EH 2_2016

Maximum performance in a compact electrocardiograph Headquarters: SCHILLER AG, Altgasse 68, CH-6341 Baar Phone +41 41 766 42 42, Fax +41 41 761 08 80 sales@schiller.ch, www.schiller.ch Power and flexibility of a PC in a portable ECG Bidirectional Wi-Fi communication to EMR Culprit Coronary Artery AlgorithmTM for early STEMI detection Explore the new ECG world: SCHILLER’s CARDIOVIT FT-1 EH_2016-02_FT-1_210x148quer_SSP_EN.indd 1 19.04.2016 10:14:31 INTENSIVE CARE Editor-in-Chief: Brenda Marsh Art Director: Olaf Skrober Managing Editor: Sylvia Schulz Editorial team: Sascha Keutel, Marcel Rasch Senior Writer: John Brosky Executive Director: Daniela Zimmermann Founded by Heinz-Jürgen Witzke Correspondents Austria: Michael Kraßnitzer, Christian Pruszinsky. China: Nat Whitney France: Annick Chapoy, Jane MacDougall. Germany: Anja Behringer, Annette Bus, Walter Depner, Bettina Döbereiner, Matthias Simon, Axel Viola, Cornelia Wels-Maug, Holger Zorn. Great Britain: Brenda Marsh, Mark Nicholls. Malta: Moira Mizzi. Poland: Pjotr Szoblik. Russia: Olga Ostrovskaya, Alla Astachova. Spain: Mélisande Rouger, Eduardo de la Sota. Switzerland: Dr. André Weissen. USA: Cynthia E. Keen, i.t. Communications, Nat Whitney. Subscriptions Janka Hoppe, European Hospital, Theodor-Althoff-Str. 45, 45133 Essen, Germany Subscription rate 6 issues: 42 Euro, Single copy: 7 Euro. Send order and cheque to: European Hospital Subscription Dept Printed by: WVD, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany Publication frequency: bi-monthly European Hospital ISSN 0942-9085 Representatives China & Hongkong: Gavin Hua, Sun China Media Co, Ltd. Phone: +86-0755-81 324 036 E-Mail: gh@european-hospital.com Germany, Austria, Switzerland: Ralf Mateblowski Phone: +49 6735 912 993, E-Mail: rm@european-hospital.com France, Italy, Spain: Eric Jund Phone: +33 493 58 77 43, E-Mail: ej@european-hospital.com GB, Scandinavia, BeNeLux: Simon Kramer Phone/Fax: +31 180 6200 20 E-Mail: sk@european-hospital.com Israel: Hannah Wizer, International Media Dep. of El-Ron Adv. & PR Co., Ltd., Phone: +972-3-6 955 367 E-Mail: hw@european-hospital.com South Korea: CH Park, MCI Phone: +82 2 730 1234, E-Mail: chp@european-hospital.com USA & Canada: Hanna Politis, Media International Tel: +1 301 869 66 10, E-Mail: hp@european-hospital.com Medical staff from many countries worked together in the Nepal aid programme Portable US proves invaluable after Nepal earthquake POC ultrasound flies to work Spring 2015 saw vast areas of Nepal destroyed by an earth- quake with a magni- tude of 7.8, leaving local doctors trying to cope with huge numbers of seriously injured patients requir- ing urgent treatment. With a global relief effort underway, a team from the James Paget University Hospital volunteered to visit the earthquake zone, where they could use their medical expertise to assist Nepalese doctors dealing with an overwhelm- ing workload. Along with three other consult- ants from JPUH – orthopaedic sur- geon Mike Flores, trauma consultant Emeka Nnene, and general surgeon Kamal Aryal, who originates from Nepal – I offered my services to Kirtipur Hospital in Kathmandu. I had no idea what drugs and anaes- thetics would be available at the hospital, but I knew that regional anaesthesia would be beneficial and so I took a SonoSite point-of-care ultrasound system with me, along with some local anaesthetics, nee- dles and an Ambu-bag. At Kirtipur, facilities were lim- ited and the environment far from ideal. The majority of the patients we encountered were waiting for surgery to upper and lower limb injuries. Many were injured try- ing to escape from buildings, often jumping from some height, and so ankle, wrist and clavicular fractures were common. POC ultrasound was invaluable for treating these people; the instrument’s small size and light weight made it easy to transport, and I used it from the first day to the last. With just one probe – a linear transducer – I could visualise the upper and lower limbs, allowing me to administer regional anaesthesia to one patient in the recovery room while another was in theatre under- going surgery. It’s such a wonderful way to give an anaesthetic; you don’t need general anaesthesia, which means people are not sick afterwards and recover faster. Patients are pain free after the procedure and experience fewer side effects, and it’s safer, too, with a lower risk of develop- ing complications. Using ultrasound, you can perform reliable blocks one after the other and, as the onset of anaesthesia is much faster, you don’t have to wait a long time to find out whether or not it has worked. This quality is something that you can only get using ultrasound guidance. The local anaesthetists, who were already very skilled at perform- ing blocks with nerve stimulation, were fascinated by the use of ultra- sound-guided anaesthesia and, after watching a few procedures, they were ready to use the technique themselves. It became a really good teaching experience. The SonoSite system is very robust, intuitive and simple to use, and they picked it up so quickly. They saw how much the quality of the blocks improved, and I’m sure they will ask the hospital managers to invest in an ultrasound system at the earliest opportunity. Within a couple of weeks, the workload was manageable and we could return home. Nepal has since suffered a second earthquake and the monsoon has started. While the medical situa- tion is reasonably well under con- trol – there were fewer deaths and injuries during the second quake, largely because so many people were homeless and living under tarpaulins in the open air – there is still a great deal to do and it will be many years before the country is restored to its previous state. The Nepal aid programme was a real team effort, with medical staff from many countries working together to treat as many patients as possible, providing support to our Nepalese colleagues, allowing them to take a much needed break. As anaesthetists at Kirtipur and another hospital have expressed an interest in learning more about ultrasound, I plan to return to Nepal in a few months’ time, accompanied by Mr Aryl, to run a workshop on regional anaesthesia. This time I will take a newer point-of-care ultrasound system and more probes, allowing a range of additional ultra- sound topics – echocardiography, abdominal or lung ultrasound, lapa- roscopic procedures and the use of ultrasound in ICU – to be covered, depending on what people want to learn. I really appreciate the support we receive from SonoSite for our work in Nepal; it’s a company that genu- inely cares. Being able to contribute to the initial relief effort, with the backing of JPUH and the charity Nepal in Need, was very satisfy- ing, and I look forward to returning to the country later this year. The massive earthquake in Nepal in April 2015 killed more than 9,000 people and injured more than 23,000. Within days, medical teams from other countries had offered services to the disaster relief effort, among them a team from the UK’s James Paget University Hospital (JPUH) in Gorleston-on-Sea, East Anglia. Here consultant anaesthetist Andreas Brodbeck explains how point-of-care ultrasound technology helped the team to provide long-term pain relief for earthquake victims, and support Nepalese doctors performing surgical procedures. In spring 2015 an earthquake destroyed vast areas of Nepal 27 www.healthcare-in-europe.com Phone +41417664242, Fax +41417610880 EH_2016-02_FT-1_210x148quer_SSP_EN.indd 119.04.201610:14:31 Phone: +86-0755-81324036 Phone: +496735912993, E-Mail: rm@european-hospital.com Phone: +33493587743, E-Mail: ej@european-hospital.com Phone/Fax: +31180620020 & PR Co., Ltd., Phone: +972-3-6955367 Phone: +8227301234, E-Mail: chp@european-hospital.com Tel: +13018696610, E-Mail: hp@european-hospital.com

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