Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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Anesthesiologists work in a complex environment that is intolerant of errors. Cognitive errors, or errors in thought processes, are mistakes that a clinician makes despite 'knowing better'. Several new studies provide a better understanding of how to manage risk while making better decisions. ⋯ Effective decision-making and risk management reduce the risk of adverse events in the operating room. This article proposes several new decision-making and risk assessment tools for use in the operating room.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2012
ReviewNausea and vomiting after surgery: it is not just postoperative.
The purpose of this review is to highlight postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), to discuss why it occurs, how it might be prevented and then how it can be treated. ⋯ It is easy to turn the vapourizer dial, but that is a part of the problem. Not everyone reacts the same to drugs. Although PDNV is not as well characterized as PONV, at the very least, avoid an anaesthetic that may make PONV/PDNV worse and be aggressive in treating the problem.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2012
ReviewBlended learning in anesthesia education: current state and future model.
Educators in anesthesia residency programs across the country are facing a number of challenges as they attempt to integrate blended learning techniques in their curriculum. Compared with the rest of higher education, which has made advances to varying degrees in the adoption of online learning anesthesiology education has been sporadic in the active integration of blended learning. The purpose of this review is to discuss the challenges in anesthesiology education and relevance of the Universal Design for Learning framework in addressing them. ⋯ This review examines recent literature pertaining to this field, both in the realm of higher education in general and medical education in particular, and proposes the application of a comprehensive learning model that is new to anesthesiology education and relevant to its goals of promoting self-directed learning.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2012
ReviewRobotic anesthesia: not the realm of science fiction any more.
Robots are present in surgery, to a much lesser extent in the field of anesthesia. The purpose of this review is to show the latest and most important findings in robotic anesthesia. Moreover, this review argues the importance and utility of robots in anesthesia. ⋯ Robots can improve performance in anesthesia and healthcare. Closed-loop systems are the basis for pharmacological robots. Safe anesthetic care might be delivered through teleanesthesia whenever qualified personnel are not available or need support. Mechanical robots are being developed for anesthesia care.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2012
Review Historical ArticleHistory of anesthesia for ambulatory surgery.
Anesthesia for ambulatory surgery has come a long way since 1842 when James Venable underwent surgery for removal of a neck mass with Crawford W. Long administering ether and also being the surgeon. We examine major advances over the past century and a half. ⋯ Beyond the discovery in the mid-19th century that ether and nitrous oxide could be used to render patients unconscious during surgical procedures, subsequent developments in our specialty have added modestly, in a stepwise manner, to reduce mortality and morbidity associated with its use. These improvements have allowed us to safely meet the steadily increasing demand for ambulatory surgery.