Search

Arterial hypotension during cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia can cause maternal and fetal adverse effects. Therefore, current guidelines recommend the continuous and preferably prophylactic use of vasopressors, emphasizing the use of alpha-agonists, such as phenylephrine. Besides a left lateral uterine displacement either an intravenous colloid preloading or a crystalloid co-loading is recommended. The blood pressure goal is to maintain a systolic arterial blood pressure of at least 90% of the initial baseline value and to avoid a drop to less than 80% of this baseline. To achieve this goal a prophylactic continuous phenylephrine infusion with an adjustable flow rate is recommended. It is advised to start with an initial dose of 25-50 µg/min, initiated immediately following the intrathecal injection of the local anesthetic and titrated according to the vital parameters. Parturients with cardiac diseases should be preoperatively evaluated following individual hemodynamic goals.

During the last decade target temperature management has become an integral part of postresuscitation care. Within recent years there was a strong debate about the optimal target temperature, which might have effects on the preclinical induction of hypothermia. The present investigation focuses on the use of mild therapeutic hypothermia by emergency services in the state of Baden-Württemberg (Germany) and compares it to results of a prior study in 2008.Between April and August 2014 a questionnaire was sent to all senior emergency physicians of emergency services in Baden Württemberg. The survey period was April to August of 2014. Parts of the questionnaire were similar to a previous one in 2008, to ensure comparability to the former data; other parts were added to set new focuses. The data were analyzed in anonymized form.The response rate was 72.4% (97/134). Of the 97 sites which responded to the questionnaire significantly more use preclinical hypothermia, compared to 2008 (72.2% [70/97] vs. 41.7%); 62.9% (44/70) declare cooling resuscitated patients routinely (vs. 17.7% in 2008). Cold infusions (85.7%), icepacks (64.3%), passive cooling (37.1%), nasal cooling (2.9%) and cooling caps (1.4%) are used (multiple naming was possible). Sites that did not use mild therapeutic hypothermia stated the following reasons: lack of equipment, short transport time and missing data for the intervention. Four sites reported on complications with therapeutic hypothermia.The present investigation shows an increased use of preclinical cooling after cardiopulmonary resuscitation as compared to 2008. Therefore, recent discussions concerning the optimal target temperature in postresuscitation care did not result in a waiving of preclinical therapeutic strategies in Baden-Württemberg. The emergency services sites/locations estimated the complication rates of mild therapeutic hypothermia as very low. Lack of equipment seems to be the main reason to refuse the preclinical use of therapeutic hypothermia. In conclusion, preclinical mild therapeutic hypothermia has become an integral part in the standard care of resuscitated patients in Baden-Württemberg.

Endoscopically implantable stents are today the mainstay for therapy of biliary stenoses. It is important to know if a benign or a malignant stenosis is the cause of the biliary obstruction. Generally benign stenoses are treated with plastic-stents whereas malignant stenoses are managed by implantation of a metallic stent. The main indications for plastic stents are postoperative strictures in the biliary tree for example, after biliary tract surgery or liver transplantation, primary sclerosing cholangitis and postoperative biliary leakage. Metallic stents are implanted in palliative circumstances like in stenosing cholangiocarcinoma or in situations where a hepatic metastasis exerts an extrinsic compression on the biliary tract with consecutive cholestasis. The materials used for manufacturing both stent types are biologically inert and thus biocompatible. A current poorly resolved problem is the occlusion of the stent lumen (by sludge, bacterial degradation products etc.) which occurs in both stent types with time. These problems lead to stentocclusion around three to six months after implantation and necessitate endoscopical re-interventions in order to overcome the occlusion. The patency rate for metallic stents is better than for plastic ones. The endoscopic stenttherapy is equivalent to surgical therapy (Intestinal bypass-procedures).

For 15 months a 52-year-old business man had been suffering from chronic diarrhoea which had persisted even after exophthalmic hyperthyroidism (Grave's disease) had been diagnosed and adequately treated. Physical examination on admission revealed no abnormalities, in particular no sign of hyperthyroidism.Repeated stool examinations failed to demonstrate any infectious organisms. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and ileaocoloscopy were normal, as were biopsies. Persistence of the diarrhoea during a fasting test and the bulky stools suggested a secretory cause. Among various hormonal tests the calcitonin concentration was found to be greatly raised (4572 ng/l, normal 10ng/l). Ultrasound demonstrated a thyroid tumour and cytological examination of a fine-needle biopsy revealed a medullary carcinoma.After total thyroidectomy with bilateral neck dissection the patient was free of any symptoms: the diarrhoea ceased immediately after the operation and the calcitonin concentration became nearly normal.Signs of chronic secretory diarrhoea suggest the possibility of an endocrinally active tumour. Search for a medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with measurement of the serum calcitonin level should be among the diagnostic procedures.