Mini invasive hemodynamic monitoring: from arterial pressure to cardiac output

To evaluate the Cardiac Output (CO) the standard invasive pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) is considered today the gold standard. The major criticism to the PAC is that its level of invasiveness is not supported by an improvement in patient\u27s outcome. The interest to lesser and lesser invasive techniques is high. Therefore, the alternative techniques have been recently developed.Cardiac Output can be monitored continuously by different devices that analyze the arterial waveform to track changes in stroke volume (SV) and CO. The analysis of the arterial pressure wave to determine cardiac output is classified as Pulse Contour analysis or Pulse Pressure Analysis. Starting from a similar principle three main devices are now available on the market, with different algorithms and features:• PiCCO System (Pulsion Medical System, Munich, Germany)• LiDCOTM plus System (LidCO, Cambridge, UK)• Flotrac technology and Vigileo Monitor (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA).The algorithm used by all these devices has been also implemented even with the analysis of the variation of stroke volume (SVV) and of the pulse pressure (PPV). SVV and PPV represent the variation of stroke volume and of the pulse pressure during the respiratory cycle. In sedated ventilated patients these indexes have proven to predict the response to a fluid challenge. A high variation (>10-12%) identifies with good sensitivity and specificity responders and not responders

Renal function and icu

Introduction: The mortality of acute renal failure (ARF) is 50-80% in critically ill patients and has not fallen significantly despite numerous advances in critical care strategies and renal replacement technologies over several decades. (1) A major problem with conducting research into acute renal failure (ARF) is the lack of a consensus definition (2). More than 30 different definitions of ARF have been used in the literature. This lack of a common reference point created confusion and made comparisons difficult. The Acute Dialysis Initiative (ADQI) group of experts developed and published a consensus definition of ARF. This definition goes under the acronym of RIFLE. This definition classified the patients with renal dysfunction according to the degree of impairment into patient at risk (R), with injury (I), with failure (F), with sustained loss (L) and with end stage (E) status in relation to their renal function. (2) Rifle criteria were based on changes in the patients\u27 glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and/or their urine output. (2) Discussion: The prophylactic and therapeutic use of dopamine, the more studied vasoactive drug, actually has not been supported. For all other vasoactive drugs, at this moment, data available are contradictory and few conclusions can be made. To protect renal function, despite wide use of vasoactive drugs, only the maintenance of adequate volume replacement and perfusion pressure may be certainly recommended. Conclusion: The use of vasoactive drugs is a pervasive practice in intensive care units, and hence, this area needs suitably powered, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies to provide more rational indications for clinical practice

Development of a test for recording both visual and auditory reaction times, potentially useful for future studies in patients on opioids therapy

Luca Miceli,1 Rym Bednarova,2 Alessandro Rizzardo,1 Valentina Samogin,1 Giorgio Della Rocca1 1Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Udine, 2Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, Hospital of Latisana, Latisana, Udine, Italy Objective: Italian Road Law limits driving while undergoing treatment with certain kinds of medication. Here, we report the results of a test, run as a smartphone application (app), assessing auditory and visual reflexes in a sample of 300 drivers. The scope of the test is to provide both the police force and medication-taking drivers with a tool that can evaluate the individual’s capacity to drive safely. Methods: The test is run as an app for Apple iOS and Android mobile operating systems and facilitates four different reaction times to be assessed: simple visual and auditory reaction times and complex visual and auditory reaction times. Reference deciles were created for the test results obtained from a sample of 300 Italian subjects. Results lying within the first three deciles were considered as incompatible with safe driving capabilities. Results: Performance is both age-related (r>0.5) and sex-related (female reaction times were significantly slower than those recorded for male subjects, P<0.05). Only 21% of the subjects were able to perform all four tests correctly. Conclusion: We developed and fine-tuned a test called Safedrive that measures visual and auditory reaction times through a smartphone mobile device; the scope of the test is two-fold: to provide a clinical tool for the assessment of the driving capacity of individuals taking pain relief medication; to promote the sense of social responsibility in drivers who are on medication and provide these individuals with a means of testing their own capacity to drive safely. Keywords: visual reaction time, auditory reaction time, opioids, Safedriv

Transesophageal echocardiography in orthotopic liver transplantation: a comprehensive intraoperative monitoring tool

Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography is a minimally invasive monitoring tool that can provide real-time visual information on ventricular function and hemodynamic volume status in patients undergoing liver transplantation. The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases states that transesophageal echocardiography should be used in all liver transplant candidates in order to assess chamber sizes, hypertrophy, systolic and diastolic function, valvular function, and left ventricle outflow tract obstruction. However, intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography can be used to â\u80\u9cvisualizeâ\u80\u9d other organs too; thanks to its proximity and access to multiple acoustic windows: liver, lung, spleen, and kidney. Although only limited scientific evidence exists promoting this comprehensive use, we describe the feasibility of TEE in the setting of liver transplantation: it is a highly valuable tool, not only as a cardiovascular monitoring, but also as a tool to evaluate lungs and pleural spaces, to assess hepatic vein blood flow and inferior vena cava anastomosis and patency, i.e., in cases of modified surgical techniques. The aim of this case series is to add our own experience of TEE as a comprehensive intraoperative monitoring tool in the field of orthotopic liver transplantation (and major liver resection) to the literature

Osteochondroma as a cause of scapular winging in an adolescent: a case report and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Winged scapula is defined as the prominence of the medial border of the scapula. The classic etiopathology of scapular winging are injuries to the spinal accessory or long thoracic nerves resulting respectively in trapezius and serratus anterior palsy. To the best of our knowledge, there are only few reports of scapular lesions being mistaken for winging of the scapula. We report a rare case of a large scapular osteochondroma arising from the medial border and causing a pseudowinging of the scapula. CASE PRESENTATION: A 17-year-old Caucasian boy came to us complaining about a winged left scapula. The patient had a complete painless range of motion, but a large hard bony swelling was palpable along the medial border of his left scapula. A grating sensation was felt when his arm was passively abducted and/or elevated causing discomfort. A lesion revealed on X-rays was diagnosed as an osteochondroma of the medial border of his scapula. After preoperative examinations, he underwent open surgery in order to remove the lesion. A histological examination confirmed the clinical diagnosis of osteochondroma. A clinical examination 3 months later showed a full and painless range of motion, the absence of the grating sensation during passive abduction and elevation and the complete disappearance of his left shoulder deformity. After 2 years of follow-up, there were no clinical or radiological signs of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its rarity osteochondroma should be considered in the differential diagnosis for any adolescent presenting with a winging of the scapula

Goal-directed haemodynamic therapy during elective total hip arthroplasty under regional anaesthesia

INTRODUCTION: Total hip replacement is one of the most commonly performed major orthopaedic operations. Goal-directed therapy (GDT) using haemodynamic monitoring has previously demonstrated outcome benefits in high-risk surgical patients under general anaesthesia. GDT has never been formally assessed during regional anaesthesia. METHODS: Patients undergoing total hip replacement while under regional anaesthesia were randomised to either the control group (CTRL) or the protocol group (GDT). Patients in the GDT group, in addition to standard monitoring, were connected to the FloTrac sensor/Vigileo monitor haemodynamic monitoring system, and a GDT protocol was used to maximise the stroke volume and target the oxygen delivery index to > 600 mL/minute/m2. RESULTS: Patients randomised to the GDT group were given a greater volume of intravenous fluids during the intraoperative period (means ± standard deviation (SD): 6,032 ± 1,388 mL vs. 2,635 ± 346 mL; P < 0.0001), and more of the GDT patients received dobutamine (0 of 20 CTRL patients vs. 11 of 20 GDT patients; P < 0.0003). The GDT patients also received more blood transfused during the intraoperative period (means ± SD: 595 ± 316 mL vs. 0 ± 0 mL; P < 0.0001), although the CTRL group received greater volumes of blood replacement postoperatively (CTRL patients 658 ± 68 mL vs. GDT patients 198 ± 292 mL; P < 0.001). Overall blood consumption (intraoperatively and postoperatively) was not different between the two groups. There were an increased number of complications in the CTRL group (20 of 20 CTRL patients (100%) vs. 16 of 20 GDT patients (80%); P = 0.05). These outcomes were predominantly due to a difference in minor complications (20 of 20 CTRL patients (100%) vs. 15 of 20 GDT patients (75%); P = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: GDT applied during regional anaesthesia in patients undergoing elective total hip replacement changes intraoperative fluid management and may improve patient outcomes by decreasing postoperative complications. Larger trials are required to confirm our findings

Разработка автоматизированной системы групповой замерной установки

Создание информационно-измерительной системы, подбор контроллерного оборудования, исполнительных устройств, алгоритмов управления для групповой замерной установки.Creation of information-measuring system, selection of controller equipment, actuators, control algorithms for group metering installation

Cardiac output monitoring: aortic transpulmonary thermodilution and pulse contour analysis agree with standard thermodilution methods in patients undergoing lung transplantation

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