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Caudal block is a well-known and thoroughly studied technique of neuraxial anaesthesia routinely performed in paediatric anaesthesia. In adults, however, this method has been used mostly in chronic pain management. Due to more detailed understanding of anatomy and the routine use of ultrasound guidance, caudal block has recently been reintroduced into perioperative care in adults. It is now considered a simple, safe and reliable technique for both anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia in this group of patients. This review describes the anatomy and technical aspects with a focus on ultrasound guidance as well as suitable applications of this block in the perioperative setting in adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This observational retrospective study aimed to analyze whether/how the spectrum of bacterial pathogens and their resistance to antibiotics changed during the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic (1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021) among intensive care patients in University Hospital Olomouc, Czech Republic, as compared with the pre-pandemic period (1 November 2018 to 30 April 2019). A total of 789 clinically important bacterial isolates from 189 patients were cultured during the pre-COVID-19 period. The most frequent etiologic agents causing nosocomial infections were strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae (17%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11%), Escherichia coli (10%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (9%), Burkholderia multivorans (8%), Enterococcus faecium (6%), Enterococcus faecalis (5%), Proteus mirabilis (5%) and Staphylococcus aureus (5%). Over the comparable COVID-19 period, a total of 1500 bacterial isolates from 372 SARS-CoV-2-positive patients were assessed. While the percentage of etiological agents causing nosocomial infections increased in Enterococcus faecium (from 6% to 19%, p < 0.0001), Klebsiella variicola (from 1% to 6%, p = 0.0004) and Serratia marcescens (from 1% to 8%, p < 0.0001), there were significant decreases in Escherichia coli (from 10% to 3%, p < 0.0001), Proteus mirabilis (from 5% to 2%, p = 0.004) and Staphylococcus aureus (from 5% to 2%, p = 0.004). The study demonstrated that the changes in bacterial resistance to antibiotics are ambiguous. An increase in the frequency of ESBL-positive strains of some species (Serratia marcescens and Enterobacter cloacae) was confirmed; on the other hand, resistance decreased (Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii) or the proportion of resistant strains remained unchanged over both periods (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecium). Changes in pathogen distribution and resistance were caused partly due to antibiotic selection pressure (cefotaxime consumption increased significantly in the COVID-19 period), but mainly due to clonal spread of identical bacterial isolates from patient to patient, which was confirmed by the pulse field gel electrophoresis methodology. In addition to the above shown results, the importance of infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities is discussed, not only for dealing with SARS-CoV-2 but also for limiting the spread of bacteria.

Treatment of COVID-19 patients and their extreme numbers represented an unprecedented challenge for the intensive care system in healthcare facilities throughout the Czech Republic, a country particularly affected by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A steep increase in the need for intensive care placed an excess burden on bed and staff capacity. For a severe and critical course of COVID-19, bilateral pneumonia with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure is pathognomonic. In the intensive care setting, COVID-19 therapy is primarily symptomatic, supporting failing respiratory function to gain time needed to restore it and to repair the lungs. The aggressiveness and comprehensiveness of respiratory support depend on the severity of failure, ranging from simple oxygen therapy, to non-invasive support and mechanical ventilation, to extracorporeal support. By contrast, specific COVID-19 therapy is directly targeted against SARS-CoV-2 or modulates the organism's response to the virus. Primary, virus-induced lung injury may be secondarily complicated by coinfection or superinfection, most commonly bacterial, increasing the severity and lethality of the disease. Therefore, anti-infective therapy is crucial for the prognosis and outlook of intensive care COVID-19 patients. Among nosocomial infections complicating COVID-19, ventilator-associated pneumonia (developing in mechanically ventilated patients) is particularly important and challenging, and so are issues related to bacterial resistance and rational antibiotic therapy.

Patients staying in the intensive care unit (ICU) require constant monitoring and numerous nursing interventions performed as needed, irrespective of daytime or night-time. The disturbing effect of nocturnal nursing interventions and their contribution to sleep disruptions are unclear. The review analysed nocturnal nursing interventions, and their character, frequency and effects on sleep quality. The databases CINAHL, PubMed and Scopus were searched to identify and subsequently evaluate 19 studies (1,531 patients) meeting the algorithm used. Although nocturnal nursing interventions provided to ICU patients were frequent and varied, they were responsible for only a minority of observed sleep disruptions. The most frequent nocturnal intervention was Vital signs monitoring (Nursing Interventions Classification, 6,680). Implementation of sleep protocols, of which an integral part is clustering and planning of nocturnal interventions, appears to be effective. The review suggests that nursing interventions are not the main cause of sleep disruptions in the ICU. In an effort to improve the quality of sleep in ICU patients, other factors causing disturbance need to be addressed as well. The current trend is more careful planning of nursing care, clustering of interventions and minimizing nocturnal disruptions to allow patients at least one uninterrupted sleep cycle (90 min)., (© 2020 European Sleep Research Society.)

Introduction: It has been repeatedly shown that sleep of intensive care unit (ICU) patients is fragmented and its architecture is impaired. As sleep disorders have numerous negative effects on the organism, there have been efforts to implement sleep-promoting strategies into practice. When comparing the effectiveness of such measures, sleep quality assessment itself is a considerable problem., Objective: The study aimed to assess the quality and quantity of night sleep in ICU patients simultaneously with actigraphy (ACT) and the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ). The secondary goals were to test the performance and effectiveness of the above methods and to verify correlations between selected RCSQ items and actigraph parameters., Methods: A single-center prospective observational study (20 patients staying in a Interdisciplinary Intensive Care Unit). The quality of sleep was assessed using a Czech version of the RCSQ and ACT. The obtained data were analyzed and their dependence or correlations were verified by selected statistical tests., Results: The mean RCSQ score was 47.6 (SD 24.4). The worst results were found for sleep latency (44.4; SD 31.2); the best results were for sleep quality (50.2; SD 29.4). The mean sleep effciency measured with ACT reached 86.6% (SD 9.2); the mean number of awakenings per night was 17.1 (SD 8.5). The RCSQ total parameter with a cutoff of 50 (RCSQ total = 50 good sleep / RCSQ total < 50 poor sleep) was shown to be suitable for discrimination of subjectively perceived sleep quality in ICU patients. However, the study failed to show statistically significant relations between subjectively perceived sleep quality (RCSQ) and ACT measurements., Conclusion: The RCSQ appears to be a suitable instrument for assessing night sleep quality in ICU patients. On the other hand, the study showed a very low level of agreement between subjective sleep quality assessment and objective ACT measurements. The main drawback of ACT is low reliability of obtained data. Further research is needed to determine its role in sleep quality assessment in the ICU setting.

Intensive care unit (ICU) environment has a very strong and unavoidable negative impact on patients' sleep. Sleep deprivation in ICU patients has been already studied and negative effects on their outcome (prolonged ICU stay, decreased recovery) and complication rates (incidence of delirium, neuropsychological sequels of critical illness) discussed. Several interventions potentially improving the sleep disturbance in ICU (sleep-promotion strategies) have been assumed and tested for clinical practice. We present a review of recent literature focused on chosen types of non-pharmacological interventions (earplugs and eye mask) analysing their effect on sleep quality/quantity. From the total amount of 82 papers found in biomedical databases (CINAHL, PubMed and SCOPUS) we included the 19 most eligible studies meeting defined inclusion/exclusion criteria involving 1 379 participants. Both experimental and clinical trials, either ICU and non-ICU patient populations were analysed in the review. Most of the reviewed studies showed a significant improvement of subjective sleep quality when using described non-pharmacological interventions (objective parameters were not significantly validated). Measuring the sleep quality is a major concern limiting the objective comparison of the studies' results since non-standardised (and mainly individual) tools for sleep quality assessment were used. Despite the heterogeneity of analysed studies and some common methodological issues (sample size, design, outcome parameters choice and comparison) earplugs and eye mask showed potential positive effects on sleep quality and the incidence of delirium in ICU patients., (© 2017 European Sleep Research Society.)

Objective: Delirium tremens represents the most severe complication of alcohol withdrawal syndrome and, in its complications, significantly increases the morbidity and mortality of patients. Alcohol withdrawal delirium is characterized by features of alcohol withdrawal itself (tremor, sweating, hypertension, tachycardia etc.) together with general delirious symptoms such as clouded consciousness, disorientation, disturbed circadian rhythms, thought processe and sensory disturbances, all of them fluctuating in time. The treatment combines a supportive and symptomatic approach. Benzodiazepines in supramaximal doses are usually used as drugs of choice but in some countries such as the Czech Republic or Germany, clomethiazole is frequently used as well., Method: A computer search of the all the literature published between 1966 and December 2012 was accomplished on MEDLINE and Web of Science with the key words "delirium tremens", "alcohol withdrawal", "treatment" and "pharmacotherapy". There were no language or time limits applied., Conclusions: When not early recognized and treated adequately, delirium tremens may result in death due to malignant arrhythmia, respiratory arrest, sepsis, severe electrolyte disturbance or prolonged seizures and subsequent trauma. Owing to these possible fatalities and other severe unexpected complications, delirium tremens should be managed at an ICU or wards ensuring vital signs monitoring. In symptomatic treatment, high doses of benzodiazepines, especially lorazepam, diazepam and oxazepam are considered the gold standard drugs. Supportive therapy is also of great importance.

The authors compare the value of ERCP in laparoscopic and classical cholecystectomy. They analyze groups of 1356 classical and 527 laparoscopic cholecystectomies. The number of ERCP indicated before surgery rose in laparoscopic cholecystectomies 17x, as compared with classical surgery. In ERCP indicated after surgery the number increased 2.3x. In choledocholithiasis ERCP proved to be a reliable diagnostic and therapeutic method. The number of laparotomies in residual choledocholithiasis in laparoscopic cholecystectomies should not exceed 10-12%.

The authors refer on the combination of the administration of artificial nutrition with enterohormone Somatostatin in a group of 16 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), complicated by the occurrence of fistulas. The sole administration of total parenteral or enteral nutrition led in each case to a significant reduction of secretion from the fistulas, and in two cases to their complete closing. Apart from this, the nutritional status of the patients improved. The administration of Somatostatin i.v. in the form of the preparation Stilamin led to a further reduction of secretion from the fistulae. Complete closing of the fistulae due to a combination of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) or total enteral nutrition (TEN) and Stilamin, was achieved in only 2 patients, but the combination use of tissue sealant Histoacryle with the treatment resulted in a closure of the fistulas in a further 2 patients. Altogether the application of this treatment resulted in closing 6 fistulas (37.5%). The authors consider that the above mentioned methods can open new prospectives, but this requires further experience.

In clinically active Crohn's disease the bone mineralization is impaired due to calcium malabsorption by the inflamed intestinal wall which is potentiated by diarrhoea and the thus accelerated transit time. To this we must add the shortening of the gut after operations, the inadequate dietary calcium supply or possibly calcium elimination in case of concurrent lactose intolerance. Corticoid treatment leads also to deterioration of bone mineralization. This is the reason why the authors assessed in 98 patients with Crohn's disease the bone mineralization, using the method of clavicular bone index (NIBA). Then treatment was started: a high protein diet, calcium forte, Ossin (sodium fluoride), vitamin D forte, anabolics and regular physical exercise. Check-up examinations after one year revealed that the index was restored in the majority of patients (60.84%) to normal. The above treatment is thus effective. It must be, however, regular and of a long-term character, in some patients it must extend over many years. We had, however, also patients who although subjected to an extensive resection of the gut and treated for prolonged periods with corticoids, had permanently an index between 100 and 120% without treatment.

The expression of blood group antigens A, B, H, T-antigen and CEA was determined in tissue samples of polyps of the rectosigmoideum removed by endoscopic polypectomy. On average 39 months later, during colonoscopic examination bioptic samples were removed at the site of previous polypectomy and the expression of the same tumour markers as previously was determined. In contrast to literary data, the cellular expression of blood group antigens was demonstrated only in one case out of seven adenomas of the rectosigmoideum. On the other hand, cellular expression of blood group antigen B was found in 6 cases at the site of previous polypectomy and in 6 cases, this antigen was incompatible. Interpretation of these results is difficult at this time.

The group of 156 patients undergoing upper endoscopy at the Department of Central Endoscopy, University Hospital in Olomouc was followed up for determination of HP status by means of the methods of culture, microscopic examination and determination of specific IgG antibodies by ELISA method. Prevalence of HP was determined in individual groups of the series under study (peptic gastroduodenal lesion, antral gastritis of type B, duodenitis) and in subjects with normal endoscopic finding. The most frequent HP positivity was established by the method of specific antibodies determination by ELISA, then microscopic evidence of HP and finally culture. In the whole series under study HP positivity was found in 59.6% (bacteriology) and 79.8% (ELISA method). The highest HP bacteriological positivity was recorded in antral gastritis of type B (87.1%), or 100% (ELISA method). Individuals with normal endoscopic finding were HP positive in 24.2%, by serology in 38.8%. The group of 25 dialyzed patients with chronic renal insufficiency was HP positive in 28%, by serology in 53.3%.

During the years from 1968 to 1984, at the First Department of Surgery in Olomouc, 10 patients with diffuse polyposis of the colon were treated. In 5 of them, a familial occurrence of polyposis was dealt with. In three of them, malignity developed. In five unfamilial polyposes, malignity occurred only once. In one patient, the occurrence of malignity was found present immediately with the first manifestation of the disease. In the other patients, it was after an interval of 3 to 17 years after the onset of the disease. Three patients died from generalization of the malignant process. In two of them, carcinoma developed in the remaining part of the colon, once after previous hemicolectomy and once after colectomy. One patient with an advanced disease died one year after proctocolectomy. Two other operated on patients survive after proctocolectomy 12 and 13 years. The other patients who had been operated on before the development of malignity are healthy. The choice of an adequate radicalintervention is of importance. Optimal is the performance of colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis and the regular endoscopic and bioptic follow-up of the stump of the intestine. When proctocolectomy is necessary, it is of advantage to apply Kock's continent ileostomy.

The authors describe a rare complication of a severe liver injury--the development of a post-traumatic biliary pseudocyst--in a 5-year-old child with a multiple injury. The pseudocyst was detected by ultrasound and computed tomography when searching for the cause of the persisting septic condition following prolonged resuscitation during the postoperative period. Percutaneous puncture drainage by means of a pigtail made under sonographic control, although because of limited experience it was repeated, led to recovery of the child. Thus it proved possible to resolve a post-traumatic infected biliary hepatic pseudocyst without a major invasion into the child's organism which was severely affected by the multiple injury as well as septic condition.