Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialParavertebral blockade for day-case breast augmentation: a randomized clinical trial.
Bilateral breast augmentation is an increasingly popular day-case procedure. Local infiltration with sedation is routinely used for its ease of application compared with the more complex and potentially riskier paravertebral blockade (PVB). We hypothesized that ropivacaine injected by experienced anesthesia providers into the paravertebral space as a PVB was more effective than ropivacaine injected by the operating surgeon (plastic surgeon) directly into the zone of surgical dissection. ⋯ In a limited number of patients, we found that PVB is superior to direct surgical infiltration of ropivacaine for bilateral breast augmentation in same-day surgery. These advantages need to be balanced against the potential risks of PVB, especially in an office setting.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialInhaled fentanyl aerosol in healthy volunteers: pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
Rapid delivery of potent opioid to the systemic circulation is an important feature for the effective treatment of acute and acute-on-chronic breakthrough pain. The delivery of different opioids by the pulmonary route has been inconsistent, usually resulting in low bioavailability of the drug. Staccato® Fentanyl for Inhalation is a handheld inhaler producing a single metered dose of aerosolized fentanyl during a single inspiration. The aerosol is of high purity (≥98%) at a particle size (1 to 3.5 microns) shown to be best for pulmonary absorption. ⋯ This study has demonstrated that the pharmacokinetic profile of single doses of inhaled fentanyl is comparable to IV administration.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialPrevention of intravenous bacterial injection from health care provider hands: the importance of catheter design and handling.
Device-related bloodstream infections are associated with a significant increase in patient morbidity and mortality in multiple health care settings. Recently, intraoperative bacterial contamination of conventional open-lumen 3-way stopcock sets has been shown to be associated with increased patient mortality. Intraoperative use of disinfectable, needleless closed catheter devices (DNCCs) may reduce the risk of bacterial injection as compared to conventional open-lumen devices due to an intrinsic barrier to bacterial entry associated with valve design and/or the capacity for surface disinfection. However, the relative benefit of DNCC valve design (intrinsic barrier capacity) as compared to surface disinfection in attenuation of bacterial injection in the clinical environment is untested and entirely unknown. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the relative efficacy of a novel disinfectable stopcock, the Ultraport zero, with and without disinfection in attenuating intraoperative injection of potential bacterial pathogens as compared to a conventional open-lumen stopcock intravascular device. The secondary aims were to identify risk factors for bacterial injection and to estimate the quantity of bacterial organisms injected during catheter handling. ⋯ The Ultraport zero stopcock with hub disinfection before injection was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of inadvertent bacterial injection as compared to the conventional open-lumen stopcock. Future studies should examine strategies designed to facilitate health care provider DNCC hub disinfection and proper device handling.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialTransthoracic echocardiography simulation is an efficient method to train anesthesiologists in basic transthoracic echocardiography skills.
The clinical utility of focused transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is increasingly recognized in perioperative medicine. However its use is limited among anesthesiologists because of a lack of training. The most efficient training methods have not been determined. We hypothesized that simulation-based TTE training would be more effective than traditional lecture-based methods for teaching basic TTE skills to the anesthesiology residents. ⋯ This prospective randomized study demonstrated that anesthesiology residents trained with simulation acquired better skills in TTE image acquisition and anatomy identification on volunteer subjects. The educational benefit of simulation persisted even with introduction of hands-on instruction with volunteer subjects in both groups. The impact of these short-term educational approaches on longer-term retention and actual clinical application warrants further investigation.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2012
Graphical user interface simplifies infusion pump programming and enhances the ability to detect pump-related faults.
Drug administration errors are frequent and are often associated with the misuse of IV infusion pumps. One source of these errors may be the infusion pump's user interface. ⋯ The number of programming errors and workload were reduced partly because it took less time and fewer keystrokes to program the pump when using the new user interface. Despite minimal training, residents quickly identified preexisting infusion pump problems with the new user interface. Intuitive and easy-to-program infusion pump interfaces may reduce drug administration errors and infusion pump-related adverse events.