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K Buhre

Publications and source records attributed to K Buhre.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

[Preoperative long-term therapy].

A large number of patients undergoing elective surgical procedures already take routine medication preoperatively. The majority of these patients use drugs for therapy of preexisting cardiovascular, pulmonary or endocrinological diseases which are independent of the planned surgical procedure. The number and type of preoperative drug therapy are correlated to age, gender and co-morbidity of the patients. Furthermore, patients with higher ASA-classes usually take more drugs, as they suffer from several medical diseases. Information about the perioperative handling of routine drug therapy is important for the planning of anaesthesia and surgery. A close cooperation of all medical specialities involved is necessary, in particular when patients take anticoagulants or other substances which should be withdrawn or replaced. This review focuses on the handling of routine preoperative medication by the anaesthesiologist in the light of available literature.

Anesthesia↗

Assessment of cardiac preload by indicator dilution and transoesophageal echocardiography.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Assessment of cardiac preload is of major importance in the management of critically ill patients. Echocardiographic determined left ventricular end-diastolic area and indicator dilution derived intrathoracic blood volume are used as surrogates for cardiac preload. However, no controlled comparison studies on the relationship between induced changes in end-diastolic area and intrathoracic blood volume and concomitant changes in stroke volume index are available. METHODS: The effects of a change in body position on these variables were investigated in 10 anaesthetized patients. RESULTS: Intrathoracic blood volume and end-diastolic area decreased by 18 +/- 11% and 27 +/- 13% respectively. Stroke volume index concomitantly decreased by 19 +/- 11%. Correlation analysis revealed a close relation between stroke volume index and intrathoracic blood volume (r=0.75) and end-diastolic area (r=0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Within the observed range of data, intrathoracic blood volume and end-diastolic area are equivalent indices of cardiac preload.

Adult↗

Doppler-sonographic evidence of cerebral microembolism originating from a biventricular assist device.

The use of extracorporeal assist devices in heart failure is associated with the risk of thromboembolic complications [1]. Prove of thromboembolic material in the ventricles and tubes of the assist devices is difficult, and the clinical relevance of thrombotic material in the tubes is not clear. Here, we report on a patient with severe heart failure caused by endstage dilated cardiomyopathy who was bridged to transplantation using a biventricular assist device (BVAD). Five weeks after implantation, transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) revealed high intensity transient signals (HITS) in basal cerebral arteries, suggesting continued cerebral microembolism. Apart from a correlation of these Doppler sonographic findings with neurological symptoms, macroscopic evidence of fibrin thrombi in the artificial ventricle, and post mortem confirmation of cerebral infarction could be proved.

Adult↗

Effects of the sitting position on the distribution of blood volume in patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures.

The use of the sitting position in neurosurgery is often associated with decreased arterial pressure (MAP) and stroke volume index (SVI). A shift in blood from the intra- to the extrathoracic compartment may be responsible for this cardiovascular response. However, little is known of the amount of shift in blood volume after transfer from the supine to the sitting position. Therefore, we measured simultaneously changes in intrathoracic blood volume (ITBV) caused by a change in body position in anaesthetized patients. Measurements of cardiac index (CI), ITBV, pulmonary (PBV) and total circulating (TBVcirc) blood volumes were performed in the supine and sitting position. CI, ITBV, PBV and TBVcirc were measured using a thermodye dilution technique. Fluid input was restricted to 14 ml kg-1 before induction of anaesthesia. Change in body position caused a significant decrease in ITBV and was accompanied by a significant decrease in CI, SVI and MAP. Changes in ITBV correlated (r = 0.78) with changes in SVI. Thus a change in blood volume distribution between the intra- and extrathoracic compartment occurred after a change from the supine to the sitting position. Indicator dilution enables quantification of this shift and may be helpful in guiding fluid therapy in selected patients.

Adult↗