The conditions for implementing a circular economy in the Czech Republic

In July 2018, measures of the European Commission regarding the Circular Economy Package (CEP) came into force. All EU Member States have two years since to implement these measures into their national legislations. The aim of the authors is, using available resources, to evaluate current conditions in the Czech Republic in the areas affected by this legislation. It is primarily the area of waste management, which has set values within the CEP that must be achieved within those two years. The article offers an analysis of the circular economy penetration into the Czech legislation. The procedure for introducing changes in legislation is presented through the Waste Management Plan (WMP) for the period 2015-2024. The aim of the article is to verify whether whether the Czech Republic is able to meet the EU and WMP's requirements in the current development of waste management. The authors are first to use the analysis of secondary data from national and transnational sources, from which they created unique and original outcomes for the given issue. After the analysis, they introduced the measures that could be used for the greater motivation of the target groups in order to meet the goals of the Czech Republic. The authors address the concrete impacts of CEP implementation within the Czech Republic and also present Czech examples of good practice.Web of Science24437536

Impact of new healthcare legislation and price policy on healthcare services provider at the time of financial crisis. A 10 years study

Monitoring, calculation and assessment of healthcare services prosperity in the community pharmacy with the help of financial analysis indicators for the years 2003-2012, using financial statements was conducted, with respect to profitability, debt, liquidity, working capital, and efficiency parameters. These ratios reflect various changes that hold between years 2003 and 2012. Under the time of financial crisis, recession and serious socio-economic changes the profitability parameter Gross Profit ranged from 2003-2011 = 16.12-22.79% (average = 19.20%; mean = 19.78%; σ = 2.41), but in 2012 decreased on 14.35%. Net Profit ranged 2003-2011 = 10.96-18.3% (average = 14.62%; mean = 16.62%; σ = 4.92), while in 2012 reached only 2.29%. Debt ratio ranged from 2003-2012= 2.33-4.81 (average = 3.44; mean = 3.07; σ = 0.82). Liquidity parameters Current Ratio spread between 2003-2012 = 1.13-1.71 (average = 1.43; mean = 1.46; σ = 0.15) and Quick Ratio spread between 2003-2012 = 0.72-1.27 (average = 1.07; mean = 1.09; σ = 0.15). Working Capital Ratio ranged from 2003-2012 = 2.66-12.94 (average = 9.58; mean = 10.06; σ = 3.1) and efficiency ratios were measured either. All changes that have taken place in the society had an impact on community pharmacy finance by worsening its profitability, liquidity, working capital and some of efficiency parameters. Therefore the stability of community pharmacy may be threatened and may affect its future performance

Reliability of different body temperature measurement sites during aortic surgery

Objective: We retrospectively performed a comparative analysis of temperature measurement sites during surgical repair of the thoracic aorta. Methods: Between January 2004 and May 2006, 22 patients (mean age: 63±12 years) underwent operations on the thoracic aorta with arterial cannulation of the aortic arch concavity and selective antegrade cerebral perfusion (ACP) during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA). Indications for surgical intervention were acute type A dissection in 14 (64%) patients, degenerative aneurysm in 6 (27%), aortic infiltration of thymic carcinoma in 1 (4.5%) and intra-aortic stent refixation in 1 (4.5%). Rectal, tympanic and bladder temperatures were evaluated to identify the best reference to arterial blood temperature during HCA and ACP. Results: There were no operative deaths and the 30-day mortality rate was 13% (three patients). Permanent neurological deficits were not observed and transient changes occurred in two patients (9%). During re-warming, there was strong correlation between tympanic and arterial blood temperatures (r= 0.9541, p<0.001), in contrast to the rectal and bladder temperature (r=0.7654, p= n.s; r=0.7939, p= n.s., respectively). Conclusion: We conclude that tympanic temperature measurements correlate with arterial blood temperature monitoring during aortic surgery with HCA and ACP and, therefore, should replace bladder and rectal measurements

Life span of different extracorporeal membrane systems for severe respiratory failure in the clinical practice

Over the past decade, veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (vvECMO) has been increasingly utilized in respiratory failure in patients. This study presents our institution As experience focusing on the life span of ECMO systems reflecting the performance of a particular system. A retrospective review of our ECMO database identified 461 adult patients undergoing vvECMO (2010 +/- 2017). Patients that required more than one system and survived the first exchange > 24 hours (n = 139) were included. Life span until the first exchange and exchange criteria were analyzed for all systems (PLS, Cardiohelp HLS-set, both Maquet Cardiopulmonary, Rastatt, Germany; Deltastream/Hilite7000LT, iLA-activve, Xenios/NovaLung, Heilbronn, Germany; ECC. O5, LivaNova, Mirandola, Italy). At our ECMO center, the frequency of a system exchange was 30%. The median (IQR) life span was 9 (6-12) days. There was no difference regarding the different systems (p = 0.145 and p = 0.108, respectively). However, the Deltastream systems were exchanged more frequently due to elective technical complications (e.g. worsened gas transfer, development of coagulation disorder, increased bleedings complications) compared to the other exchanged systems (p = 0.013). In summary, the used ECMO systems are safe and effective for acute respiratory failure. There is no evidence for the usage of a specific system. Only the increased predictability of an imminent exchange preferred the usage of a Deltastream system. However, the decision to use a particular system should not depend solely on the possible criteria for an exchange

Coagulation abnormalities in patients with COVID‐19 on venovenous ECLS increased risk for technical complications and support times but had no impact on survival

Background Patients with severe coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19)-associated acute respiratory distress on venovenous extracorporeal lung support (V-V ECLS) showed a high incidence of vascular as well as ECLS-related thrombotic complications. The latter may influence the outcome of the patients. Methods This is a retrospective monocentric study on prospectively collected data of technical complications including 69 adult COVID-19 patients on V-V ECLS (ECLS Registry, March 2020 until April 2021) without and with system exchanges. Alterations in ECLS-specific data, hemolysis, coagulation, and hemostasis parameters were analyzed. Results Every second COVID-19 patient on V-V ECLS developed technical complications. Optimized ECLS management at our ECLS center reduced cases of acute clot formation (pump head thrombosis, acute oxygenator thrombosis) (17%), and allowed early identification of progressive clotting processes (worsened gas transfer, coagulation disorder) (14%, 54%) with a significant overhang of hyperfibrinolysis (37%). Although COVID-19 disease and technical complications caused the prolonged length of stay at the intensive care unit and ECLS support times, the proportion of successful weaning and survival rates were comparable with patients without system exchange. Conclusion The survival of ECLS patients with COVID-19 was independent of the requirement for system exchange due to technical-induced coagulation disorders. Close monitoring for circuit clotting is mandatory in COVID-19 patients and is one prerequisite for successful organ support in these difficult patients

Reliability of prognostic biomarkers after prehospital extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation with target temperature management

Background: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) performed at the emergency scene in out-ofhospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) can minimize low-flow time. Target temperature management (TTM) after cardiac arrest can improve neurological outcome. A combination of ECPR and TTM, both implemented as soon as possible on scene, appears to have promising results in OHCA. To date, it is still unknown whether the implementation of TTM and ECPR on scene affects the time course and value of neurological biomarkers. Methods: 69 ECPR patients were examined in this study. Blood samples were collected between 1 and 72 h after ECPR and analyzed for S100, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), lactate, D-dimers and interleukin 6 (IL6). Cerebral performance category (CPC) scores were used to assess neurological outcome after ECPR upon hospital discharge. Resuscitation data were extracted from the Regensburg extracorporeal membrane oxygenation database and all data were analyzed by a statistician. The data were analyzed using non-parametric methods. Diagnostic accuracy of biomarkers was determined by area under the curve (AUC) analysis. Results were compared to the relevant literature. Results: Non-hypoxic origin of cardiac arrest, manual chest compression until ECPR, a short low-flow time until ECPR initiation, low body mass index (BMI) and only a minimal need of extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation support were associated with a good neurological outcome after ECPR. Survivors with good neurological outcome had significantly lower lactate, IL6, D-dimer, and NSE values and demonstrated a rapid decrease in the initial S100 value compared to non-survivors. Conclusions: A short low-flow time until ECPR initiation is important for a good neurological outcome. Hypoxiainduced cardiac arrest has a high mortality rate even when ECPR and TTM are performed at the emergency scene. ECPR patients with a higher BMI had a worse neurological outcome than patients with a normal BMI. The prognostic biomarkers S100, NSE, lactate, D-dimers and IL6 were reliable indicators of neurological outcome when ECPR and TTM were performed at the emergency scene

First experience with the new portable extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system Cardiohelp for severe respiratory failure in adults

Background: Over the last decade, technical improvements in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) equipment have reduced procedure-related complications and have made ECMO an effective option for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) if conventional therapy fails. Methods: In this report, we present our early experience with the Cardiohelp, a new portable miniaturized ECMO system, in 22 consecutive patients with ARDS. All patients were placed on venovenous ECMO. Cannulas were inserted percutaneously, employing the Seldinger technique. Data were collected prospectively. Results: The median patient age was 47 years (36 to 61). Fifteen patients from regional hospitals were too unstable for conventional transport and were placed on Cardiohelp at the referring hospital and then transported to our institution. The patients were transported by ambulance (n=2) or helicopter (n=13) over a distance of 50-250 km. Cardiohelp support resulted in immediate improvement of gas exchange and highly protective ventilation. The median duration of support was 13 days (8 to 19). An exchange of the device was necessary in 9 patients. Sixteen patients (72.7%) were successfully weaned from ECMO and fifteen patients (68.2%) survived. Device-related complications were not observed. Conclusions: The compact portable ECMO device Cardiohelp is a highly effective method to secure vital gas exchange and to reduce further ventilator-induced lung injury in patients with acute respiratory failure. Crucial technical innovations and ease of device transport and implantation allow location-independent stabilization with consecutive inter-hospital transfer