Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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There is a large variation in the methods and techniques used to secure the airway in children for the purposes of diagnosis and surgery. This review gives an idea of the different ways through which this can be achieved. ⋯ There is still no consensus on how to manage these patients. Each centre has evolved a system that works for them. However, the common themes of communication between team members, attention to detail and a high level of awareness of problems run through all the articles quoted here.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Feb 2012
ReviewStrategies to reduce the use of blood products: a US perspective.
To describe the recent developments in the strategies to reduce allogeneic blood transfusions with emphasis on the impact on clinical outcomes. ⋯ Patient blood management is the timely use of safe and effective medical and surgical techniques designed to prevent anemia and decrease bleeding in an effort to improve patient outcome.
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This review is aimed at highlighting the recent developments and opportunities that are likely to impact the anesthesia team of the future. ⋯ The anesthesia team of the future will require the anesthesiologist to provide expertise across the entire domain of perioperative medicine. Meaningful decision support systems rely on accurate data analysis and incorporation of current clinical guidelines and recommendations.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2011
ReviewRevival of old local anesthetics for spinal anesthesia in ambulatory surgery.
In recent years, several older (first intrathecal use in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s) local anesthetics have been investigated as spinal anesthetics in ambulatory surgery because these drugs are claimed to cause less transient neurologic symptoms (TNS) than lidocaine which was the main spinal anesthetic for surgery of short-duration for decades. The review covers the current literature. ⋯ The newest results corroborate (at least for chloroprocaine, articaine, and prilocaine) previous data that these drugs provide reliable and mostly well tolerated spinal blocks associated with an apparently smaller risk for postanesthesic TNS as compared with lidocaine. Further studies are warranted regarding broader indications, possible usefulness of adjuvants, and for the exploration of the side-effect profiles in detail. To what extent the observed revival of these older, rather well characterized local anesthetics leads to a wider use of spinal anesthesia in the ambulatory setting remains to be seen. This is also dependent on various organizational and local traditional factors.
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This article will provide a review of mentorship in academic medicine. The review will include definitions and an overview of the evidence supporting the benefits, barriers, and structure of mentorship programmes in academic medicine and anesthesia. Finally, we will identify areas of further research. ⋯ Mentorship has been demonstrated to be an integral part of training and career development in academic medicine and benefits both mentees and mentors. Despite the promotion of mentorship in many academic anesthesia departments, little is published in the available literature supporting mentorship in anesthesia.