British journal of anaesthesia
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Since 1968, when Baxter and Shires developed the Parkland formula, little progress has been made in the field of fluid therapy for burn resuscitation, despite advances in haemodynamic monitoring, establishment of the 'goal-directed therapy' concept, and the development of new colloid and crystalloid solutions. Burn patients receive a larger amount of fluids in the first hours than any other trauma patients. ⋯ Since the emergence of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee alert from the European Medicines Agency concerning hydroxyethyl starches, solutions containing this component are not recommended for burns. But the question is: what do we really know about fluid resuscitation in burns? To provide an answer, we carried out a non-systematic review to clarify how to quantify the amount of fluids needed, what the current evidence says about the available solutions, and which solution is the most appropriate for burn patients based on the available knowledge.
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Tracheal intubation in critically ill patients is a high-risk procedure. The risk of complications increases with repeated or prolonged attempts, making expedient first attempt success the goal for airway management in these patients. ⋯ Operator-related factors such as experience, device selection, and pharmacologic choices affect the odds of a successful intubation on the first attempt. This review will discuss the 'difficult airway' in critically ill patients and highlight recent advances in airway management that have been shown to improve first attempt success and decrease adverse events associated with the intubation of critically ill patients.
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Review
Vascular surgery-related organ injury and protective strategies: update and future prospects.
Whilst there has been a reduction in the prevalence of peripheral vascular disease worldwide, a significant proportion of the world's growing population is still affected by disease of the aorta, carotid, iliac and lower limb arteries. These if left untreated can result in severe morbidity and mortality. However vascular surgery, the main definitive treatment for such conditions, is associated with subsequent injury to vital organs including the kidneys, heart, brain, intestines and lungs, with a consequent increase in both morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Various methods to alleviate such injuries have been investigated including pre- and postconditioning strategies, pharmacological therapies including volatile anaesthetic and alpha2 adrenoceptor agonist drugs and more recently remote conditioning strategies. Although these interventions have demonstrated some reduction in the biomarkers for organ injury, attempts to translate these benefits into clinical practice have not been successful in terms of morbidity, mortality or length of hospital stay. For this reason, further research is needed in this area to facilitate the translation of the potential interventional benefits from bench to bedside.
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Management of acute coagulopathy and blood loss during major vascular procedures poses a significant haemostatic challenge to anaesthetists. The acute coagulopathy is multifactorial in origin with tissue injury and hypotension as the precipitating factors, followed by dilution, hypothermia, acidemia, hyperfibrinolysis and systemic inflammatory response, all acting as a self-perpetuating spiral of events. The problem is confounded by the high prevalence of antithrombotic agent use in these patients and intraoperative heparin administration. ⋯ Fibrinogen and prothrombin complex concentrates administration are recommended during massive transfusion, whereas rFVIIa should be reserved until all means have failed. While debates over the ideal resuscitative strategy continue, the approach to vascular haemostasis should be scientific, rational, and structured. As far as possible, therapy should be monitored and goal directed.
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Vascular disease covers a wide range of conditions, including arterial, venous, and lymphatic disorders, with many of these being more common in the elderly. As the population ages, the incidence of vascular disease will increase, with a consequent increase in the requirement to manage both acute and chronic pain in this patient population. Pain management can be complex, as there are often multiple co-morbidities to be considered. ⋯ Chronic pain in vascular disease includes post-amputation pain, for which well-known risk factors include high pain levels before amputation and in the immediate postoperative period, emphasizing the importance of good pain control in the perioperative period. Complex regional pain syndrome is another challenging chronic pain syndrome with a wide variety of treatment options available, with the strongest evidence being for physical therapies. Further research is required to gain a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in pain associated with vascular disease and the best analgesic approaches to manage it.