Anesthesia and analgesia
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There is a direct relationship between the quality of the environment of a workplace and the productivity and efficiency of the work accomplished. Components such as temperature, humidity, ventilation, drafts, lighting, and noise each contribute to the quality of the overall environment and the sense of well-being of those who work there. The modern operating room is a unique workplace with specific, and frequently conflicting, environmental requirements for each of the inhabitants. ⋯ An important task for the surgical team is to find the correct balance between these 2 opposed requirements. Several of the components of the operating room environment, especially room temperature and airflow patterns, are easily manipulated by the members of the surgical team. In the following discussion, we will examine these elements to better understand the clinical ramifications of adjustments and accommodations that are frequently made to meet the requirements of both the surgical staff and the patient.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2017
Impact of Different Ventilation Strategies on Driving Pressure, Mechanical Power, and Biological Markers During Open Abdominal Surgery in Rats.
Intraoperative mechanical ventilation may yield lung injury. To date, there is no consensus regarding the best ventilator strategy for abdominal surgery. We aimed to investigate the impact of the mechanical ventilation strategies used in 2 recent trials (Intraoperative Protective Ventilation [IMPROVE] trial and Protective Ventilation using High versus Low PEEP [PROVHILO] trial) on driving pressure (ΔPRS), mechanical power, and lung damage in a model of open abdominal surgery. ⋯ In this model of open abdominal surgery based on the mechanical ventilation strategies used in IMPROVE and PROVHILO trials, lower mechanical power and its surrogate ΔPRS were associated with reduced lung damage.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2017
Optimizing Anesthesia-Related Waste Disposal in the Operating Room: A Brief Report.
Misappropriation of noncontaminated waste into regulated medical waste (RMW) containers is a source of added expense to health care facilities. The operating room is a significant contributor to RMW waste production. This study sought to determine whether disposing of anesthesia-related waste in standard waste receptacles before patient entry into the operating room would produce a reduction in RMW. A median of 0.35 kg of waste was collected from 51 cases sampled, with a potential annual reduction of 13,800 kg of RMW to the host institution, and a cost savings of $2200.