Der Anaesthesist
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Raoultella ornithinolytica is a species of gram-negative encapsulated and aerobic bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae and is mainly found in fish. The most distinctive feature of this bacterium is the ability to convert histidine to histamine; therefore, the consumption of decomposing fish infected by R. ornithinolytica causes rashes, diarrhea, flushing, sweating and vomiting. This food poisoning is also called histamine fish poisoning; however, human infections with R. ornithinolytica are extremely rare and have so far only affected patients with diseases suppressing the immune system. The current case report describes for the first time sepsis with evidence of bloodstream infection by R. ornithinolytica in an immunocompetent male patient and the successful antibiotic treatment.
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As a stress-induced disease, takotsubo cardiomyopathy can also occur in septic syndromes; however, the hemodynamic management is fundamentally different from the treatment approaches for classical septic cardiomyopathy, as beta mimetics can increase the heart failure symptoms in takotsubo cardiomyopathy. This article reports the case of an 82-year-old female patient who presented with acute abdomen due to adhesion ileus and takotsubo cardiomyopathy, developed severe septic shock with peritonitis and could be successfully hemodynamically stabilized with levosimendan.
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Liver failure can be categorized into acute liver failure, chronic liver failure and acute decompensation of chronic liver failure, the so-called acute-on-chronic liver failure, the incidence of which has increased over the last few years. Liver failure leads to a variety of pathophysiological changes where the extent is dependent on the nature and duration of the liver disease. ⋯ Especially chronic liver failure is associated with malfunction of extrahepatic organs, such as the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system and the kidneys. In addition to these pathophysiological alterations the Child-Turcotte-Pugh classification (CTP) and the model of end stage liver disease (MELD) are used for perioperative risk stratification.