Middle East journal of anaesthesiology
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Oct 2010
Review Case ReportsThe video laryngoscopes blind spots and possible lingual nerve injury by the Gliderite rigid stylet--case presentation and review of literature.
We report the first case of near serious lingual nerve injury in an 80-y-old female caused by the Rigid GlideScope Stylet. This complication was discovered during oral surgery and may have been missed if the site of surgery was not oral cavity.
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Jun 2010
ReviewProduction pressure, medical errors, and the pre-anesthesia checkout.
Medical errors have rightly become an important societal and professional issue. While anesthesiology as a specialty has been at the forefront of the patient safety movement it is also subject to the same pressures for efficiency as any other business. Whether this pressure is at odds with the delivery of safe care is not yet clearly delineated. ⋯ We include in this review a potential area for improvement and further research for anesthesiologists, the preanesthesia induction timeout. This crucial period of any anesthetic involves a high workload and is often the most hurried; this combination may be setting practitioners up to make errors. We suggest the use of checklists and timeouts to formalize this period and propose a useful seven-point list of crucial items and events needed before each anesthetic.
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Middle East J Anaesthesiol · Feb 2010
ReviewUpdate on anesthesia considerations for electroconvulsive therapy.
Depression is diagnosed in 14 million Americans every year, and pharmacotherapy is the standard treatment. However, in approximately 50% of patients, pharmacology intervention does not resolve depression. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been a mainstay as a treatment option for treatment-resistant major depression since its inception in the 1930s. ⋯ The clinical anesthesiologist must be aware of these changes as well as have an understanding of perioperative pharmacological interventions. ECT is a proven therapy for select psychiatric patients, and appropriate anesthesia is a critical part of successful ECT. Careful review of the patient's medical history may reveal pertinent anesthetic considerations.
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Major obstetric hemorrhage is an extremely challenging obstetric emergency associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Pharmacological treatment of uterine atony has not altered much in recent years apart from the increasing use ofmisoprostol, although controversy surrounds its advantages over other uterotonics. ⋯ Interventional radiology may reduce blood loss in these cases. Uterine compression sutures, intrauterine tamponade balloons and cell salvage have been introduced in the last decade.