[Evolving Epidemiology of Home Mechanical Ventilation: A Rapidly Growing Challenge for Patient Care]. / Epidemiologische Entwicklung der außerklinischen Beatmung: Eine rasant zunehmende Herausforderung für die ambulante und stationäre Patientenversorgung.

BACKGROUND: Home mechanical ventilation is dramatically evolving in Germany. Patients with non-invasive and invasive ventilation are increasingly treated at home. In-hospital treatment of these patients is also necessary either for control visits or the management of acute medical problems. However, the development of in-hospital patient care, morbidity and mortality of these patients is unknown. METHODS: All patients with long-term dependence on mechanical ventilation for more than three months requiring hospitalisation between 2006 and 2016 were analysed (data obtained from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany). RESULTS: There was an exponential increase in the number of in-patients with long-term dependence of mechanical ventilation. While 24 845 patients were treated in-hospital in 2006, 86 117 patients were treated in 2016. Correspondingly, mortality decreased from 13.2 % (2006) to 5.7 % (2016). In addition, in 2016 47 % of all patients were treated on the intensive care or high dependency care unit. Overall, patients had been severely ill, as there were plenty of medical and neurological co-morbidities. The most common diagnosis was COPD with 58 % of all cases, followed by several cardiology diagnosis. A high number of patients had an impairment of renal function (24 %), in part requiring dialysis. CONCLUSIONS: The rapid development of home mechanical ventilation substantially impacts on the development of the hospital landscape in Germany. The exponential increase of these care-intensive patients is challenging for the health care system and requires a discussion about its limits.

[Extracorporeal CO2 Elimination (ECCO2R) for Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure: From Pathophysiology to Clinical Application]. / Extrakorporale CO2-Elimination (ECCO2R): von der Pathophysiologie zur klinischen Anwendung beim hyperkapnischen respiratorischen Versagen.

Extracorporeal CO2 removal (ECCO2R) is becoming an increasingly established treatment option for patients with acute severe hypercapnic respiratory failure. Technically, pumpless arterio-venous systems using the natural arterio-venous pressure gradient and also pump-driven veno-venous systems are available. Here, veno-venous ECCO2R has become the preferred technique, as settings for arterio-venous ECCO2R are restricted and side effects are more common with arterio-venous ECCO2R. Using veno-venous ECCO2R with blood flow rates up to 450 ml/min 60 to 80 ml CO2 can be removed per minute corresponding to 20 to 30 % of the total amount of CO2 production. However, in case of very severe hypercapnic respiratory failure with severe respiratory acidosis (pH 7.1 or less) blood flow rates of around 1000 ml/min are required for compensating severe respiratory acidosis corresponding to the elimination of 50 to 60 % of the total amount of CO2 production. Relevant side effects include the activation of blood coagulation and associated bleeding complications. Two recent case-control studies in severely exacerbated COPD patients could demonstrate that intubation rates can be reduced by the application of ECCO2R, but this was associated with non-ignorable side effects. Therefore, randomized controlled trials are urgently needed to more precisely establish the risks and benefits of ECCO2R when aimed at avoiding intubation.

[Prophylaxis and therapy for atrial fibrillation after general thoracic surgery]. / Prophylaxe und Therapie des postoperativen Vorhofflimmerns bei thoraxchirurgischen Eingriffen.

Following thoracic surgery atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently occurs in 12 to 44 % of cases postoperatively and is related to an increased morbidity and mortality. In 2011, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons of the United States published guidelines for the prophylaxis and treatment of postoperative AF. High evidence levels are provided for continuing ß-blocker treatment despite its known negative inotropic effects. Alternatively, the calcium channel blocker diltiazem, or amiodarone for patients without pneumonectomy are recommended for prophylactic therapy. For rate control of AF occurring post surgery, not only selective ß1-blockers, calcium channel blockers, but also magnesium or digoxin are suitable in haemodynamically stable patients. Amiodarone, ß1-blockers and flecainide are preferred for rhythm control in case of haemodynamic stability in regard to possible side effects and contraindications. In contrast, electrical cardioversion is indicated in those patients with haemodynamic instability. Persistent AF of > 48 hours is a target for anticoagulation treatment depending on the individual aspects of the patient and in accordance to the CHADS2 score. The present review article further discusses the evidence for the recommended medical therapy and treatment strategies.

Correlation of the A-Line ARX index with acoustically evoked potential amplitude.

BACKGROUND: Automated indices derived from mid-latency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEP) have been proposed for monitoring the state of anaesthesia. The A-Line ARX index (AAI) has been implemented in the A-Line monitor (Danmeter, V1.4). Several studies have reported variable and, in awake patients, sometimes surprisingly low AAI values. The purpose of this study was to reproduce these findings under steady-state conditions and to investigate their causes. METHODS: Ten awake unmedicated volunteers were studied under steady-state conditions. For each subject, the raw EEG and the AAI were recorded with an A-Line monitor (V1.4) during three separate sessions of 45.0 (1.6) min duration each. MATLAB (Mathworks) routines were used to derive MLAEP responses from EEG data and to calculate maximal MLAEP amplitudes. RESULTS: The AAI values ranged from 15 to 99, while 11.4% fell below levels which, according to the manufacturer, indicate an anaesthetic depth suitable for surgery. Inter-individual and intra-individual variation was observed despite stable recording conditions. The amplitudes of the MLAEP varied from 0.8 to 42.0 microV. The MLAEP amplitude exceeded 2 microV in 75.3% of readings. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between the MLAEP amplitude and the AAI value was r=0.89 (P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The version of the A-Line monitor used in this study does not exclude contaminated MLAEP signals. Previous publications involving this version of the A-Line monitor (as opposed to the newer A-Line/2 monitor series) should be reassessed in the light of these findings. Before exclusively MLAEP-based monitors can be evaluated as suitable monitors of depth of anaesthesia, it is essential to ensure that inbuilt validity tests eliminate contaminated MLAEP signals.