Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jul 2014
Syringe Drivers: incorrect selection of syringe type from the syringe menu may result in significant errors in drug delivery.
There have been many reported adverse incidents due to syringe driver use, most of which have been attributable to human error. In this paper we present a previously unreported, but potentially widespread practice which may result in significant over or under-delivery of medication. Even with the naked eye it is evident that syringes of equal volume have different dimensions and to quantify this we sectioned a range of syringes and measured the inner and outer dimensions. ⋯ There is a wide variation in syringe metrics and complex syringe menus may increase errors, resulting in significant under or over-delivery of medication. Availability of more than one brand of syringe in a clinical area increases the risk of adverse drug delivery events. Systems need to be implemented to minimise the risk of adverse events.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jul 2014
Letter Randomized Controlled TrialIntrauterine instillation of lignocaine gel does not help in reducing pain after endometrial ablation.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jul 2014
Observational StudyExperience with the use of the Codonics Safe Label System(™) to improve labelling compliance of anaesthesia drugs.
The Codonics Safe Labeling System(™) (http://www.codonics.com/Products/SLS/flash/) is a piece of equipment that is able to barcode scan medications, read aloud the medication and the concentration and print a label of the appropriate concentration in the appropriate colour code. We decided to test this system in our facility to identify risks, benefits and usability. Our project comprised a baseline survey (25 anaesthesia cases during which 212 syringes were prepared from 223 drugs), an observational study (47 cases with 330 syringes prepared) and a user acceptability survey. ⋯ However, staff need to be willing to follow proper labelling workflow rather than batch label during preparation. Future syringe labelling equipment developers need to concentrate on user interface issues to reduce human factor and workflow problems. Support logistics are also an important consideration prior to implementation of any new labelling system.