critically ill patients from the ICU for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes (e.g. CT, endoscopy, radiological catheter-assisted interventions) is a challenge and has steadily increased over the years. ⋯ Proper education and experience in critical care medicine are additional characteristics of the transport team. When these prerequisites are fulfilled a "non-transportable" patient is just as unlikely as a "non-anesthetizable" patient.
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Besides severe cerebral trauma, abdominal bleeding is the most frequent cause of death after multiple trauma. Abdominal bleeding is difficult to diagnose because initially at the scene a multiply injured patient with a stable circulation is often encountered. ⋯ The following article deals with the ultrasound investigation of injured patients, the indications and examination technique are described, as well as the specific characteristics of using ultrasound at the scene. Finally, device-specific characteristics and the state of development in Germany are presented.
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Up to now only acetylcholine esterase inhibitors, such as neostigmine, were available as antagonists of residual neuromuscular blocks. Sugammadex is a modified gamma-cyclodextrin that binds rocuronium and chemically similar aminosteroidal muscle relaxants, such as vecuronium. The underlying mechanism of action is new and differs completely from that of acetylcholine esterase inhibitors. This review summarizes data published so far within the framework of the licensing procedure about the efficacy, safety and side-effects of sugammadex and presents potential new anesthesiological concepts using this compound.
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Certification is a compulsory element of today's quality management. However, the instruments used for certification have mostly originally been developed for industrial purposes. Even with tried and tested adaptation to hospital structures, transferring these instruments to the medical environment implies partial negligence of outcome quality. ⋯ This review describes the necessity to develop a specific indicator system, which is needed for an objective, reliable and valid system of certification for intensive care units. The second part of the review describes the current efforts which are being undertaken to develop such a certification system for German intensive care units. Until this new system has been validated, certification of intensive care units is of limited value for evaluating the quality of intensive care units in Germany.