Der Anaesthesist
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The main diagnostic tool for the preoperative identification of patients with an increased risk of bleeding or thrombosis is the patient history. Laboratory diagnostics should only be performed if a bleeding diathesis is suspected from patient history or clinical symptoms of bleeding, or if an adequate patient history cannot be performed. Measurement of prothrombin time, aPTT, or bleeding time as a general preoperative screening procedure is neither cost-effective nor efficient for the identification of patients with increased bleeding risk. ⋯ In some cases, patients should be referred to a specialized coagulation clinic for further diagnostics and treatment planning. Preoperative laboratory diagnostics for thrombophilia are not necessary in most cases. The decision for intensified antithrombotic measures is made according to patient history and the postoperative clinical course.
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Review
[Evidence-based intensive care treatment of intracranial hypertension after traumatic brain injury].
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs frequently and is associated with a poor prognosis. Severe TBI results in substantial disability or death in more than 40% of cases. ⋯ In addition to surgical approaches, various conservative treatment options exist, such as the use of osmodiuretics, barbiturates, or corticosteroids, hyperventilation as well as induced therapeutic hypothermia. This review analyzes these treatment options and the therapeutic goals of lowering intracranial pressure (ICP) in patients after TBI using evidence-based criteria, and provides recommendations for clinical practice.
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In an unprotected airway during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, two ventilations with an inspiratory time of 2 s after 15 chest compressions are recommended. Therefore, approximately 30% of the resuscitation attempt is spent on ventilation. Since survival rates did not decrease sharply when minute ventilation levels were relatively low, and uninterrupted chest compressions with a constant rate of approximately 100/min have been shown to be lifesaving, it may be beneficial to decrease the time spent on ventilation and instead, increase the time for chest compressions. ⋯ In this model of a simulated, unprotected airway, a reduction of inspiratory time from 2 to 1 s resulted in a significant increase of peak airway pressure, while lung tidal volumes and stomach inflation volumes were statistically different but clinically comparable.
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Burns caused by hydrofluoric acid can be life-threatening. Of special significance is the often underestimated local and sometimes delayed deep action of the highly diffusible free fluoride ions and the accompanying systemic toxicity. The specific antidote calcium gluconate can be topically applied, injected into tissue or infused intra-arterially. Because of the extreme danger of systemic toxicity even after seemingly trivial injuries, monitoring in the intensive care station, especially by measuring the calcium concentration in blood and electrocardiography, and therapy is recommended.
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Surgical blood loss and trauma are the major causes of allogeneic blood transfusions, which still bear considerable risks. After the correction of hypovolemia, the anesthesiologist often has to deal with normovolemic anemia. ⋯ This is an individual threshold for each patient and depends on his or her capacity to compensate the decrease in blood oxygen content. Therefore, physiologic transfusion triggers should primarily be applied and not rigid numeric transfusion triggers, such as hemoglobin concentration, which do not take into account each patient's individual reserve.