Environmental and economic impact of sustainable anaesthesia interventions: a single-centre retrospective observational study.

Background: Anaesthesia contributes substantially to the environmental impact of healthcare. To reduce the ecological footprint of anaesthesia, a set of sustainability interventions was implemented in the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. This study evaluates the environmental and economic implications of these interventions.

Platelet function monitoring with the Sonoclot analyzer after in vitro tirofiban and heparin administration.

Objective: Reliable platelet function monitoring is desirable in patients treated with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors. The aim of the present laboratory-based study was to assess platelet function after administration of clinically relevant doses of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonist tirofiban with or without heparin by using Sonoclot (Sienco Inc) and platelet aggregometry.

Methods: Tirofiban (0-100 ng x mL(-1)) and heparin (0 or 1 U x mL(-1)) were added to blood samples obtained from 20 healthy volunteers.