Minerva anestesiologica
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2007
Clinical TrialCentral venous catheter replacement in the ICU: new site versus guidewire exchange.
Catheter infection (central venous catheter, CVC-I) and catheter-related bacteremia (CRB) are of particular interest with ICU patients; more than 40-60% of them require a CVC. This prospective observational study was performed to determine if a second episode of catheterization and guidewire exchange was related to increased CRB and CVC-I rates in the ICU. ⋯ Prolonged indwelling time is a significant risk factor for catheter-related infections; the second episode of cannulation and guidewire exchange did not present significant risk factors for catheter-related infections. A strict stable protocol for catheter insertion, care and proper treatment are necessary to reduce both the catheter-related infection rate and cost.
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2007
Effect of morbid obesity on kinetic of desflurane: wash-in wash-out curves and recovery times.
The aim of this paper was to compare wash-in and wash-out curves of desflurane in morbidly obese and nonobese patients. ⋯ Our results show that desflurane provides similar kinetic and recovery profiles in obese and nonobese patients.
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Minerva anestesiologica · May 2007
Continuous deep sedation in home palliative care units: case studies in the Florence area in 2000 and in 2003-2004.
The aim of this paper was to describe the frequency and the characteristics of continuous deep sedation in terminally ill patients. ⋯ The monitoring of end-of-life decision making and of medical practices involved in continuous deep sedation contributes to an enhancement in the quality of caring for terminally ill patients.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Apr 2007
ReviewFocussing cellular function. Metabolic monitoring in perioperative and Intensive Care Medicine.
In the clinical field microdialysis today is a routine technique for monitoring the chemistry of tissues and organs in physiological and pharmacological research on animals. In more than 10.000 papers on microdialysis research it is used to uncover physiological mechanisms and the influence of drugs in almost every organ of the body. ⋯ This article gives an overview over current results of clinical studies using microdialysis in critical care medicine and tries to focus on possible indications for clinical biochemical monitoring. However, despite numerous publications available microdialysis has not been shown to improve outcome of the patients yet.