[Prolonged Weaning - S2k-Guideline Published by the German Respiratory Society]. / Prolongiertes Weaning.

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is an essential part of modern intensive care medicine. MV is performed in patients with severe respiratory failure caused by insufficiency of respiratory muscles and/or lung parenchymal disease when/after other treatments, (i. e. medication, oxygen, secretion management, continuous positive airway pressure or nasal highflow) have failed.MV is required to maintain gas exchange and to buy time for curative therapy of the underlying cause of respiratory failure. In the majority of patients weaning from MV is routine and causes no special problems. However, about 20 % of patients need ongoing MV despite resolution of the conditions which precipitated the need for MV. Approximately 40 - 50 % of time spent on MV is required to liberate the patient from the ventilator, a process called "weaning."There are numberous factors besides the acute respiratory failure that have an impact on duration and success rate of the weaning process such as age, comorbidities and conditions and complications acquired in the ICU. According to an international consensus conference "prolonged weaning" is defined as weaning process of patients who have failed at least three weaning attempts or require more than 7 days of weaning after the first spontaneous breathing trial (SBT). Prolonged weaning is a challenge, therefore, an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach is essential for a weaning success.In specialised weaning centers about 50 % of patients with initial weaning failure can be liberated from MV after prolonged weaning. However, heterogeneity of patients with prolonged weaning precludes direct comparisons of individual centers. Patients with persistant weaning failure either die during the weaning process or are discharged home or to a long term care facility with ongoing MV.Urged by the growing importance of prolonged weaning, this Sk2-guideline was first published in 2014 on the initiative of the German Respiratory Society (DGP) together with other scientific societies involved in prolonged weaning. Current research and study results, registry data and experience in daily practice made the revision of this guideline necessary.The following topics are dealt with in the guideline: Definitions, epidemiology, weaning categories, the underlying pathophysiology, prevention of prolonged weaning, treatment strategies in prolonged weaning, the weaning unit, discharge from hospital on MV and recommendations for end of life decisions.Special emphasis in the revision of the guideline was laid on the following topics:- A new classification of subgroups of patients in prolonged weaning- Important aspects of pneumological rehabilitation and neurorehabilitation in prolonged weaning- Infrastructure and process organization in the care of patients in prolonged weaning in the sense of a continuous treatment concept- Therapeutic goal change and communication with relativesAspects of pediatric weaning are given separately within the individual chapters.The main aim of the revised guideline is to summarize current evidence and also expert based- knowledge on the topic of "prolonged weaning" and, based on the evidence and the experience of experts, make recommendations with regard to "prolonged weaning" not only in the field of acute medicine but also for chronic critical care.Important addressees of this guideline are Intensivists, Pneumologists, Anesthesiologists, Internists, Cardiologists, Surgeons, Neurologists, Pediatricians, Geriatricians, Palliative care clinicians, Rehabilitation physicians, Nurses in intensive and chronic care, Physiotherapists, Respiratory therapists, Speech therapists, Medical service of health insurance and associated ventilator manufacturers.

[Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult Patients with Nosocomial Pneumonia - Update 2017 - S3 Guideline of the German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, the German Society for Infectious Diseases, the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology, the German Respiratory Society and the Paul-Ehrlich-Society for Chemotherapy, the German Radiological Society and the Society for Virology]. / Epidemiologie, Diagnostik und Therapie erwachsener Patienten mit nosokomialer Pneumonie ­ Update 2017.

Nosocomial pneumonia (HAP) is a frequent complication of hospital care. Most data are available on ventilator-associated pneumonia. However, infections on general wards are increasing. A central issue are infections with multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens which are difficult to treat in the empirical setting potentially leading to inappropriate use of antimicrobial therapy.This guideline update was compiled by an interdisciplinary group on the basis of a systematic literature review. Recommendations are made according to GRADE giving guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of HAP on the basis of quality of evidence and benefit/risk ratio.This guideline has two parts. First an update on epidemiology, spectrum of pathogens and antimicrobials is provided. In the second part recommendations for the management of diagnosis and treatment are given. New recommendations with respect to imaging, diagnosis of nosocomial viral pneumonia and prolonged infusion of antibacterial drugs have been added. The statements to risk factors for infections with MDR pathogens and recommendations for monotherapy vs combination therapy have been actualised. The importance of structured deescalation concepts and limitation of treatment duration is emphasized.

[Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation in Acute Respiratory Failure]. / Nicht-invasive Beatmung als Therapie der akuten respiratorischen Insuffizienz.

The non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is widespread in the clinical medicine and has attained meanwhile a high value in the clinical daily routine. The application of NIV reduces the length of ICU stay and hospitalization as well as mortality of patients with hypercapnic acute respiratory failure. Patients with acute respiratory failure in context of a cardiopulmonary edema should be treated in addition to necessary cardiological interventions with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or NIV. In case of other forms of acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure it is recommended the application of NIV to be limited to mild forms of ARDS as the application of NIV in severe forms of ARDS is associated with higher rates of treatment failure and mortality. In weaning process from invasive ventilation the NIV reduces the risk of reintubation essentially in hypercapnic patients. A delayed intubation of patients with NIV failure leads to an increase of mortality and should therefore be avoided. With appropriate monitoring in intensive care NIV can also be successfully applied in pediatric patients with acute respiratory insufficiency. Furthermore NIV can be useful within palliative care for reduction of dyspnea and improving quality of life. The aim of the guideline update is, taking into account the growing scientific evidence, to outline the advantages as well as the limitations of NIV in the treatment of acute respiratory failure in daily clinical practice and in different indications.

[Epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of adult patients with nosocomial pneumonia. S-3 Guideline of the German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, the German Society for Infectious Diseases, the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology, the German Respiratory Society and the Paul-Ehrlich-Society for Chemotherapy]. / Epidemiologie, Diagnostik und Therapie erwachsener Patienten mit nosokomialer Pneumonie. S-3 Leitlinie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin e.V., der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Infektiologie e.V., der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie e.V., der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Pneumologie und Beatmungsmedizin e.V. und der Paul-Ehrlich-Gesellschaft für Chemotherapie e.V.

Nosocomial pneumonia (HAP) is a frequent complication of hospital care. Most data are available on ventilator-associated pneumonia. However infections on general wards are also increasing. A central issue are infections with multi drug resistant (MDR) pathogens which are difficult to treat particularly in the empirical setting potentially leading to inappropriate use of antimicrobial therapy. This guideline was compiled by an interdisciplinary group on the basis of a systematic literature review. Recommendations are made according to GRADE giving guidance for the diagnosis and therapy of HAP on the basis of quality of evidence and benefit/risk ratio. The guideline has two parts. First an update on epidemiology, spectrum of pathogens and antiinfectives is provided. In the second part recommendations for the management of diagnosis and treatment are given. Proper microbiologic work up is emphasized for knowledge of the local patterns of microbiology and drug susceptibility. Moreover this is the optimal basis for deescalation in the individual patient. The intensity of antimicrobial therapy is guided by the risk of infections with MDR. Structured deescalation concepts and strict limitation of treatment duration should lead to reduced selection pressure.

[The role of surgery in intensive care medicine]. / Die Rolle der Chirurgie in der Intensivmedizin.

The dominant role for the emergence and establishment of intensive care medicine can be attributed to surgery. The first critical care units were developed in surgical university hospitals. Numerous scientific findings and interventional procedures have been contributed to intensive care medicine by surgeons and surgical disease symptoms shaped the character of the intensive care units. Currently 40% of the intensive care beds in Germany are assigned to surgical disciplines and surgery is the prerequisite for this operative intensive care. Nevertheless, both the human and ideational impact of surgery on intensive care medicine has decreased in recent decades. Through the formation of large interdisciplinary intensive care units, surgery continues to be threatened with losing its influence even further. Now and in the future, the role of surgery has to be the maintenance and enhancement of surgical specialized intensive care medicine. Surgery has to make surgical intensive care medicine interesting and attractive for physicians again.

[Which are the conditions for practicing interdisciplinary operative intensive care?]. / Unter welchen Voraussetzungen ist das Konzept einer interdisziplinären operativen Intensivmedizin praktikabel?

BACKGROUND: The creation of a center for interdisciplinary operative intensive care through the fusion of several smaller intensive care units from various specialties is mainly driven by economic reasons. To specify some conditions for making such a fusion less expensive and to identify the impact of larger intensive care units on the quality of patients' treatment and on surgical training are the subjects of this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on a review of the literature and on our own experience in this field, the influence of the size of the unit should be analysed not just regarding the economic aspects but also concerning the medical and surgical training issues. RESULTS: The economic advantages of scale of a larger unit are limited because of management problems when reaching a number of more than ten to twelve patients. This number probably leads to an optimal quality in medical care - especially if the patients are treated by specialists. The claim for a specific surgical training is thereby conceeded. The economical and medical advantages by connecting subunits to a larger operative intensive care unit will be achieved by economies of scale. For coordinating and running such a large unit an experienced intensive care doctor should be appointed. CONCLUSION: The concept of an interdisciplinary surgical ICU is obviously most practicable and reasonable if subunits with approximately twelve beds are concentrated in one centre for operative intensive care. This offers an advantage concerning the organisation and for the philosophy of treating special diseases by specialised medical teams. The size maintains the advantage of economies of scale as well the economies of scope and also promises effective logistics. For the management, an experienced intensive care specialist, either an anaesthesiologist or a surgeon should be assigned. All subject-specific advanced skills in intensive care have to be covered by an interdisciplinary continuing education.

Extrapolation from ten sections can make CT-based quantification of lung aeration more practicable.

PURPOSE: Clinical applications of quantitative computed tomography (qCT) in patients with pulmonary opacifications are hindered by the radiation exposure and by the arduous manual image processing. We hypothesized that extrapolation from only ten thoracic CT sections will provide reliable information on the aeration of the entire lung. METHODS: CTs of 72 patients with normal and 85 patients with opacified lungs were studied retrospectively. Volumes and masses of the lung and its differently aerated compartments were obtained from all CT sections. Then only the most cranial and caudal sections and a further eight evenly spaced sections between them were selected. The results from these ten sections were extrapolated to the entire lung. The agreement between both methods was assessed with Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: Median (range) total lung volume and mass were 3,738 (1,311-6,768) ml and 957 (545-3,019) g, the corresponding bias (limits of agreement) were 26 (-42 to 95) ml and 8 (-21 to 38) g, respectively. The median volumes (range) of differently aerated compartments (percentage of total lung volume) were 1 (0-54)% for the nonaerated, 5 (1-44)% for the poorly aerated, 85 (28-98)% for the normally aerated, and 4 (0-48)% for the hyperaerated subvolume. The agreement between the extrapolated results and those from all CT sections was excellent. All bias values were below 1% of the total lung volume or mass, the limits of agreement never exceeded ± 2%. CONCLUSION: The extrapolation method can reduce radiation exposure and shorten the time required for qCT analysis of lung aeration.

[The significance of perioperative immunonutrition]. / Stellenwert der perioperativen Immunonutrition.

Perioperative immunonutrition is aiming at modulating altered immunological and metabolic functions in the context of major surgery. It is defined as the supplementation of constitutionally essential substrates such as glutamine, arginine, omega-3-fatty acids or nucleotides. The application of such formula is recommended for patients undergoing major abdominal-surgical procedures and tumour surgery in the head neck area. The substitution should be given 5-7 days before and after the intervention.

[Mechanical ventilation and fluid management in acute lung injury. Effects on gas exchange and hemodynamics]. / Beatmung und Volumentherapie beim akuten Lungenversagen. Auswirkung auf Gasaustausch und Hämodynamik.

Basic therapy of acute lung injury (ALI) covers a pressure-limited lung protective mechanical ventilation with low tidal volumes (6-8 ml/kg ideal body weight), adequate positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) combined with early recruitment maneuvers and a restrictive fluid management (in hypoproteinemic patients preferably with albumin and diuretics). These measures aim at providing sufficient oxygenation while simultaneously minimizing airway pressure, atelectasis and edema formation. The main hemodynamic effects are a decrease in cardiac output and in systemic arterial pressure potentially reducing organ perfusion. However, successful therapy reduces hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and hypercapnia, thus lowering pulmonary artery pressure, unloading the right ventricle, and stabilising hemodynamics.

Ventilation by the Open Lung Concept in spite of traumatic lung herniation.

Traumatic herniation of the lung is uncommon. We report a patient suffering from multiple injuries including severe pulmonary contusion and traumatic parasternal lung herniation, who developed acute respiratory distress syndrome. In spite of the lung herniation, we used mechanical ventilation according to the Open Lung Concept. Oxygenation improved rapidly, and early operative stabilization was possible.

[Early clinical management after polytrauma with 1 and 4 slice spiral CT]. / Frühes klinisches Management nach Polytrauma mit 1- und 4-Schicht-Spiral-CT.

In the early clinical phase the comprehensive imaging of patients with multiple trauma using helical CT is already established. Aim of this study was to assess whether MSCT may improve the patient management and the diagnostic results. The procedure is designed as follows: after life-thretening treatment x-ray of chest and ultrasound are carried out in the emergency room. Then the patient is moved to CT. From 1998 to december 2000 241 patients were examined using a single slice helical CT (Somatom plus 4), in 2001 79 patients using a 4-slice helical CT (Somatom VZ, Siemens Med.Sol.). After CT selected radiograms of the extremities were taken. 359 of 360 procedures were carried out successfully. Excluding 1 case (death during 1-sl.h CT) all relevant lesions of head, neck, and body were diagnosed. Although the patients had an injury severity score of approximately 30. The change from 1 slice-helical CT to 4 slice-helical CT allowed us to reduce the stay in the CT room from 28 to 16 min. The total lethality decreased by approximately 4%. Advantages for the patient arose from the standardized examination protocol using multislice CT. If integrated in an interdisciplinary management concept, it is a good compromise between examination time, comprehensive diagnostic imaging, life-saving therapeutic procedures, and therapy planning.

[The open lung concept. Clinical application in severe thoracic trauma]. / Das Open Lung Concept. Klinische Anwendung beim schweren Thoraxtrauma.

INTRODUCTION: The pathomorphological substratum of the pulmonary contusion is a parenchymatous hemorrhage followed by interstitial and alveolar edema, finally resulting in a severe damage of the surfactant system. The pathophysiological consequence is an imbalance between ventilation and perfusion, which causes the clinical finding of hypoxia. METHODS: Between December 1997 and December 2000, we treated 32 polytraumatized patients (ISS 43, PTS 32) additionally suffering from severe chest contusion (AIS 5, PTST 14), by ventilation according to the Open Lung Concept (OLC). The initial disturbance of oxygenation was shown by a mean paO2/FIO2-ratio of 134 (96;181) mmHg. The OLC recruits atelectatic lung areas by the application of a defined temporary positive inspiratory pressure (PIP), which is called the "opening pressure". The recruited lung areas were kept open by high total-PEEP. RESULTS: For the recruitment procedure, a mean PIP of 65 (51;65) mbar was required. Recruited alveoli were kept open by a total-PEEP of 22 (20;23) mbar. The paO2/FIO2-ratio increased significantly (P < 0.001) from 134 (96;181) to 522 (433;587) mmHg. After the recruitment procedure, we could reduce PIP and FIO2. In spite of the minimal tidal volumes of 3.5 (3.0;3.9) ml per kg bodyweight by which our patients were ventilated, the levels of oxygenation and normocapnia could be maintained. There were no evidences for side-effects like perfusion impairment. Two patients (6.25%) died of extrapulmonary causes. CONCLUSION: Ventilation according to the OLC seems to be a highly effective treatment of ventilation-perfusion-impairment following pulmonary contusion. Minimal tidal volumes and the low PIP-levels after the recruitment procedure meet the demands of a lung-protective Low-Tidalvolume-Ventilation.