Analysis of the Effects of Epidural Anesthesia on the Nociception Level Index (NOL) during Abdominal Surgery.

: The NOL system (PMD-200™ Nociception Level Monitor; Medasense Ltd., Ramat Gan, Israel) is used for the real-time detection of physiological nociception in anesthetized patients by assessing the parameters indicative of sympathetic activity, such as photoplethysmography, skin conductance, peripheral temperature, and accelerometry, which are quantified into the NOL-Index. This index is more sensitive than traditional clinical parameters in estimating pain and stress responses.

Evaluation of dynamic cerebrovascular autoregulation during liver transplantation.

Background: Cerebrovascular autoregulation in patients with acute and chronic liver failure is often impaired, yet an intact autoregulation is essential for the demand-driven supply of oxygenated blood to the brain. It is unclear, whether there is a connection between cerebrovascular autoregulation during liver transplantation (LTX) and the underlying disease, and if perioperative anesthesiologic consequences can result from this.

Methods: In this prospective observational pilot study, data of twenty patients (35% female) undergoing LTX were analyzed.

Cardiac arrest as an age-dependent prognosticator for long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction: the potential impact of infarction size.

Background:: The development of cardiac arrhythmias resulting in cardiac arrest represents a severe complication in patients with acute myocardial infarction. While the worsening of the prognosis in this vulnerable patient collective is well known, less attention has been paid to its age-specific relevance from a long-term perspective.

Methods:: Based on a clinical acute myocardial infarction registry we analysed 832 patients with acute myocardial infarction within the current analysis.

Gender-related differences in elderly patients with myocardial infarction in a European Centre.

Background: Weighing the benefit of revascularization procedures against the risk of adverse events is particularly challenging in elderly patients suffering acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Based on a general gender gap in coronary interventions, the restraint in invasive procedures may be particularly high in elderly women. We therefore investigated gender-related differences in the frequency of coronary interventions as well as gender- and age-specific outcomes after coronary interventions in patients with AMI.

History of previous bleeding and C-reactive protein improve assessment of bleeding risk in elderly patients (≥ 80 years) with myocardial infarction.

We aimed to assess whether the CRUSADE risk score represents a robust instrument for stratification of bleeding risk in elderly myocardial infarction (MI) patients (≥ 80 years) and further aimed to identify age-specific predictors of major bleeding events. Binary logistic regression models were applied to assess the effect of variables on the occurrence of bleeding events during hospital stay. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the discriminatory power.

Butyrylcholinesterase predicts cardiac mortality in young patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Background: The incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in young people (≤65 years) is continuously rising. While prognostic factors in ACS are well-investigated less attention has been paid to their age-dependent prognostic value and their particular relevance in younger patients. The aim of our study was to assess the age-dependent prognostic impact of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE).