Chapters authored
Early Postoperative Monitoring of the Liver Graft
Liver transplantation (LT) is a common current technique for end-stage liver disease. Complications after the surgical procedure, though uncommon, can be of very different origin and can also be severe enough to lead to liver and multiorgan failure and finally graft loss and/or recipient’s death. Intensivists and the surgical team must be familiarized with these early complications to detect them as soon as possible in order to use the best diagnostic tools and take the best therapeutic measures to restore anatomical integrity and organ function to optimize the liver graft. In this chapter, we present an updated state of the art for efficiently tackling with all different, most usual complications that an LT patient can present during early postoperative period.
Part of the book: Liver Pathology
Management of New Special Devices for Intubation in Difficult Airway Situations
Difficult airway management in critically ill patients has serious implications, as failing to secure a stable airway can lead to a brain injury or even death. Early recognition of a difficult airway can allow the clinician to minimize the potential morbid-mortality. In this chapter, we describe all about the common scenarios that we may tackle when we need to secure a patent airway. It is important to know common definitions about the airway, pre-visualize potential problems and knowing how to be aware of the different pathways on managing and solving the different problems that clinicians may face. It is highlighted to know all the different medical equipment and medication used when an airway is suspected not to be easy to manage or when problems arrive without warning and the practitioner needs to rapidly change the plan on the go. We discuss the current most relevant guidelines and literature about this subject trying to give a practical approach.
Part of the book: Special Considerations in Human Airway Management