A multi-disciplinary approach to the diagnosis and management of allergic diseases: An EAACI Task Force.

Background: Guidelines for management of patients with allergic conditions are available, but the added value of nurses, allied healthcare professionals (AHPs), and general practitioners (GPs), in the management of allergic disease, has not been fully clarified. The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) appointed a task force to explore this issue.

Aim: To investigate the added value of nurses, AHPs, and GPs in management of allergic diseases, in an integrated model of care.

Rapid acting fentanyl formulations in breakthrough pain in cancer. Drug selection by means of the System of Objectified Judgement Analysis.

Drug selection of rapid acting fentanyl formulations in the treatment of breakthrough pain in patients with cancer is performed by the System of Objectified Judgement Analysis method. All seven available formulations were included in the analysis. The following selection criteria were used: number of available strengths, variability in the rate of absorption, interactions, clinical efficacy, side effects, ease of administration and documentation.

Blockade of the mental nerve for lower lip surgery as a safe alternative to general anesthesia in two very old patients.

Purpose: Regional anesthesia is gaining popularity with anesthesiologists as it offers superb postoperative analgesia. However, as the sole anesthetic technique in high-risk patients in whom general anesthesia is not preferred, some regional anesthetic possibilities may be easily overlooked. By presenting two cases of very old patients with considerable comorbidities, we would like to bring the mental nerve field block under renewed attention as a safe alternative to general anesthesia and to achieve broader application of this simple nerve block.

[Headache following laparotomy; chronic subdural haematoma following epidural anaesthesia].

A 63-year-old man underwent an exploratory laparotomy because of rectal carcinoma. The operation was performed under general anaesthesia in combination with epidural anaesthesia. Since the operation the patient complained of a headache.