ASA Monitor 7 2018, Vol.82, 40-42. Review of unusual patient care experiences is a cornerstone of medical education. Each month, the AQI-AIRS Steering Committee abstracts a patient history submitted to the Anesthesia Incident Reporting System (AIRS) and authors a discussion of the safety and human factors challenges involved. Real-life case histories often include multiple clinical decisions, […]
Read MoreAnticonvulsant medications like gabapentin and pregabalin don’t appear to improve low back pain, a meta-analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds. Researchers examined nine studies of nearly 900 patients with chronic low back pain or lumbar radicular pain. Patients received either anticonvulsants (gabapentinoids or topiramate) or placebo. Gabapentinoids had no effect on low back pain or […]
Read MoreAuthor: Carolyn Crist (Reuters Health) – Hospitals that allow family members of critically ill patients to attend doctors’ rounds in the intensive care unit (ICU) may improve healthcare quality by enhancing communication and satisfaction, a Canadian study suggests. Although family attendance could increase the time spent on rounds, it doesn’t affect the quality of rounds […]
Read MoreAuthor: Nicholas M. Dalesio, MD Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation June 2018 Pediatric airway management remains a significant cause for perioperative morbidity and mortality. Emergencies arising from airway complications constitute 25 to 36% of all reported anesthesia closed-claims.1-3 Of those, respiratory events are more common in children (43%) than in adults (30%), and children suffer a higher […]
Read MoreAuthors: Tomoronori Takazawa, MD, PhD et al Circulation 122,210 • Volume 33, No. 1 • June 2018 Sugammadex is a synthetic cyclodextrin derivative that encapsulates aminosteroid muscle relaxants, especially rocuronium, to reverse their effect. Sugammadex (Bridion®, Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.) was first released in the European Union […]
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