Anaesthesia
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The rate of anaesthetic gas uptake from the breathing system has been extensively measured, but this does not reflect the true rate of early gas uptake by pulmonary blood, which drives inhalational induction of anaesthesia. In eight patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery, we measured the rate of alveolar-capillary uptake of anaesthetic gases up to 30 min following introduction of 0.5% sevoflurane and 33% nitrous oxide using the reverse Fick method, in which blood partial pressures were measured using a headspace equilibration technique. ⋯ Measured rates of sevoflurane and nitrous oxide uptake from the breathing system agreed well with previously described formulae when adjusted for inspired concentration. The time course of alveolar-capillary gas uptake followed a characteristic rising curve peaking at 3-4 min and then exponentially declining, and for nitrous oxide was significantly higher than previously estimated.
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The incident reporting database at the National Patient Safety Agency was interrogated on the nature, frequency and severity of incidents related to anaesthesia. Of 12,606 reports over a 2-year period, 2842 (22.5%) resulted in little harm or a moderate degree of harm, and 269 (2.1%) resulted in severe harm or death, with procedure or treatment problems generating the highest risk. ⋯ This preliminary analysis is not authoritative enough to warrant widespread changes of practice, but justifies future collaborative approaches to reduce the potential for harm and improve the submission, collection and analysis of incident reports. Practitioners, departments and professional bodies should consider how the information can be used to promote patient safety and their own defensibility.