Departments open to the family, with intervals of light and darkness that respect the circadian rhythms and the sick person, who, especially when in critical condition, must be in an environment appropriate to the sleep-wake rhythm. A modern vision and an innovative approach to anesthesia and intensive care includes the study of specific and targeted treatment protocols for the critical patient and the patient with a high surgical risk. And this is the purpose of the research of Professor Maurizio Cecconi, Director of the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care in Humanitas and Professor of Humanitas University, recently elected President for the two-year period 2020-2021 of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), the European Society of Intensive Care.

Stability of parameters to reduce post-operative risks

“I work to achieve for each patient a balance, stability of parameters such as blood pressure, the transport of oxygen to the tissues, the functionality of the heart both during and after surgery – explained the specialist -. Getting to this stability reduces the risk and complications after surgery and hospitalization, resulting in both an improvement in the quality of hospitalizations and greater efficiency of the hospitals themselves. Working with passion in anesthesia and intensive care, in short, does not mean providing simple assistance to the patient in the period before and after the intervention, but having a vision and global approach in which research goes hand in hand with clinical, theoretical and practical together for better and better results.

“My vision of medicine combines clinical research with great potential – continued Professor Cecconi, who returned to Italy after several years of work in London, where he was director of Intensive Care in the hospitals of St George’s University -: those who engage in research also achieve better clinical results.

What is the risk of sepsis?

In the face of an infection, our organism defends itself against it and eradicates it, bringing the situation back to normal and eliminating the infectious agent. But it can happen that the reaction of our body is not adequate and becomes the cause of a life-threatening condition. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), this complication affects 30 million people, with a potential risk of a few million deaths.

“Sepsis is an unregulated and disproportionate response of our organism to an infection – explains Professor Cecconi -. It may happen to take a flu, a cold or pneumonia, which is not in itself a sepsis, but if the response of the organism becomes excessive this condition can occur. “It is very important that both the population and the doctors promptly recognize the signs and symptoms of sepsis, such as very high temperature, wheezing, mental confusion, which indicate that the infection is becoming important,” explains Professor Cecconi. “The patient with these signs and symptoms must be taken to hospital as soon as possible to receive the appropriate treatment that can save his life. The European Society of Intensive Care and the American Society of Critical Medicine have developed the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, a series of recommendations applicable in all hospitals precisely to reduce the mortality related to sepsis, including for example the administration of early antibiotic therapy or the execution of blood cultures to seek in the blood the agent responsible for the infection.

The figure of the anaesthetist and a modern department

The figure of the anesthetist and his role in relation to the patient are at the center of the attention and research of Professor Cecconi, who sees a modern intensive care unit, with wards open to family members. “In the field of anesthesia – continued and concluded the specialist – the research should focus efforts on the more precise identification of patients at risk to individualize the perioperative pathways, both for routine cases and even more so for the most critical ones; the anesthetist, in addition to the technical success of the operation, will also have the look and attention on the importance of the subsequent recovery of the quality of life of the patient.