Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2017
Meta AnalysisMethodological and Reporting Quality of Systematic Reviews Published in the Highest Ranking Journals in the Field of Pain.
Systematic reviews (SRs) are important for making clinical recommendations and guidelines. We analyzed methodological and reporting quality of pain-related SRs published in the top-ranking anesthesiology journals. ⋯ Endorsement of PRISMA in instructions for authors was not a guarantee of compliance. Methodological and reporting quality of pain-related SRs should be improved using relevant checklists. This can be remedied by a joint effort of authors, editors, and peer reviewers.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of Endotracheal Tube Cuff Shape on Postoperative Sore Throat After Endotracheal Intubation.
Although minor, a sore throat after endotracheal intubation can adversely affect patient satisfaction and postoperative function. We compared the effects of 2 endotracheal tube cuff shapes on postoperative sore throat. ⋯ Intubation using an endotracheal tube with a tapered cuff reduced the incidence and severity of postoperative sore throat and the incidence of hoarseness after surgery when compared with an endotracheal tube with a cylindrical cuff.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2017
Multicenter Study Observational StudyAlarm Limits for Intraoperative Drug Infusions: A Report From the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group.
Continuous medication infusions are commonly used during surgical procedures. Alarm settings for infusion pumps are considered important for patient safety, but limits are not created in a standardized manner from actual usage data. We estimated 90th and 95th percentile infusion rates from a national database for potential use as upper limit alarm settings. ⋯ Alarm settings based on infusion rate percentile limits would be triggered at predictable rates; ie, the 95th percentile would be exceeded and an alarm sounded during 1 in 20 infusion rate entries. As a result, institutions could establish pump alarm settings consistent with desired alarm frequency using their own or externally validated usage data. Further study will be needed to determine the optimal percentile for infusion alarm settings.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2017
Small-Volume Injections: Evaluation of Volume Administration Deviation From Intended Injection Volumes.
In the perioperative period, anesthesiologists and postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurses routinely prepare and administer small-volume IV injections, yet the accuracy of delivered medication volumes in this setting has not been described. In this ex vivo study, we sought to characterize the degree to which small-volume injections (≤0.5 mL) deviated from the intended injection volumes among a group of pediatric anesthesiologists and pediatric postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurses. We hypothesized that as the intended injection volumes decreased, the deviation from those intended injection volumes would increase. ⋯ Clinically significant dose variation occurs when injecting volumes ≤0.5 mL. Administering small volumes of medications may result in unintended medication administration errors.