COVID-19 - Toward a comprehensive understanding of the disease.

The evidence on the pathophysiology of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection is rapidly growing. Understanding why some patients suffering from COVID-19 are getting so sick, while others are not, has become an informal imperative for researchers and clinicians around the globe. The answer to this question would allow rationalizing the fear surrounding this pandemic.

Accelerated heart function recovery after therapeutic plasma exchange in patient treated with biventricular mechanical circulatory support for severe peripartum cardiomyopathy.

We describe a case of severe peripartum cardiomyopathy treated with biventricular mechanical circulatory support, where rapid haemodynamic recovery was observed after therapeutic plasma exchange, used as an adjunct to the inhibition of prolactin release. The patient recovered and after 2 months was discharged from the hospital without clinical symptoms of heart disease.

Complications after using the Airtraq laryngoscope for a predicted difficult intubation.

Although standard management of an expected difficult intubation is based on fibre-optic techniques, the application of optical laryngoscopes such as Airtraq is gaining widespread acceptance. We here describe a case where an intubation attempt with the Airtraq laryngoscope was not only unsuccessful, but negatively influenced subsequent use of a flexible fibroscopic approach.

Iliac artery injury during lumbar microdiscectomy.

Background: Accidental laceration of major abdominal vessels during lumbar disc surgery is a relatively rare complication that requires rapid diagnosis and management.

Case Report: A 25-yr-old woman, operated on for an L4-L5 disc hernia, developed cardiovascular collapse after disc removal. This was treated with volume replacement and ephedrine, and a postoperative CT scan revealed a large retroperitoneal haematoma.

[Effects of sevoflurane versus target-controlled infusion of propofol on haemodynamics during elective breast surgery in healthy women].

Background: Haemodynamic changes during general anaesthesia are still being widely investigated. Although propofol and sevoflurane are commonly used anaesthetic agents, there is a lack of comparative studies assessing their influence on haemodynamic parameters. We have assessed whether the effects of target-controlled propofol anaesthesia on HR, MAP and cardiac output, are different from those seen with a sevoflurane-based protocol.