Journal of clinical anesthesia
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To describe how the introduction of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) to its initial certification impacted anesthesiology residencies in the United States. ⋯ The introduction of the OSCE by the ABA for board certification has affected the curriculum of many residencies. Approximately 3 in 5 program directors perceived the ABA OSCE measures skills essential to anesthesiologists' practice. Future studies should assess residency graduates' perspective on the usefulness of both mock OSCE preparation and the ABA OSCE, and whether the ABA OSCE performance predicts future clinical practice.
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Observational Study
Most surgeons' daily elective lists in Florida comprise only 1 or 2 elective cases, making percent utilization unreliable for planning individual surgeons' block time.
Operating room (OR) utilization has been shown in multiple studies to be an inappropriate metric for planning OR time for individual surgeons. Among surgeons with low daily caseloads, percentage utilization cannot be measured accurately because confidence limits are extremely wide. In Iowa, a largely rural state, most surgeons performed only 1 or 2 elective cases on their OR days. To assess generalizability, we analyzed Florida, a state with many high-population density areas. ⋯ Most surgeons' lists of elective surgical cases comprised 1 or 2 cases in the largely urban state of Florida, as previously found in the largely rural state of Iowa. Results were insensitive to organizational size or county population. Thus, our finding is generalizable in the United States. Consequently, neither adjusted nor raw utilization should be used solely when allocating OR time to individual surgeons. Anesthesia and nursing coverage of cases can be based on maximizing the efficiency of use of OR time.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Anterior quadratus lumborum block at the lateral supra-arcuate ligament versus transmuscular quadratus lumborum block for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing laparoscopic nephrectomy: A randomized controlled trial.
The analgesic efficacy of transmuscular quadratus lumborum block (TQLB) to decrease the need for opioid consumption after laparoscopic nephrectomy has been demonstrated in several studies. However, the effect of an anterior QLB approach at the lateral supra-arcuate ligament (QLB-LSAL) in this surgical context is unclear. Here, we aimed to compare postoperative analgesic effects of the two block approaches in laparoscopic nephrectomy. ⋯ The results indicate that, compared to TQLB, QLB-LSAL is a beneficial nerve block that can reduce postoperative opioid consumption, making it a potentially superior approach to achieve multimodal analgesia after laparoscopic nephrectomy.
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To determine whether obesity status is associated with perioperative complications, discharge outcomes and hospital length of stay in older surgical patients. ⋯ Obesity class 2-3 status has prognostic value in predicting an increased incidence of postoperative complications, increased hospital LOS, and non-home discharge location. These results have important clinical implications for preoperative informed consent and provide areas to target for care improvement for the older obese individual.
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Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage causing a pseudomeningocele is a well-recognized complication after spine surgery. It presents as a recurrence of low-back pain, radiculopathy, subcutaneous swelling, symptoms of intracranial hypotension, and delayed myelopathy. ⋯ We report a case of iatrogenic thoracic pseudomeningocele, successfully treated with dual therapeutic intervention (CSF aspiration and EBP) using an ultrasound. This minimally-invasive intervention helped our patient resolve symptoms, avoid radiation, and make it cost-effective by avoiding surgical intervention and polypharmacy of general anesthesia.