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Background: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) use is increasing despite limited evidence. The aim of this study was to demonstrate heterogeneity of ECMO use and its association with hospital size and annual frequency in Germany., Methods: This is a database analysis of all ECMO cases in Germany from 2010 to 2016 using the German Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) coding system for ECMO., Results: During the study period, 510 hospitals performed 29,929 ECMO runs (12,572 vvECMO, 11,504 vaECMO, 1993 pECLA) with an increase over time. Mortality ranged between 58% and 66% for vaECMO cases and 66% and 53% for vvECMO cases. 304 (61%) hospitals performed only one ECMO per year. 78%% of all ECMO runs were performed in centres with more than 20 cases per year and more than half of all ECMO runs were performed in hospitals with >1.000 beds. Mortality for vv and vaECMO was highest in very small hospitals (< 200 beds; 70%; 74%) and very large hospitals (>1000 beds; 60%; 62%)., Conclusions: Use of ECMO is still increasing and a substantial proportion of hospitals performs very few ECMO runs. Small hospitals had a significantly higher mortality, but dependence on hospital size and ECMO mortality was irregular., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: The annual number of post-mortem organ donations in Germany has declined by more than 30% since 2010. The causes of this development have not yet been adequately determined., Methods: All patients hospitalized in Germany between 2010 and 2015 (112 172 869 hospitalizations in total) were included in this nationwide secondary analysis. Among the deceased patients we identified those who had died in the presence of a brain damage and for whom organ donation was not excluded either by a medical contraindication or by the patient's not having been artificially ventilated. The analysis was also conducted separately for six German university hospitals., Results: Over the period 2010-2015, the number of potential organ donors per year in Germany rose by 13.9%, from 23 937 to 27 258. This development was due to an increase in the number of deaths with severe brain damage as well as an increase in the percentage of patients who were treated with invasive ventilation before death. The contact quotient, i.e., the percentage of potential donors for whom contact was made with the German Foundation for Organ Transplantation (Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation, DSO) fell over this period from 11.4% to 8.2%. At the same time, the realization quotient (the percentage of potential donors who became actual donors) fell from 5.4% to 3.2%, and the conversion quotient (the percentage of potential donors for whom contact was made who became actual donors) fell from 47% to 39.1%. From 2010 to 2012, the falling realization quotient was accounted for mainly by the falling conversion quotient; from 2012 to 2015, it was accounted for mainly by the falling contact quotient. The contact and realization quotients among the six university hospitals studied differed markedly (by factors of 17.5 and 23.3, respectively), while the conversion quotients differed only minimally (by a factor of 1.3)., Conclusion: The decline in post-mortem organ donation is due to a deficiency in the recognition and reporting of potential organ donors in hospital. If this process were better supported on the organizational and political level, far more organs could be transplanted.

Purpose: Palliative patients and their family caregivers were interviewed at the beginning of home care in personal interviews at home in regard to their psychological distress as well as their quality of life., Methods: Quality of life was collected with the palliative module EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL (patients) and the Short Form-8 Health Survey (caregivers). The psychological distress was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the extent of social support with the Oslo 3-items social support scale. Two multiple regression models were employed to examine factors associated with psychological distress. Data from 106 palliative patients (39.6 % female) and their family caregivers (67.9 % female) were included in the analysis., Results: Every fourth patient had clinically relevant anxiety levels and half of the palliative patients had clinically symptomatic depression scores. The main symptoms of the patients were: fatigue, loss of appetite, pain, and shortness of breath. Patients' and caregivers' anxiety and depression scores were significantly correlated (anxiety r = 0.386, depression r = 0.416). Thirty-three percent of caregivers suffered from high anxiety and 28 % from depression. Spousal caregivers had higher psychological distress than other caregivers. Other relevant factors for higher distress were high financial burden and low social support. There was hardly any family member receiving professional psychological support., Conclusions: In palliative patients, depressive symptoms should not be judged as a normal attendant of the terminal illness situation. Instead, patients should be referred to appropriate support services for pharmacological or psychological treatment. Spousal caregivers and caregivers who are socially not well integrated are in particular need of support. Attention to the financial burden of family caregivers is also very important. Due to the existing correlation between the psychological situation of palliative patients and their caring relatives, couples must be considered an emotional system rather than just two individuals.

Background: Since October 2004 German Anaesthesiology Societies have officially recommended a decreased fasting period of 2 h for clear fluids and 6 h for solid food before elective surgery. A survey of patients and health care workers was carried out in our university clinic to assess the implementation of the new fasting recommendations., Methods: Surgical patients (n=865) as well as physicians and nurses specialized in anaesthesia and surgery (n=2,355) were invited to complete a written questionnaire. The survey inquired about prescribed and practiced duration of fasting, attitudes towards reduced preoperative fasting and knowledge of the new guidelines., Results: Data from 784 patients (91%) and 557 health care workers (24%) were analysed. Patients reported mean fasting times of 10+/-5 h for fluids and 15+/-4 h for solid food. Of the patients 52% and 16% would have preferred to drink and eat before surgery, respectively and 10% were informed about the new recommendations of shorter preoperative fluid and solid fasting. Such patients reported significantly reduced fasting times for fluids compared with those who were recommended to fast for the traditional longer periods (8+/-6 versus 12+/-4 h, p<0.001). Preoperative fasting advice remembered by the patients significantly differed from the prescribed recommendations (2 h fluid fasting, 22 versus 53%, p<0.001). Anaesthesiologists were significantly more knowledgeable of the new guidelines (90 versus 32-42%, p<0.001) and significantly more willing to recommend the new short preoperative fasting times (75 versus 15-19%, p<0.001) than other health care workers. Of all health care workers 82% and 32% reported patients' frequent desire to drink and eat before surgery, respectively, 92% considered reduced preoperative fasting to be positive, 76% feared increased risks for patients and 42% expected a decreased flexibility in their daily work., Conclusion: The current guidelines for preoperative fasting have not been widely implemented. Besides a knowledge discrepancy, remarkable concerns remain regarding higher risk for patients which may be important barriers to implementation. Nevertheless, health care workers are aware of patients' desire for shorter preoperative fasting. If the new guidelines are recommended patients will make use of them. Further training of staff and adequate implementation tools are needed.

Background: Indocyanine green (ICG) is a synthetic dye that is widely used to evaluate liver function in critically ill patients, before liver resection or after liver transplantation. Controversy still exists about the impact exerted on the ICG ratio after 15 min (ICG R15) by differences in liver perfusion rates, hyperdynamic states, or patient cardiac output. We studied the role of different liver perfusion rates on the ICG R15 ratio in a normothermic extracorporeal liver perfusion system under standardized conditions., Methods: Livers from landrace pigs (40-50 kg) were perfused with fresh porcine blood. Normal and high perfusion rates were defined as 1 ml and 2 ml/g liver/min, respectively. Perfusate pressure of the hepatic artery and portal vein were within the physiological range in both groups. According to manufacturer's instructions, 0.5 mg of ICG per kg was applied and the ICG R15 was calculated. Calculations were based on fifteen experiments in five liver perfusions. Bile production, liver function and histology were analyzed., Results: All perfusions were characterized by physiological bile production, lack of hepatocellular damage and normal histology. ICG R15 ratio in group I, perfused with 1 ml/g liver, was 18.9 +/- 6%. In group II, perfused with 2 ml/g liver, the ICG R15 ratio was 7.2 +/- 3%. The difference between groups 1 and 2 was statistically significant (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: ICG R15 is reliable within one group at defined perfusion rates. Doubled perfusion rates contribute to higher ICG clearance. For clinical application we would like to suggest considering cardiac output of the patient for interpretation of ICG ratios.