Anaesthesia
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As part of the 5th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland concerning accidental awareness during general anaesthesia, we issued a questionnaire to every consultant anaesthetist in each of 46 public hospitals in Ireland, represented by 41 local co-ordinators. The survey ascertained the number of new cases of accidental awareness becoming known to them for patients under their care or supervision for a calendar year, as well as their career experience. Consultants from all hospitals responded, with an individual response rate of 87% (299 anaesthetists). ⋯ None of the 46 hospitals had a policy to prevent or manage awareness. Similar to the results of a larger survey in the UK, the disparity between the incidence of awareness as known to anaesthetists and that reported in trials warrants explanation. Compared with UK practice, there appears to be greater use of depth of anaesthesia monitoring in Ireland, although this is still infrequent.
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High-intensity renal replacement therapy protocols in intensive care patients with acute kidney injury have failed to translate to improved patient outcomes when compared with lower-intensity protocols. This retrospective study explored the clinical and economic impacts of switching from a 30-35 ml.kg(-1) .h(-1) (high-volume) to a 20 ml.kg(-1) .h(-1) (low-volume) protocol. ⋯ A 25% reduction in daily replacement fluid usage was observed, equating to a cost saving of over £27 000 per annum. In conclusion, a switch from high- to low-volume continuous haemodiafiltration had minimal effects on clinical outcomes and resulted in marked cost savings.
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Comparative Study
The intubation scoop (i-scoop) - a new type of laryngoscope for difficult and normal airways.
The i-scoop is an intubation device with a curved guiding bar with laterally located lenses at its tip, rather than a blade. Twenty-five anaesthesiologists intubated a manikin that simulated first a normal and then a difficult airway. All participants were able to intubate the difficult airway with a good view of the glottis using the i-scoop. ⋯ Advance DAB (n = 1) and the GlideScope DL Trainer (n = 1) (p < 0.001, success rate of i-scoop vs all 12 laryngoscopes combined). In contrast to all other videolaryngoscopes, intubation of the normal airway with the i-scoop was achieved even faster than with the Macintosh laryngoscope (p < 0.02). The i-scoop outperformed all other laryngoscopes in both difficult and normal airways, and therefore has potential as an easier and safer alternative to present devices.
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The second phase of the 5th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, concerning accidental awareness during general anaesthesia, consisted of a survey of anaesthetic activity in Ireland. A network of consultant anaesthetists co-ordinated data collection from the anaesthetic departments of 46 public and 20 independent hospitals over seven days. ⋯ General anaesthesia constituted 5621 (70%), regional anaesthesia 1404 (17%), local anaesthesia 290 (4%), sedation 618 (8%) and monitored anaesthesia care 116 (1%) of the total number of cases. This survey provides unique data regarding anaesthesia services in public and independent hospitals in Ireland.