Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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Intraoperative handovers are common in anesthesia practice and are associated with increased patient morbidity and mortality. Checklists may improve transfer of information during handovers. This before-and-after study sought to examine the effect of a checklist on intraoperative handover. We hypothesized that introducing a handover checklist would improve our primary outcome of completeness of data transfer. ⋯ Use of a checklist during intraoperative handovers improved completeness of data transfer. Handover checklists should be considered to improve handover completeness.
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To evaluate the perceptions and practices of Canadian cardiovascular anesthesiologists and intensivists towards intravenous albumin as a resuscitation fluid in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. ⋯ The majority of Canadian anesthesiologists and intensivists (62%) use albumin in cardiac surgical patients. There is clinical equipoise regarding its utility, and an acknowledged need for higher quality evidence to guide practice.
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Case Reports
A red flag for diagnosing brain death: decompressive craniectomy of the posterior fossa.
Brain death/death by neurologic criteria (BD/DNC) may be determined in many countries by a clinical examination that shows coma, brainstem areflexia, and apnea, provided the conditions causing reversible loss of brain function are excluded a priori. To date, accounts of recovery from BD/DNC in adults have been limited to noncompliance with guidelines. ⋯ Therapeutic decompressive craniectomy of the posterior fossa may allow for delayed reversal of apnea. In these patients, proof of cerebral circulatory arrest should be mandatory for diagnosing BD/DNC.
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Anesthetic management for patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is controversial. Description of the use of regional anesthesia (RA) in patients with CMT is limited. Regional anesthesia has traditionally been avoided because of risk of nerve injury. We retrospectively reviewed patients with CMT who received RA at our institution. ⋯ This study found no evidence of documented neurologic complications or an increased risk of nerve injury related to RA in CMT patients.