Current opinion in anaesthesiology
-
Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Oct 2017
ReviewThe European society of regional anesthesia and pain therapy and the American society of regional anesthesia and pain medicine joint committee practice advisory on controversial topics in pediatric regional anesthesia I and II: what do they tell us?
To summarize the two recent sets of European and American Societies of Regional Anesthesia (ESRA-ASRA) Practice Advisory Guidelines for the performance of pediatric regional anesthesia (PRA). ⋯ Following an extensive literature search and an evidence-based approach the ESRA-ASRA task force have now provided a practice advisory on the following hot topics in PRA: the safety and appropriateness of placing block during general anesthesia or deep sedation, the use of test dosing, whether to use air or saline when performing loss-of-resistance, the risk of masking an acute compartment syndrome by use of PRA, dosing of local anesthetics for neuroaxial nerve blocks as well as peripheral nerve blocks, and finally the use of various drugs as adjuncts to local anesthetics.
-
Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2017
ReviewThe future of nonoperating room anesthesia in the 21st century: emphasis on quality and safety.
Nonoperating room anesthesia (NORA) has grown from an insignificant percentage of total anesthesia cases into a major percentage of anesthesia workload over the past 30 years. This trend evidences no signs of abating. ⋯ It may be anticipated that in the next decade that NORA cases will constitute over 50% of the number of cases performed with anesthesia involvement. As the last century belonged to invasive surgery, the next century will belong to interventionalists. There is also an increasing national emphasis on quality measurement and metrics reporting. Future anesthesia payment models under Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, such as merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS), emphasize various process and outcomes measures. Anesthesiologists will be evaluated based on a composite performance score consisting of four components: quality, resource use, clinical practice improvement activities and meaningful use of certified electronic health record technology.
-
Procedures are increasingly being performed in the acute care setting, outside of the operating rooms (OR). This article aims to review the current literature on out-of-OR procedural sedation with a focus on the ICU and emergency department, highlighting the following topics: multidisciplinary team approach, choice of pharmacologic agent, sedation scales, current safety guidelines, anticipating complications, appropriate monitoring and necessary resources. ⋯ Multimodal/synergistic sedation under a multidisciplinary team provides the best patient satisfaction. Collection and analysis of physiological data and outcomes of patients undergoing procedural sedation is necessary to maintain compliance with regulatory bodies. There is a paucity of comprehensive guidelines for conducting research in procedural sedation; therefore, it is being currently addressed by the Sedation Consortium.
-
Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2017
ReviewWorking toward quality in obstetric anesthesia: a business approach.
Physicians are increasingly required to demonstrate that they provide quality care. How does one define quality? A significant body of literature in industries outside of health care provides guidance on how to define appropriate metrics, create teams to troubleshoot problem areas, and sustain those improvements. ⋯ The review will discuss the process for creating an effective quality program for an obstetric anesthesia division. Sustainable improvements in delivered care need to be based on an evaluation of service line needs, defining appropriate metrics, understanding current process flows, changing and measuring those processes, and developing mechanisms to ensure the new processes are maintained.
-
Epidural analgesia remains a widely used analgesic technique. This article aims to assess the safety of epidural analgesia by balancing efficacy and complications, of epidural analgesia for acute, labor and chronic pain. ⋯ Epidural analgesia for obstetric analgesic purposes is considered to be well tolerated in young, healthy women, since efficacy has been proven and complications leading to permanent neurological damage seldomly occur. Safety of epidural analgesia for perioperative and chronic pain treatment is more difficult to balance; careful selection of appropriate patients cannot be over-emphasized.