Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Jan 2021
ReviewTraining and Accreditation Pathways in Critical Care and Perioperative Echocardiography.
In recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in the use of echocardiography in perioperative and critical care medicine. It is now recommended widely as a first-line diagnostic tool when approaching patients in shock, due to its ability to identify shock etiology and response to treatment noninvasively. To match the increasing training demand, and to ensure maintenance of high-quality and reproducible scanning, several accreditation pathways have been developed worldwide. ⋯ Currently, the use of transoesophageal echocardiography remains restricted largely to cardiothoracic anesthesia and critical care; however, its use in the general intensive care setting is growing. This narrative review summarizes the most common training pathways, their curricula, and accreditation requirements. The authors initially focus on echocardiography training in the United Kingdom, and then go on to describe similar international accreditations available in Europe, North America, and Australasia.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Jan 2021
ReviewThe Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology Section of STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database: 2020 Update on Quality and Outcomes.
The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, in partnership with The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, has developed the Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology Section of the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. The goal of this landmark collaboration is to advance clinical care, quality, and knowledge, and to demonstrate the value of cardiac anesthesiology in the perioperative care of cardiac surgical patients. Participation in the Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology Section has been optional since its inception in 2014 but has progressively increased. ⋯ In this first update report on quality and outcomes of the Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology Section, we present an overview of the clinically significant anesthesia and surgical variables submitted between 2015 and 2018. Our review provides a summary of quality measures and outcomes related to the current practice of cardiothoracic anesthesiology. We also emphasize the potential for addressing high-impact research questions as data accumulate, with the overall goal of elucidating the influence of cardiac anesthesiology contributions to patient outcomes within the framework of the cardiac surgical team.