Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Apr 2022
ReviewHealthcare disparities in trauma: why they exist and what we can do.
This review will explore the underlying causes of healthcare disparities among trauma patients and offer considerations for reducing inequities to improve trauma care. ⋯ Race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and access to healthcare drive outcome disparity among trauma patients. These disparities include reduced healthcare services, inadequate pain management, reduced postdischarge care, and increased mortality. Increasing workforce diversity may mitigate implicit bias and improve cultural competency. Social determinants of health impact the disparities in trauma care and offer a framework to address care through creative solutions.
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The physiologically difficult airway is one in which physiologic alterations in the patient increase the risk for cardiorespiratory and other complications during tracheal intubation and transition to positive pressure ventilation. This review will summarize the recent literature around the emerging concept of the physiologically difficult airway, describe its relevance and various patient types in which this entity is observed. ⋯ Understanding the physiological alterations and the risks involved in patients with a physiologically difficult airway is necessary to optimize the physiology and adopt strategies to avoid complications during tracheal intubation. Further research will help us better understand the optimal strategies to improve outcomes in these patients.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Apr 2022
ReviewWhole blood use in trauma resuscitation: targeting prehospital transfusion.
Trauma resuscitation management has evolved over the years with a more nuanced understanding of the injured patient's physiologic state of shock. The purpose of this review is to discuss the role of whole blood administration in the prehospital setting in the resuscitation of the trauma patient. ⋯ The timing of resuscitation and its components deserve special attention when improving outcomes for trauma patients requiring massive transfusion.
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COVID-19 pandemic has created profound ethical challenges, not only for clinical decision-making but also for defining physician professional conduct. ⋯ There is a need to redefine existing medical professionalism standards so that future healthcare professionals are well prepared to deal with similar public health crisis.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Apr 2022
ReviewThe efficacy of apneic oxygenation to prevent hypoxemia during rapid sequence intubation in trauma patients.
Rapid and effective airway management is priority for trauma patients. Trauma patients are often at an increased risk of experiencing hypoxia, and thus at increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Apneic oxygenation has been widely debated but has been reported to provide benefit in terms of increased peri-intubation oxygen saturation and decreased rates of desaturation. This review aims to evaluate the current literature on the efficacy of apneic oxygenation in the setting of rapid sequence intubation (RSI) in trauma patients. ⋯ The use of apneic oxygenation can play an important role in preventing hypoxic events in trauma patients undergoing RSI. The use of apneic oxygenation is cheap, and should be considered to reduce hypoxemic events. Additional studies are required to see the effects of apneic oxygenation on outcomes in trauma patients undergoing RSI, specifically desaturation and hypoxemic events and duration, and early onset mortality.