Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Epidural Infusion Bolus Delivery Rate on the Duration of Labor Analgesia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Programmed intermittent boluses of local anesthetic have been shown to be superior to continuous infusions for maintenance of labor analgesia. High-rate epidural boluses increase delivery pressure at the catheter orifice and may improve drug distribution in the epidural space. We hypothesized that high-rate drug delivery would improve labor analgesia and reduce the requirement for provider-administered supplemental boluses for breakthrough pain. ⋯ Labor analgesia quality, assessed by need for provider- and patient-administered supplemental analgesia and hourly bupivacaine consumption was not improved by high-rate epidural bolus administration.
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The American Board of Anesthesiology recently introduced the BASIC Examination, a component of its new staged examinations for primary certification, typically offered to residents at the end of their first year of clinical anesthesiology training. This analysis tested the hypothesis that the introduction of the BASIC Examination was associated with an acceleration of knowledge acquisition during the residency training period, as measured by increments in annual In-Training Examination scores. ⋯ These results support the hypothesis that the introduction of the BASIC Examination is associated with accelerated knowledge acquisition in residency training and provides evidence for the value of the new staged system in promoting desired educational outcomes of anesthesiology training.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Utility of Perioperative Lung Ultrasound in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Pediatric cardiac patients are at risk for perioperative respiratory insufficiency. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of perioperative lung ultrasound examination in pediatric cardiac surgery. ⋯ An online visual overview is available for this article at http://links.lww.com/ALN/B682.