Präklinische Intubation

Endotracheal intubation is required in 5–10% of all prehospital emergencies. Poor environmental conditions (e.g. limited space, poor or excessive lighting etc.), unfavorable patient-related factors (e.g. trauma, bleeding, pulmonary aspiration etc.) and the pressure of time make prehospital airway management a challenging procedure even for experienced emergency physicians. The incidence of difficult endotracheal intubation is significantly higher than in-hospital. Profound clinical practice, recognition and adequate treatment of complications of intubation, and ongoing clinical practice are essential for successful and responsible prehospital airway management. A brief physical examination helps to identify predictors for difficult intubation, thereby modifying treatment strategies. Every emergency physician must be closely familiar with at least one supraglottic airway device and the recent algorithms to manage the unanticipated difficult airway.     

Persistent Low-frequency Spontaneous Discharge in A-fiber and C-fiber Primary Afferent Neurons during an Inflammatory Pain Condition

Background: Primary afferent nociceptor sensitization and its accompanying spontaneous discharge are believed to be the proximate cause of the spontaneous pain and hypersensitivity that follow an acute tissue injury. Evidence for this comes almost entirely from studies limited to the first few minutes to an hour or two after injury, when the inflammatory reaction to injury has just begun. However, there is evidence that inflammatory pain mechanisms differ from acute pain mechanisms and that the mechanisms that drive and modulate inflammatory pain may evolve over time.

Methods: The authors surveyed spontaneous afferent discharge in rats with hind paw inflammation evoked by complete Freund adjuvant over the entire 14 days of the inflammatory pain condition, as determined in parallel experiments assessing allodynia and hyperalgesia.

Results: Inflammation-evoked heat hyperalgesia, mechanoallodynia, and mechanohyperalgesia began within hours, persisted until at least day 7, and resolved by day 14. A large percentage (23%) of A fibers had spontaneous discharge 2 days after inflammation, but the incidence was much reduced (to 7-9%) by 7 and 14 days. At all times, the A-fiber discharge frequency was low (<3.0 Hz) or very low (<0.3 Hz). A large percentage (24%) of C fibers had spontaneous discharge 2 and 7 days after inflammation, but this also declined to near control levels by day 14; C-fiber discharge frequency was also always low (most at 0.3-1.0 Hz).     

Haemoglobin level and its clinical impact in a cohort of patients with COPD.

Haemoglobin (Hb) abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not well characterised. The present authors investigated the prevalence and association of abnormal Hb with clinical outcomes. Analysis of a prospective cohort of stable COPD outpatients (n = 683) in a USA Veterans Administration pulmonary clinic was undertaken. Patients were classified as anaemic (Hb <13 g.dL(-1)), polycythemic (Hb > or =17 g.dL(-1) and > or =15 g.dL(-1) for males and females, respectively) or normal. Demographic characteristics and physiological/functional outcomes were compared between groups. Regression models adjusting for confounders examined the independent association of anaemia with clinical outcomes. Anaemia was present in 116 (17%) patients and polycythemia in 40 (6%). While the only values that differed between polycythemic and nonpolycythemic patients were mean body mass index and Hb, anaemic patients showed a significantly higher modified Medical Research Council dyspnoea scale score (2.8 versus 2.6), lower 6-min walk distance (265 versus 325 m) and shorter median survival (49 versus 74 months) than nonanaemic patients. In regression models, anaemia independently predicted dyspnoea and reduced exercise capacity. Anaemia in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was an independent risk factor for reduced functional capacity. Polycythemia prevalence was low and had no association with worsened outcomes. Further work is required to evaluate the effect of anaemia correction on outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.     

Motor and non-motor sequence learning in children and adolescents with cerebellar damage.

Cerebellar involvement in motor and non-motor sequence learning was examined with serial reaction time tasks (SRT). Our sample consisted of 8 children and adolescents who had undergone surgical removal of a benign posterior fossa tumor (PFT) during childhood. None of them had undergone chemotherapy or cranial radiation therapy (CRT). Ages ranged from 1-11 years at surgery and 9-17 years at testing. The children were tested not earlier than 2.5 years after surgery (M = 5.9 years), enabling brain plasticity and recovery of functions. Their performance was compared with a matched control sample. The PFT group was not impaired in the implicit learning of sequences, as reflected in their performance in blocks with a repeated sequence, both before and after a random block. However, in the perceptual task, their performance deteriorated more than that of the control group when a random block was introduced, suggesting that it was more difficult for the patients to respond flexibly or change their response set when encountering changing task demands. These results are in line with another study by our group on task switching with the same patients.