[Intraosseous access for in-hospital emergencies. Intensive medical care case study]. / Intraossärer Zugang beim innerklinischen Notfall. Intensivmedizinischer Fallbericht.

Since the release of the 2005 resuscitation guidelines intraosseous infusion has been recognized as the favorite alternative vascular access in emergency patients. It is no longer restricted to paediatric emergencies but is also considered the vascular access of choice for adult patients with difficult venous access. Intraosseous access has been used in an increasing proportion of patients especially in an out-of-hospital emergency care setting while only limited experience exists for in-hospital usage of this technique. This article reports on a case of intraosseous access performed in a critically ill patient directly after admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to difficult peripheral venous access. Despite the extensive medical resources available in the ICU (i.e. central venous catheterization) less invasive means were used to render appropriate care. Based on this case different strategies of critical care and possible improvements will be discussed. Intraosseous infusion should be regarded as an infrequently needed but potentially life-saving procedure that is still too often considered as an option at later stages during in-hospital emergency care.

[Myocardial infarction in a 21-year-old ASA I patient after arthroscopic surgery of the knee under general anaesthesia]. / Fulminanter Myokardinfarkt bei einem ASA-I-Patienten nach Knieoperation in Allgemeinanästhesie.

Myocardial ischemia is a major complication in the perioperative period, mostly in patients with high cardiac risks. After non-cardiac surgery myocardial infarction was observed in 5.6% of patients with coronary heart disease, the rate in patients with no cardiac diseases was 0.1-0.7%. We present the case of a 21-year-old ASA I male patient who underwent surgery to reconstruct the cruciate ligament of the knee. General anaesthesia was performed in combination with a femoral nerve block. After surgery the patient suffered from myocardial infarctions on the day of surgery and the 6th day after surgery. After resuscitation, thrombolysis and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), an intraaortic balloon pump had to be temporarily implanted due to persistent cardiogenic shock.

Factors influencing emergency intubation in the pre-hospital setting--a multicentre study in the German Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.

BACKGROUND: Definitive airway control by endotracheal intubation (ETI) is standard of care in pre-hospital airway management. However, there are specific factors that may influence and complicate ETI. METHODS: Prospective, descriptive study at three German Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) over a 1-yr period. We examined the success and complication rate for field intubation performed by trauma anaesthetists. RESULTS: In 342 patients (9.3%) ETI was performed. The overall success rate was 100%; in 87.4% the first attempt was successful, whereas in 11.1% a second and in 1.5% a third ETI attempt was necessary. No patient required a surgical intervention. Limited access to the patient was found upon arrival at the scene in 20.2% of the patients and in 9.6% of the patients at the time of ETI attempt. An orotracheal ETI technique was used in all patients. In the patients in whom only one ETI attempt was necessary for successful intubation, the assessment of ETI conditions was rated 'very good' or 'good' in 94.7%, but in those requiring a second or third ETI attempt this was reduced to 68.6 and 20.0%, respectively. Difficulties encountered during ETI included blood (19.9%), vomit/debris (15.8%) and secretions (13.8%) in the upper airway; anatomical reasons (11.7%), patient position (9.6%) and surrounding conditions (9.1%), making laryngoscopy more difficult. CONCLUSIONS: Despite various factors increasing the difficulties in managing the airway in the field, definitive airway control by ETI seems to be safe practice.

[Resuscitation after intoxication with amitriptylin]. / Fallbericht einer protrahierten Reanimation bei Suizidversuch mit Amitriptylin.

Intoxications with tricyclic antidepressants are often life threatening situations. In consequence of interference with many organ systems specific treatment consists in transportation to hospital under cardiopulmonary monitoring by physicians. The multiple possibilities of complications require the following treatments: continuous monitoring of the cardiovascular system, gastrolavage, application of carbon through a nasogastric tube, intubation and controlled ventilation in case of coma and continuous stand by for defibrillation. Additionally patients with stable parameters should be monitored in intensive care units because often there are no precursors of cardiac or pulmonary complications. We report the case of a 49-year old women with ingestion of 2500 mg of amitriptyline who suffered from multiple cardiac arrhythmias with following cardiac arrests and who required multiple defibrillations and resuscitation.