Improvements in anesthesia gas delivery equipment and provider training may increase patient safety. The authors analyzed patient injuries related to gas delivery equipment claims from the American ...Society of Anesthesiologists Closed Claims Project database over the decades from 1970s to the 2000s.
After the Institutional Review Board approval, the authors reviewed the Closed Claims Project database of 9,806 total claims. Inclusion criteria were general anesthesia for surgical or obstetric anesthesia care (n = 6,022). Anesthesia gas delivery equipment was defined as any device used to convey gas to or from (but not involving) the airway management device. Claims related to anesthesia gas delivery equipment were compared between time periods by chi-square test, Fisher exact test, and Mann-Whitney U test.
Anesthesia gas delivery claims decreased over the decades (P < 0.001) to 1% of claims in the 2000s. Outcomes in claims from 1990 to 2011 (n = 40) were less severe, with a greater proportion of awareness (n = 9, 23%; P = 0.003) and pneumothorax (n = 7, 18%; P = 0.047). Severe injuries (death/permanent brain damage) occurred in supplemental oxygen supply events outside the operating room, breathing circuit events, or ventilator mishaps. The majority (85%) of claims involved provider error with (n = 7) or without (n = 27) equipment failure. Thirty-five percent of claims were judged as preventable by preanesthesia machine check.
Gas delivery equipment claims in the Closed Claims Project database decreased in 1990-2011 compared with earlier decades. Provider error contributed to severe injury, especially with inadequate alarms, improvised oxygen delivery systems, and misdiagnosis or treatment of breathing circuit events.
Thoracic epidural anaesthesia (TEA) reduces cardiac and splanchnic sympathetic activity and thereby influences perioperative function of vital organ systems. A recent meta-analysis suggested that TEA ...decreased postoperative cardiac morbidity and mortality. TEA appears to ameliorate gut injury in major surgery as long as the systemic haemodynamic effects of TEA are adequately controlled. The functional benefit in fast-track and laparoscopic surgery needs to be clarified. Better pain control with TEA is established in a wide range of surgical procedures. In a setting of advanced surgical techniques, fast-track regimens and a low overall event rate, the number needed to treat to prevent one death by TEA is high. The risk of harm by TEA is even lower, and other methods used to control perioperative pain and stress response also carry specific risks. To optimize the risk–benefit balance of TEA, safe time intervals regarding the use of concomitant anticoagulants and consideration of reduced renal function impairing their elimination must be observed. Infection is a rare complication and is associated with better prognosis. Close monitoring and a predefined algorithm for the diagnosis and treatment of spinal compression or infection are crucial to ensure patient safety with TEA. The risk–benefit balance of analgesia by TEA is favourable and should foster clinical use.
General anaesthesia is usually considered to safely induce a reversible brain state allowing the performance of surgery under optimal conditions. An increasing number of clinical and experimental ...observations, however, suggest that anaesthetic drugs, especially when they are administered at the extremes of age, can trigger long-term morphological and functional alterations in the brain. Here, we review available mechanistic data linking general-anaesthesia exposure to impaired cognitive performance in both young and mature nervous systems. We also provide a critical appraisal of the translational value of animal models and highlight the important challenges that need to be addressed to strengthen the link between laboratory work and clinical investigations in the field of anaesthesia-neurotoxicity research.
Abstract Perioperative transfusions increase complications and cost following THA. Current series evaluating neuraxial anesthesia and blood loss following THA are small and utilize heterogeneous ...populations. Using the NSQIP database we compared transfusion rates following THA with neuraxial and general anesthesia. Between 2005 and 2012, 28,857 THAs (11,317 neuraxial anesthesia) were identified. Univariate analysis showed lower rates of transfusion, pneumonia, unplanned intubation, prolonged intubation, stroke, all complications, and medical complications in the neuraxial group. Operative time and length of stay were shorter with neuraxial anesthesia as well. After adjusting for patient comorbidities, a multivariate regression model showed fewer transfusions with neuraxial anesthesia. The multivariate regression model showed additional independent risk factors for transfusion including gender, operative time, elevated INR, and a history of hypertension, metastatic cancer, and renal failure.
Gynecologic brachytherapy procedures require targeted procedural and anesthetic needs including optimization of intra- and post-procedure analgesia, low rate of complications, and appropriate and ...timely transitions of care. It is uncertain whether neuraxial or general anesthesia is superior for these and other anesthetic outcomes. After a targeted search of the recent literature for anesthesia and analgesia studies for gynecologic brachytherapy, twenty studies were identified and appraised for potential review. Meta-analysis showed a decreased frequency in rescue analgesic administration in patients who underwent neuraxial anesthesia compared with general anesthesia for the procedure and literature review showed a comparable rate of anesthesia-related complications. Neuraxial anesthesia may be considered for gynecologic brachytherapy because of improved pain control, decreased opioid consumption, and similar rate of anesthesia complications.
The population of obese individuals is increasing worldwide, and as a result, the number of mothers with super morbid obesity undergoing cesarean sections is also increasing. However, little is known ...about which anesthetic technique is appropriate for cesarean sections of super morbidly obese parturients.
A 35-year-old woman with body mass index 61.3 kg/m at a gestational age of 37 weeks.
The patient was super morbidly obese parturient.
Spinal anesthesia was performed. A spinal needle was inserted into the L4-5 interspinous space in the sitting position. After confirmation of cerebrospinal fluid, 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine 9 mg and fentanyl 20 μg were injected into the subarachnoid space.
After the administration of spinal anesthetics, the nerve block to the T8 dermatome level was confirmed, surgery was performed, and the fetus was delivered. The patient's vital signs were stable until the end of the operation.
There is no established strategy for selecting a method of anesthesia in patients with morbid obesity (body mass index 40 kg/m or more). For this reason and considering the amount of bupivacaine used for spinal anesthesia, we wanted to share our experience with spinal anesthesia for cesarean section in a super morbidly obese parturients.
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