Minerva anestesiologica
-
Minerva anestesiologica · Oct 2013
Hospital survival and long term quality of life after emergency institution of venoarterial ECMO for refractory circulatory collapse.
Thanks to significant technical improvements, VA-ECMO is increasingly used to reverse circulatory collapse refractory to standard treatments. ⋯ Emergency VA-ECMO institution can reverse refractory acute cardiovascular collapse, provided it is carried out before significant organ dysfunction occurs. Light sedation and spontaneous breathing while on VA-ECMO can be well tolerated by patients, but related clinical benefits should be proved. Patients successfully bridged to heart recovery or transplant are candidates for long-term good quality of life.
-
The use of a fiberoptic bronchoscope is fundamental to the positioning of bronchial blockers. However, a fiberoptic bronchoscope could be unavailable. We tried to devise a blind method to locate the blocker without help of a fiberoptic bronchoscope. ⋯ This novel technique to blindly position bronchial blockers could be almost successful in isolating the right lung. However, isolation of the left lung was frequently unsuccessful in spite of several attempts.