Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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The purpose of this article is to review the role of technical and nontechnical skills in routine and crisis situations. We discuss the role of different simulation modalities in addressing these skills and competencies to enhance patient safety. ⋯ Healthcare simulation is a valuable tool to improve patient safety. Simulation-based education can focus on the necessary technical and nontechnical skills to enhance patient safety. Simulation-based research can serve as a means to identify gaps in current practice, test different solutions, and show improved practice patterns by studying performance in a setting that does not compromise patient safety.
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A stroke is an uncommon but potentially devastating complication after surgery. Although hypoperfusion is often mentioned as a possible cause of a perioperative stroke, a thorough investigation is needed into the role of intraoperative and/or postoperative hypotension in the occurrence and development of perioperative cerebral ischemia. In this review article, we present an overview of the available literature on the possible role of hypotension in perioperative stroke, and we place these studies in a broader context. ⋯ Unusually low blood pressure will eventually result in neurological damage; however, the threshold and duration at which an association might be found between a perioperative stroke and hypotension have not been well investigated. Thus, the exact role of hypotension in the etiology of perioperative stroke is still largely unknown.