British journal of anaesthesia
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Patients worldwide die every year from unrecognised oesophageal intubation, which is an avoidable complication of airway management usually resulting from human error. Unrecognised oesophageal intubation can occur in any patient of any age whenever intubation occurs regardless of the seniority or experience of the airway practitioner or others involved in the patient's airway management. The tragic fact is that it continues to happen despite improvements in monitoring, airway devices, and medical education. We review these improvements with strategies to eliminate this problem.
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Editorial Comment
Changes in healthcare utilisation after surgical treatment: mitigating risk through multidisciplinary and collaborative care.
A recent study by Fowler and colleagues identified increased utilisation of healthcare resources among patients, mostly from deprived social areas with chronic diseases, undergoing emergency and high-risk surgery. Reasons for these findings include the intrinsic risk of surgery, postoperative complications, and the need for chronically ill patients to have their usual treatment resumed after surgery. To improve the overall outcome of surgery in this category of patients, a number of elements in the process of care should be adjusted. This includes minimising the number of emergency procedures and enhancing collaboration between all healthcare professionals inside and outside hospitals.
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Reproductive health is an active area of practice and research for anaesthetists, intensivists, and pain medicine specialists. The purpose of the British Journal of Anaesthesia is to promote the health, welfare, and safety of all persons by disseminating knowledge to further our understanding of anaesthetic principles and improve practice and skills. This includes supporting safe abortion care as an integral part of safe reproductive health.