Intensive care management of liver transplanted patients.

Advances in pre-transplant treatment of cirrhosis-related organ dysfunction, intraoperative patient management, and improvements in the treatment of rejection and infections have made human liver transplantation an effective and valuable option for patients with end stage liver disease. However, many important factors, related both to an increasing "marginality" of the implanted graft and unexpected perioperative complications still make immediate post-operative care challenging and the early outcome unpredictable. In recent years sicker patients with multiple comorbidities and organ dysfunction have been undergoing Liver transplantation; appropriate critical care management is required to support prompt graft recovery and prevent systemic complications. Early post-operative management is highly demanding as significant changes may occur in both the allograft and the "distant" organs. A functioning transplanted liver is almost always associated with organ system recovery, resulting in a new life for the patient. However, in the unfortunate event of graft dysfunction, the unavoidable development of multi-organ failure will require an enhanced level of critical care support and a prolonged ICU stay. Strict monitoring and sustainment of cardiorespiratory function, frequent assessment of graft performance, timely recognition of unexpected complications and the institution of prophylactic measures to prevent extrahepatic organ system dysfunction are mandatory in the immediate post-operative period. A reduced rate of complications and satisfactory outcomes have been obtained from multidisciplinary, collaborative efforts, skillful vigilance, and a thorough knowledge of pathophysiologic characteristics of the transplanted liver.

Economy class syndrome: still a recurrent complication of long journeys.

Economy class syndrome is a rare but still unavoidable complication of long haul flights, particularly in patients who carry various intrinsic risk factors. The tendency to affect even asymptomatic young people and the greater risk to fragment and propagate to the pulmonary circulation are the main characteristics of deep vein thrombosis of long-flight travelers. We report the clinical history of eight patients admitted to intensive care unit for confirmed or highly suspected economy class syndrome. Seven of them developed the syndrome within 72 h from a long return flight, one suffered from pulmonary embolism after a 12-h car trip. Two out of eight patients died, one because of extremely severe hemodynamic impairment, the other as a consequence of multiple organ failure caused by a concomitant myocardial infarction. Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism represent one of the main medical problems of air travel and cause almost 20% of deaths in people with no medical history. Although economy class syndrome occurs mostly in elderly, even the healthy young population can be affected and, in fact, three out of eight patients of our series were under 50 years of age. All our patients but one carried a well recognized risk factor for deep vein thrombosis. Clinical symptoms of deep vein thrombosis can sometimes be aspecific and confusing, so that a certain proportion of post-travel deep vein thrombosis, evolving favorably and not giving rise to pulmonary embolism, might effectively remain undiagnosed. Economy class syndrome is still quite difficult to deal with and controversial in terms of preventive strategies.