Alessandro Forti

Privat practice · Cardiac anaesthesia

Objective: As the use of electric scooters increased in Italy in the last years, we aimed to estimate the burden of accidents caused by this micro-mobility vehicle and identify characteristics, severity, and type of injuries. Methods: We conducted a case series analysis of news reports about electric scooter crashes occurring in Italy from Janua...

Introduction Space travel is expected to grow in the near future, which could lead to a higher burden of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in astronauts. Current methods to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation in microgravity perform below earth-based standards in terms of depth achieved and the ability to sustain chest compressions (CC). We hypothesise...

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) may improve intraoperative decision-making and patient outcome if it is performed and interpreted correctly. It is a very important tool during cardiac surgery with a significant impact on surgical care and anesthesia management. In 1999 the American Society of Echocardiography/Society of Cardiothoracic Anesth...

In this prospective, observational study we describe the incidence and characteristics of out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases who received mechanical CPR, after the implementation of a mechanical CPR device (LUCAS 2; Physio Control, Redmond, WA, USA) in a physician staffed helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) in South Tyrol, Italy. D...

We describe full neurologic recovery from accidental hypothermia with cardiac arrest despite the longest reported duration of mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and extracorporeal life support (8 hours, 42 minutes). Clinical data and blood samples were obtained from emergency medical services (EMS) and the intensive care department. A 3...

Background: Despite early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by bystanders and early advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) maneuvers, some patients present to the emergency department with persistent cardiac arrest caused by a coronary artery occlusion. Although emergency percutaneous intervention (PCI) has been shown to be effective in improving...

Objectives: Microcirculatory alterations are associated with adverse outcome in subsets of critically ill patients. The prevalence and significance of microcirculatory alterations in the general intensive care unit (ICU) population are unknown. We studied the prevalence of microcirculatory alterations in a heterogeneous ICU population and its predi...

Neurological monitoring during ECMO is one of the most challenging tasks in an intensive care unit because of the complexity of the clinical scenario and the instability of the patient, who is most often in a comatose condition just before the onset of extracorporeal circulation. Neuromonitoring is an extension of clinical examination that is often...

Several neurophysiological techniques are used to intraoperatively assess cerebral functioning during surgery and intensive care, but the introduction of hypothermia as a means of intraoperative neuroprotection has brought their reliability into question. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of mild hypothermia on somatosensory-evoked pot...

Neurophysiological techniques are used to assess cerebral functioning in operating room and intensive care unit, but the introduction of hypothermia as a means of intraoperative neuroprotection has brought their reliability into question. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of mild/moderate hypothermia on somatosensory evoked potentials...

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) may improve intraoperative decision-making and patient outcome if it is performed correctly and the findings are interpreted correctly. It is a very important tool during cardiac surgery and has a significant impact on surgical care and anesthesia management. In 1999, the American Society of Echocardiography/S...

The flow rate of the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) pump used in cardiac surgery often undergoes inherent fluctuations ranging from 10% to 20% of its theoretic value. However, the effects of such alterations remain unknown. In the present study, the authors investigated whether such variations could induce changes in the microvascular flow, which is...

High frequency percussive ventilation is a ventilatory technique that delivers small bursts of high flow respiratory gas into the lungs at high rates. It is classified as a pneumatically powered, pressure-regulated, time-cycled, high-frequency flow interrupter modality of ventilation. High frequency percussive ventilation improves the arterial part...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) supplies systemic blood perfusion and gas exchange in patients with cardiopulmonary failure. The current literature lacks of papers reporting the possible risks of microembolism among the complications of this treatment.In this study we present our preliminary experience on brain blood flow velocity and em...

Movie patient 5. TCD microembolic signal recordings from venous gas embolism. A double sample TCD recording on the right and left medial cerebral arteries is made. Note the high median brain blood flow velocity related to the effect of intraortic balloon pulsation. Note the shower effect at the start of MES recording.

Movie patient 1. TCD monitoring during a bubble test in ECMO 50% supply. A double sample TCD recording on the right and left medial cerebral arteries is made. Note also the M-mode and median brain blood flow velocity monitoring.

Movie air filter. Efficiency of the SmartSite Extension Set in removing air from crystalloid solution. Methylene blu is added to the solution to better visualize the dearing.

Movie patient 3. TCD microembolic signals recording from venous gas embolism.