Thomas Kirschning

Universitätsmedizin Mannheim | UMM

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly used in COVID-19-related pulmonary failure and the number of patients recovering from COVID-19 is growing. Here, we assess survival and recovery 6 months after ECMO for COVID-19. From April 2020 to September 2021, n = 60 (60.5 [51.0-65.0] years, 23.3% female) were treated with venovenous/ve...

Abstract Background Sepsis is the leading cause of death in the intensive care unit (ICU). Expediting its diagnosis, largely determined by clinical assessment, improves survival. Predictive and explanatory modelling of sepsis in the critically ill commonly bases both outcome definition and predictions on clinical criteria for consensus definitions...

Statistical network analyses have become popular in many scientific disciplines, where an important task is to test for differences between two networks. We describe an overall framework for differential network testing procedures that vary regarding (1) the network estimation method, typically based on specific concepts of association, and (2) the...

Background: COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) has been considered a treatment option in COVID-19. This trial assessed the efficacy of neutralizing antibody containing high-dose CCP in hospitalized adults with COVID-19 requiring respiratory support or intensive care treatment. Methods: Patients (n=105) were randomized 1:1 to either receive stand...

Background: Intestinal ischemia is a common complication with obscure pathophysiology in critically ill patients. Since insufficient delivery of oxygen is discussed, we investigated the influence of oxygen delivery, hemoglobin, arterial oxygen saturation, cardiac index and the systemic vascular resistance index on the development of intestinal isc...

Rationale: COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) has been considered a treatment option in COVID-19. Objectives:: To assess the efficacy of neutralizing antibody containing high-dose CCP in hospitalized adults with COVID-19 requiring respiratory support or intensive care treatment. Methods: Patients (n=105) were randomized 1:1 to either receive standa...

The pathological processes by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection that make the virus a major threat to global health are insufficiently understood. Inefficient viral clearance at any stage is a hallmark of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Disease severity is associated with increases in peripheral blood cytok...

Objectives The aim of this study was to establish quantitative CT (qCT) parameters for pathophysiological understanding and clinical use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The most promising parameter is introduced. Materials and methods 28 intubated patients with ARDS obtained a conventional CT scan in end-expiratory bre...

Background: Significant long-term reduction in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is often observed in survivors of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and return to work (RtW) is limited. There is a paucity of data regarding the relationship between the quality of care (QoC) in the intensive care unit (ICU) and both HRQoL and RtW...

Background: Initial treatment (ventilator settings, rescue therapy, supportive measures), and prevention of critical events improve survival in ARDS patients, but little data exists on its effect on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and return to work (RtW) in survivors. We analyzed the association of the intensity of treatment at ARDS onset a...

Background: Oral nimodipine is administered to improve clinical outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). In this study, clinical outcome in patients with and without oral nimodipine administration was assessed. Materials and methods: A total of 105 patients did not receive oral nimodipine but did receive intra-arterial...

Purpose While most research focuses on the association between medical characteristics and residual morbidity of survivors of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), little is known about the relation between potentially modifiable intensive care unit (ICU) features and the course of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Accordingly, the...

Purpose: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequently occurring complication in critically ill patients. Simultaneous occurrence of PE and life-threatening bleeding, may render medical anticoagulation impossible. For these patients, inferior vena cava filters (IVCF) present a valuable therapeutic alternative. The Angel® catheter is a novel IVCF that pr...

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequently occurring complication in critically ill patients, and the simultaneous occurrence of PE and life-threatening bleeding is a therapeutic dilemma. Inferior vena cava filters (IVCF) may represent an important therapeutic alternative in these cases. The Angel® catheter (Bio2 Medical Inc., San Antonio...

Purpose: Clinically unapparent microcirculatory impairment is common and has a negative impact on septic shock, but specific therapy is not established so far. This prospective observational study aimed at identifying candidate parameters for microcirculatory-guided hemodynamic therapy. Clinicaltrialsgov: NCT01530932. Materials and methods: Mi...

Background: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is widely used as a daily routine method to detect vasospasm in patients after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). However, there is only limited data about the real benefit of this examination. Therefore, the clinical outcome of two cohorts with and without daily TCD after aSAH is assessed. Methods:...

Ecstasy, a psychoactive amphetamine derivative, is a popular party drug. We report the cases of 2 young adults who developed cerebral edema due to hyponatremia. One patient was released from the hospital without any sequelae, whereas the second patient died due to cerebral edema. Severe cases of symptomatic hyponatremia after ecstasy consumption ar...

Background: Right heart failure is a fatal consequence of chronic pulmonary hypertension (PH). The development of PH is characterized by increased proliferation of vascular cells, in particular pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and pulmonary artery endothelial cells. In the course of PH, an escalated right ventricular (RV) afterload oc...

The calcium-sensitizing drug levosimendan increases myocardial contractility and, by activating K(+)-channels, dilates pulmonary vessels. In the acute setting, levosimendan is clinically used to treat right heart failure in pulmonary hypertension. As K(+)-channel activation elicits several beneficial effects in the vascular system, we hypothesized...

To establish a training course for Prehospital Focused Abdominal Sonography for Trauma (P-FAST) and to evaluate the accuracy of the participants after the course and at the trauma scene. A training programme was developed to provide medical staff with the skills needed to perform P-FAST. In order to evaluate the accuracy of P-FAST performed by the...

Erworbene Thrombozytenfunktionsstörungen können die Ursache für vermehrten intra- und postoperativen Blutverlust sein. Insbesondere weil die konventionelle Gerinnungsanalyse und die Bestimmung der Thrombozytenzahl das eingeschränkte Aggregationspotenzial von geschädigten Thrombozyten nicht abzubilden vermögen, ist die Implementierung bettseitiger T...

Increased intra-operative and postoperative blood loss might be caused by acquired platelet function disorders. In particular because conventional coagulation analyses and platelet count fail to detect impaired platelet function, implementation of bedside-tests for platelet function in the peri-operative period is desirable according to the results...

Blunt abdominal trauma is a challenging aspect of trauma management. Early detection has a major impact on patient outcome. In contrast to physical examination, computed tomography is known to be a sensitive and specific test for blunt abdominal injuries. However, it is time-consuming and thus contraindicated in hemodynamically unstable patients. T...

Die präklinische fokussierte Sonographie beim verunfallten Patienten („prehospital focused abdominal sonography for trauma“, P-FAST) fand in den letzten Jahren Einzug in den bodengebundenen und auch den luftgestützten Rettungsdienst in Deutschland und hat sich hier zunehmend als valide diagnostische Untersuchung bewährt. Ein dem steigenden Einsatz...

In the last decade prehospital focused abdominal sonography for trauma (P-FAST) could be established as a valid on-site diagnostic tool for both air and ground rescue medical services in Germany. An appropriate use of P-FAST demands a standardized training concept. Therefore a 1-day training program was developed by the working group "emergency ult...

Besides severe cerebral trauma, abdominal bleeding is the most frequent cause of death after multiple trauma. Abdominal bleeding is difficult to diagnose because initially at the scene a multiply injured patient with a stable circulation is often encountered. Ultrasound diagnostics have played a central role in the diagnostics of emergency patients...

Neben der schweren Schädel-Hirn-Verletzung sind abdominelle Blutungen die häufigste Ursache der Todesfälle nach Polytraumatisierung. Sie sind schwer zu diagnostizieren, da am Unfallort häufig initial ein kreislaufstabiler Mehrfachverletzter vorgefunden wird. Die Ultraschalldiagnostik spielt seit vielen Jahren eine zentrale Rolle bei der Diagnostik...

Blunt abdominal trauma with intra-abdominal bleeding is often underdiagnosed or even overlooked at trauma scenes. The purpose of this prospective, multicentre study was to compare the accuracy of physical examination and prehospital focused abdominal sonography for trauma (PFAST) to detect abdominal bleeding. Six rescue centres took part in the stu...

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the practicability and the benefit of focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) on scene. Prehospital ultrasound was performed on 61 patients being suspicious for abdominal trauma. Free fluid in the Koller's and Morison's pouch, pelvis and pleural space was investigated. After admission routine ultrasou...

Aim. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the practicability and the benefit of focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) on scene. Methods. Prehospital ultrasound was performed on 61 patients being suspicious for abdominal trauma. Free fluid in the Koller's and Morison's pouch, pelvis and pleural space was investigated. After admission ro...

Thesis (doctoral)--Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität zu Frankfurt am Main, 2006.