The Mount Sinai journal of medicine, New York
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Anemia is common in critically ill patients. Although the goal of transfusion of red blood cells is to increase oxygen-carrying capacity, there are contradictory results about whether red blood cell transfusion to treat moderate anemia (e.g., hemoglobin 7-10 g/dL) improves tissue oxygenation or changes outcomes. Whereas increasing levels of anemia eventually lead to a level of critical oxygen delivery, increased cardiac output and oxygen extraction are homeostatic mechanisms the body uses to prevent a state of dysoxia in the setting of diminished oxygen delivery due to anemia. ⋯ These studies have generally shown increases in near-infrared spectroscopy derived measurements of tissue oxygenation following transfusion. Studies evaluating the effect of transfusion on the microcirculation have shown that transfusion increases the functional capillary density. This article will review fundamental aspects of oxygen delivery and extraction, and the effects of red blood cell transfusion on tissue oxygenation as well as the microcirculation.
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Documenting a patient's anesthetic in the medical record is quite different from summarizing an office visit, writing a surgical procedure note, or recording other clinical encounters. Some of the biggest differences are the frequent sampling of physiologic data, volume of data, and diversity of data collected. The goal of the anesthesia record is to accurately and comprehensively capture a patient's anesthetic experience in a succinct format. ⋯ These systems also have the potential to convert large volumes of data into actionable information for outcomes research and quality-improvement initiatives. Developing a system to validate the data is crucial in conducting outcomes research using large datasets. Technology innovations outside of healthcare, such as multitouch interfaces, near-instant software response times, powerful but simple search capabilities, and intuitive designs, have raised the bar for users' expectations of health information technology.
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Review
Prediction of rate and severity of adverse perioperative outcomes: "normal accidents" revisited.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification system has been shown to predict the frequency of perioperative morbidity and mortality despite known subjectivity, inconsistent application, and exclusion of many perioperative confounding variables. The authors examined the relationship between the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status and both the frequency and the severity of adverse events over a 10-year period in an academic anesthesiology practice. ⋯ Calculated odds ratios allow discussion about individualized anesthesia risks based on the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status because the added complexity of the surgical or diagnostic procedure, and other perioperative confounding variables, is indirectly factored into the Physical Status classification. The ability of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status to predict adverse outcome frequency and severity in a nonlinear relationship can be fully explained by applying the Normal Accident Theory, a well-known theory of system failure that relates the interactive complexity of system components to the frequency and the severity of system failures or adverse events.
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In a complicated and specialized population, such as patients undergoing cardiac and major vascular procedures, patients, clinicians, and hospitals may be best served and resources conserved with a specialized preanesthesia clinic. A specialized preanesthesia clinic for cardiac and major vascular procedures has a focused staff usually consisting of practitioners with cardiac and major vascular surgical care experience designed to address the patient evaluation, the information gathering, the necessary consultations, the required testing, and specific needs for the day of cardiac and major vascular surgery. ⋯ Resident trainee education can also be enhanced by a specialized preanesthesia clinic for cardiac and major vascular rotations. The ultimate goal of a specialized preanesthesia clinic is to ensure a safe and efficient perioperative cardiac and major vascular surgical experience in complicated patients undergoing complex procedures.
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Since its introduction as a procedure of last resort in a terminally ill patient with intractable cancer-related pain, spinal cord stimulation has been used to effectively treat chronic pain of varied origins. Spinal cord stimulation is commonly used for control of pain secondary to failed back surgery syndrome and complex regional pain syndrome, as well as pain from angina pectoris, peripheral vascular disease, and other causes. By stimulating one or more electrodes implanted in the posterior epidural space, the patient feels paresthesias in their areas of pain, which reduces the level of pain. ⋯ Spinal cord stimulation has been shown to be cost effective as compared with conservative management alone. There is strong evidence for efficacy and cost effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of pain associated with intractable angina, failed back surgery syndrome, and complex regional pain syndrome. In this article, we review the history and pathophysiology of spinal cord stimulation, and the evidence (or lack thereof) for efficacy in common clinical practice.