Mortality Predictors and Neurological Outcomes Following Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (eCPR): A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Background: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) offers cardiorespiratory support to patients experiencing cardiac arrest. However, this technology is not yet considered a standard treatment, and the evidence on eCPR criteria and its association with survival and good neurological outcomes remains scarce. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the overall mortality and risk factors for mortality.

The Impact of Preoperative Combined Pectoserratus and/or Interpectoral Plane (Pectoralis Type II) Blocks on Opioid Consumption, Pain, and Overall Benefit of Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled, and Triple-blinded Trial.

Objective: Acute postoperative pain remains a major obstacle in minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS). Evidence of the analgesic benefit of chest wall blocks is limited. This study was designed to assess the influence of combined pectoserratus plane block plus interpectoral plane block (PSPB + IPPB) on postoperative pain and the overall benefit of analgesia compared with placebo.

Loss or Dilution-A New Diagnostic Method to Assess the Impact of Dilution on Standard Laboratory Parameters.

Intraoperative fluid therapy is regularly used in patients undergoing cardiac surgery procedures with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Although fluid administration has several advantages, it unavoidably leads to hemodilution. The hemodilution may further influence the interpretation of concentration-based laboratory parameters like hemoglobin (Hgb), platelet count (PLT) or prothrombin time (PT).

Hemorrhagic Shock: Blood Marker Sequencing and Pulmonary Gas Exchange.

Background: The early identification of internal hemorrhage in critically ill patients may be difficult. Besides circulatory parameters, hemoglobin and lactate concentration, metabolic acidosis and hyperglycemia serve as laboratory markers for bleeding. In this experiment, we examined pulmonary gas exchange in a porcine model of hemorrhagic shock.

The Pulmonary Artery Catheter in the Perioperative Setting: Should It Still Be Used?

The pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) was introduced into clinical practice in the 1970s and was initially used to monitor patients with acute myocardial infarctions. The indications for using the PAC quickly expanded to critically ill patients in the intensive care unit as well as in the perioperative setting in patients undergoing major cardiac and noncardiac surgery. The utilization of the PAC is surrounded by multiple controversies, with literature claiming its benefits in the perioperative setting, and other publications showing no benefit.