Publications by authors named "Koch Thea"

Background: In-hospital mortality of septic critically ill patients with COVID-19 is significantly higher than in those without COVID-19. The knowledge on long-term outcomes remains scarce. In this retrospective analysis, we compare clinical characteristics, long-term functional outcomes, and survival in septic critically ill patients with and without COVID-19.

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Background: Despite being essential in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), mechanical ventilation (MV) may cause lung injury and hemodynamic instability. Mechanical power (MP) may describe the net injurious effects of MV, but whether it reflects the hemodynamic effects of MV is currently unclear. We hypothesized that MP is also associated with cardiac output (CO) and pulmonary blood flow (PBF).

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Background: Subject-ventilator asynchrony (SVA) was shown to be associated with negative clinical outcomes. To elucidate pathophysiology pathways and effects of SVA on lung tissue histology a reproducible animal model of artificially induced asynchrony was developed and evaluated.

Methods: Alterations in ventilator parameters were used to induce the three main types of asynchrony: ineffective efforts (IE), auto-triggering (AT), and double-triggering (DT).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how age and sex impact the prevalence and burden of primary headaches in children and adolescents at a pediatric headache center in Germany from 2015 to 2022.
  • A total of 652 patients aged 3 to 18 were analyzed, revealing that nearly 60% were female, with the most common headache types being episodic migraine without aura and mixed-type headaches.
  • Results indicate that headaches severely affected approximately 16% of children under 14 and increased to about 33% in adolescents, particularly impacting teenage girls.
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Während einer Pandemie muss Resilienz nicht nur als Eigenschaft des Gesundheitssystems, sondern auch des umgebenden Forschungsumfelds betrachtet werden. Um verlässliche, evidenzbasierte Empfehlungen aus der Universitätsmedizin an die Gesundheitspolitik und die Entscheidungsträger bereitstellen zu können, müssen wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse schnell, integrativ und multidisziplinär generiert, synthetisiert und kommuniziert werden. Die Resilienz der öffentlichen Gesundheitssysteme und der Gesundheitsforschungssysteme sind somit eng verknüpft.

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Objective: To describe health-related quality of life and participation after rehabilitation of severely affected sepsis survivors.

Design: Cohort study.

Subjects/patients: Patients with severe sequelae after sepsis treated in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation pathway were included.

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Background: The presence of nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) in the peripheral blood of critically ill patients is associated with poor outcome. Evidence regarding the predictive value of NRBCs in patients with SARS-CoV-2-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains elusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive validity of NRBCs in these patients.

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Background: Pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of pulmonary aspiration during general anaesthesia, but the incidence of this complication is not well defined.

Methods: We performed a retrospective database review in a tertiary care university hospital to determine the incidence of pulmonary aspiration in pregnant patients undergoing endotracheal intubation, with and without Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI), as well as face-mask ventilation and supraglottic airway devices. We included Patients in the 2 or 3 trimester of pregnancy and immediate postpartum undergoing surgical procedures.

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Background: During one-lung ventilation (OLV), positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) can improve lung aeration but might overdistend lung units and increase intrapulmonary shunt. The authors hypothesized that higher PEEP shifts pulmonary perfusion from the ventilated to the nonventilated lung, resulting in a U-shaped relationship with intrapulmonary shunt during OLV.

Methods: In nine anesthetized female pigs, a thoracotomy was performed and intravenous lipopolysaccharide infused to mimic the inflammatory response of thoracic surgery.

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Background: Mechanical ventilation with variable tidal volumes (V-VCV) has the potential to improve lung function during general anesthesia. We tested the hypothesis that V-VCV compared to conventional volume-controlled ventilation (C-VCV) would improve intraoperative arterial oxygenation and respiratory system mechanics in patients undergoing thoracic surgery under one-lung ventilation (OLV).

Methods: Patients were randomized to V-VCV (n = 39) or C-VCV (n = 39).

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Article Synopsis
  • Tissue factor (TF) is part of the cytokine receptor family and plays a role in blood clotting and inflammation, but also has protective effects through unclear mechanisms.* -
  • The study discovered that TF binds to the interferon-α receptor 1 (IFNAR1), inhibiting its signaling, which helps to prevent inflammation and maintain immune balance.* -
  • Loss of TF specifically in kidney cells led to inflammation and immune issues, but blocking IFNAR1 signaling helped reduce these effects, suggesting the TF-IFNAR1 complex regulates thrombo-inflammation.*
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Mechanical ventilation (MV) is a life supporting therapy but may also cause lung damage. This phenomenon is known as ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). A potential pathomechanisms of ventilator-induced lung injury may be the stretch-induced production and release of cytokines and pro-inflammatory molecules from the alveolar epithelium.

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Background: More than half of all emergency department patients seek help for acute pain, which is usually of musculoskeletal origin. Acute pain is often inadequately treated even today, particularly in children and in older patients. In this study, we assess the potential role of regional anesthetic methods in improving the treatment of pain in the preclinical and clinical emergency setting.

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Article Synopsis
  • Girls and women suffer from headaches more often than boys and men, prompting a study to explore gender differences in treatment effectiveness within the Dresden Child and Adolescent Headache Program (DreKiP).
  • A total of 140 patients participated in a structured 15-hour program, and data were collected on headache frequency, intensity, and related daily limitations over six and twelve months post-treatment.
  • Results indicated that girls had significantly higher headache frequencies and limitations in daily life compared to boys, but both genders showed improvement over time; however, there was no difference in treatment response between genders, suggesting that the factors influencing headaches in girls should be further explored.
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Objective: Currently, there are limited data on the effect of macrocirculatory hemodynamic changes on human microcirculation, especially during the induction of general anesthesia (GA).

Methods: We performed a non-randomized observational trial on patients receiving GA for elective surgery. In the control group (CG), for GA induction sufentanil, propofol, and rocuronium was administered.

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Objective: Headache prevalence among children and adolescents has increased over the last few years. Evidence-based treatment options for pediatric headaches remain limited. Research suggests a positive influence of odors on pain and mood.

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Background: In the course of building extension works at Dresden University Hospital, it was necessary to shut down the central medical gas supply in a building with 3 intensive care wards with 22 beds, an operating theater tract with 5 operating rooms and 6 normal wards each with 28 beds during ongoing services. Thus, for the construction phase there was a need to establish an interim decentralized gas supply with zero failure tolerance for the affected functional units .

Methods: Following established procedures for possible risk and failure analysis, a project group was set up by the hospital's emergency and disaster management officer to develop a project plan, a needs assessment and a communication plan.

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Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is common in COVID-19 patients and is associated with high mortality. The aim of this observational study was to describe patients' characteristics and outcome, identifying potential risk factors for in-hospital mortality and for developing Long-COVID symptoms. This retrospective study included all patients with COVID-19 associated ARDS (cARDS) in the period from March 2020 to March 2021 who were invasively ventilated at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the University Hospital Dresden, Germany.

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Context And Aims: Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) trajectories show high interindividual variability, ranging from asymptomatic manifestations to fatal outcomes, the latter of which may be fueled by immunometabolic maladaptation of the host. Reliable identification of patients who are at risk of severe disease remains challenging. We hypothesized that serum concentrations of Dickkopf1 (DKK1) indicate disease outcomes in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected individuals.

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Background: SARS-CoV-2 infections are suspected to trigger the coagulation system through various pathways leading to a high incidence of thromboembolic complications, hypercoagulation and impaired fibrinolytic capacity were previously identified as potentially mechanisms. A reliable diagnostic tool for detecting both is still under discussion. This retrospective study is aimed to examine the prognostic relevance of early viscoelastic testing compared to conventional laboratory tests in COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

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Background: In reconstructive surgery, loss of a microvascular free flap due to perfusion disorders, especially thrombosis, is a serious complication. In recent years, viscoelastic testing (VET) has become increasingly important in point-of-care (POC) anticoagulation monitoring. This paper describes a protocol for enhanced anticoagulation monitoring during maxillofacial flap surgery.

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Background: More than 2/3 of children and adolescents in Germany regularly suffer from headaches. Headache-related limitations in everyday life, school drop-out and educational impairment are common. Structured therapy programs for young headache patients are widely missing.

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Background: Sensitization to sensory stimuli is an essential feature of migraine attacks. The relationship between the clinical course of migraine and increased sensitivity to olfactory stimuli has been little studied so far.

Methods: We analyzed the frequency and quality of osmophobia depending on the phase of migraine in patients with episodic and chronic migraine treated in an tertiary headache center with regard to gender, age, medical history and migraine disability assessment score (MIDAS).

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Background: A profound inflammation-mediated lung injury with long-term acute respiratory distress and high mortality is one of the major complications of critical COVID-19. Immunoglobulin M (IgM)-enriched immunoglobulins seem especially capable of mitigating the inflicted inflammatory harm. However, the efficacy of intravenous IgM-enriched preparations in critically ill patients with COVID-19 is largely unclear.

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Background: The aim of this study was to describe and compare clinical characteristics and outcomes in critically ill septic patients with and without COVID-19.

Methods: From February 2020 to March 2021, patients from surgical and medical ICUs at the University Hospital Dresden were screened for sepsis. Patient characteristics and outcomes were assessed descriptively.

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