Interventional lung assist might provide a sufficient rescue measure with easy handling properties and low cost in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and persistent hypoxia/hypercapnia.

SummaryBrrckgroundand hypothesis: Heart rate variability (HRV) is an accepted tool for the assessment of cardiovascular autonomic tone. There are no suficient data concerning its application to patients with severe aortic valve disease (AVD) requiring cardiac surgery.Mcdrods: It was the aim of this study to examine HRV and its physiologic correlates in patients with severe aortic valve disease requiring cardiac surgery. The correlates of time domain indices of HRV obtained from 24-h Holter electrocardiographic recordings were analyzed in 36 consecutive patients (23 men and 13 women, mean age 62 2 1 1 years) with AVD prior to cardiac surgery (aortic stenosis: 17 patients, aortic valve regurgitation: 3 patients, combined aortic valve disease: I 6 patients) .Results Conclusion: Patients with AVD requiring cardiac surgery reveal reduced time domain indices of HRV. This observation is pronounced in patients with a progressed clinical class of heart failure, whereas hemodynamic and echocardiographic parameters seem to have no significant influence on HRV parameters in this population. In addition, there is evidence of a further reduction of HRV time domain indices 1 week after uncomplicated aortic valve replacement.

As a rapid screening test for blunt carotid artery injury, integration of MDCTA in the routine imaging workup of trauma patients utilizing a whole-body CT trauma scan is possible and practicable. Image quality is mostly sufficient for diagnosis, but impaired in a few cases by artifacts deriving primarily from dental hardware.

In our study, the recovery of visual acuity and the complication rate were not as positive as reported in the literature.

DWI with calculated ADC values does not allow the reliable differentiation of enhanced central necrotic intracranial lesions.

Many patients presented too late for IF. However, there was no statistical difference between patients with IF and conventional treatment with regards to the improvement of visual acuity. Additionally there is an increased risk of a stroke from IF, therefore a prospective study is necessary to evaluate the importance of IF. Stabilisation of high blood pressure may be the best prophylaxis for preventing a central retinal artery occlusion.

Cine MRI allows accurate assessment of left ventricular structure and geometry before and after aortic valve replacement with pulmonary autograft and is very sensitive in detecting relatively small changes of left ventricular myocardial mass and volumes early after hemodynamic relief as well as during serial assessment.

The CareBolus technique is a useful non-invasive method for high-resolution imaging of the supra-aortic vessels because of its easy application and high sensitivity and specificity. Limitations can occur in non-compliant patients due to motion artifacts during the measurement time.