Anesthesiology Commons^™

Simulation To Reduce Medical Errors And Improve Patient Safety In Anesthesia, Matthew Leblanc

Nurse Anesthesia Student Capstones

Over the past two decades, simulation in medical education has been adopted by health education programs and established as a proven method of education for health care students and providers. Despite the addition of simulation to healthcare education, medical errors are ranked as the third leading cause of death in the United States. The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the translation of simulation education into increased patient safety and reduction of medical errors in anesthesia. Overall, the literature reviewed confirms that simulation can be used to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety. Additional correlational research between …

Dexmedetomidine Use And Various Techniques Of Administration To Reduce Emergence Delirium In Pediatric Surgical Patients Undergoing General Anesthesia With Volatile Agents, Sara K. Dusza

Nurse Anesthesia Student Capstones

This analysis of literature evaluated retrospective chart reviews and randomized controlled trials of school aged children undergoing surgical procedures necessitating general anesthesia with volatile inhalant anesthetic agents. These studies assessed and compared the efficacy of various routes and timing of administration of dexmedetomidine as a pre-medication to determine the most effective technique in reducing the incidence of postoperative emergence delirium (ED). ED presents as a transient, acute episode of delirium occurring during the transition from unconsciousness to complete wakefulness after general anesthesia with anesthetic gases. The results of this review suggested that pediatric patients treated with intranasal dexmedetomidine preoperatively experienced …

Treating Post-Dural Puncture Headaches: Sphenopalatine Block, Cosyntropin And Epidural Blood Patch, Amalia Zychowicz

Nurse Anesthesia Student Capstones

Post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) is a severe and debilitating complication that can occur following neuraxial anesthesia. Obstetric patients are at an increased risk for this complication due to their gender, young age, and widespread use of neuraxial anesthesia. A hallmark sign of PDPH is a postural headache that improves when lying down and worsens when sitting or standing. It requires prompt diagnosis and treatment due to its incapacitating effects. The gold-standard treatment for PDPH is an epidural blood patch (EBP). However, this is an invasive procedure with multiple contraindications and the potential for severe complications. Noninvasive, more conservative therapies such …

Sugammadex Versus Neostigmine In Reducing Postoperative Adverse Effects In The Pediatric Population, Robert Vieto Jr.

Nurse Anesthesia Student Capstones

Neostigmine and sugammadex are two medications used to reverse the neuromuscular blockade caused by nondepolarizing aminosteroidal neuromuscular blocking agents. Research has shown an association between the use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, such as neostigmine, and residual neuromuscular blockade in pediatric patients. Sugammadex has been shown to reduce residual neuromuscular blockade in adults without adverse effects, but minimal research has been performed on the effects of sugammadex in the pediatric population. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to compare sugammadex and neostigmine to determine if using sugammadex instead of neostigmine reduces postoperative adverse effects in the pediatric population. A systematic, …

Basic Airway Management For Non-Anesthesia Operating Room Personnel: Education Implementation, Dylan Ouellette

Nurse Anesthesia Student Capstones

A review of basic airway management for non-anesthesia personnel is presented. Included is a literature review of 20 articles surrounding the most current literature on preoperative airway assessment, cricoid pressure, video laryngoscopy, adjuncts for airway management, and airway management education for non-anesthesia health-care personnel. Following the review, an in-service style education presentation was developed and implemented at two sites in Maine. A pre- and post-test evaluation of the participants demonstrated an overall increase in test scores of 22%.

Anesthetic Implications Of Intraarterial Chemotherapy For Retinoblastoma: A Literature Review, Marguerite Mullin

Nurse Anesthesia Student Capstones

Retinoblastoma (RB) is a rare pediatric cancer commonly diagnosed in patients at a very young age. New therapies for this disease are emerging that involve some degree of sedation, requiring anesthesia providers to be involved in their care. Intraarterial chemotherapy (IAC) is one of these new exciting treatment options and requires general anesthesia. Multiple studies and case reports have reported a sudden decrease in pulmonary compliance during IAC for RB and attribute this response to the trigemino-cardiac reflex (TCR). Once this event occurs, patients experience associated hypoxemia, hypotension, bradycardia, and cardiovascular collapse. A systematic literature review was aimed at educating …

Exparel Versus Bupivacaine: Outcomes, Advantages, And Costs, Jessica Duraney

Nurse Anesthesia Student Capstones

Research shows that adequate pain control is associated with increased patient satisfaction, faster rehabilitation, mobilization, reduced hospital stays, and ultimately decreased hospital costs. Due to the many disadvantages of opioids, such as ileus, nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, tolerance, and physical dependence, there has been a push for opioid-sparing and multimodal analgesia perioperatively. The purpose of this paper is to compare two local anesthetics, bupivacaine and Exparel (liposomal bupivacaine). The use of these drugs in various regional techniques, specifically for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and abdominal surgeries, will be discussed.

Reducing Anesthesia Workstation Contamination, Taryn Giese

Nurse Anesthesia Student Capstones

Healthcare-associated infections are a source of morbidity and mortality in the United States and have been shown to be more preventable than current incidence. Anesthesia providers may be a source of and vector for some of these infections. Nurse anesthetists provide direct individual care for numerous patients daily, managing airways and invasive devices that contaminate hands with secretions which then may be transferred to the anesthesia workstation. Due to its complexity, the anesthesia machine is difficult to thoroughly clean and may become a reservoir for contaminants.

The purpose of this paper will be to examine new interventions being explored to …

Exparel Versus Bupivacaine: Outcomes, Advantages, And Costs, Jessica Duraney

Nurse Anesthesia Student Research Posters

Research poster comparing two local anesthetics, bupivacaine and Exparel (liposomal bupivacaine). The use of these drugs in various regional techniques, specifically for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and abdominal surgeries, is discussed. Research shows that adequate pain control is associated with increased patient satisfaction, faster rehabilitation, mobilization, reduced hospital stays, and ultimately decreased hospital costs. Due to the many disadvantages of opioids, such as ileus, nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, tolerance, and physical dependence, there has been a push for opioid-sparing and multimodal analgesia perioperatively.

Malignant Hyperthermia For The Nurse Anesthetist, Victor Clark

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) is a rare, autosomal dominant skeletal muscle disorder that can have an insidious onset in susceptible patients exposed to the triggering agents succinylcholine, halothane, desflurane, sevoflurane, and isoflurane. MH can occur in patients who have received anesthesia with these agents in the past (Nagelhout & Plaus, 2018, p 775). Patients with a family history of MH or associated skeletal muscle disorder must be treated as MH-susceptible until proven otherwise. Failure to detect an MH crisis can lead to kidney failure, profound acidosis, coagulopathies, rhabdomyolysis, cardiac dysrhythmias, cardiovascular collapse, and death (Seifert et al., 2015). It is the …

In Response To Letter Title "Immediate Hemodynamic And Gaseous Exchange Effect Of Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure After Cardiac Surgery: Our Insight To Hamid Et Al.'S Study", Mohammad Hamid, Mohammad Irfan Akhtar, Saba Ahmed

Department of Anaesthesia

No abstract provided.

Quality Assurance In Competency Training Of Pre-Anesthesia Consultation Skills, Michelle Wong

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The absence of quality assurance in training clinicians to perform pre-anesthesia consultations at a Canadian university is the Problem of Practice addressed in this Organizational Improvement Plan. This competency requires learners to apply their anesthesia knowledge to take medical histories; perform physical examinations; diagnose anesthetic risks; and generate anesthesia plans. Random chart audits of many learners identify deficiencies and suggest inconsistent training of this competency. This Organizational Improvement Plan analyzes the anesthesia program’s organizational context to be a complex adaptive system; organizational structure to be a hierarchy; and organizational state to be static. Through the paradigms of complexity theory, interpretivism, …

Twin Pregnancy Complicated By Intrauterine Death Of One Fetus And Herniated Bowel Loops Over Gravid Uterus, Malika Hameed, Khalid Ahsan

Department of Anaesthesia

No abstract provided.

Development Of Interdisciplinary Communication Tools To Improve Handoffs For Emergent Airway Management, Aaron Ocker, Do, Daniel Katz, Do, Jason Kopenitz, Do, Daniel Casey, Alexander Olson, Anna Rabinowitz, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

Project goal

Improve response time from airway alert to intubation while ensuring pertinent critical patient information is communicated to the airway team to reduce negative patient outcomes and better mobilize anesthesia resources.

Creation Of A Dedicated Anesthesia Airway Cart For Use In High-Volume Covid-19 Airway Management, Anna Rabinowitz, Alexander M. Olson, Daniel Casey, Elaine Kilmartin

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

The COVID-19-specific approach to intubation required a change in the team structure and workflow for emergent airway management.

1. New need for bulky PPE and the introduction of an aerosol barrier shield for emergent intubations
2. Higher volume of intubations and use of videolaryngoscopy requires additional equipment
3. Concern for Code Cart contamination and wastage of airway equipment
4. Desire for more efficient approach to selecting and customizing equipment

Development And Implementation Of A Covid-19 Specific Peri-Operative Workflow For Anesthesia Providers, Alexander Olson, David Maguire, David Gratch, Dietrich Gravenstein, Michael Mahla, Anna Rabinowitz

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

What's the Problem?

• Needed to develop and clarify the use of PPE in the COVID-19 era
• New considerations for infection control in OR
• Unique airway equipment and filter placement considerations
• Potential shortages of equipment and medications, need for conservation
• Need to incorporate human factors principles into protocol release and procedural compliance

We realized that there was no standard protocol for these functions existing in a visually compelling graphic form for wide distribution throughout anesthesia care areas, and sought to create one.

Initiatives In Anesthesia Workspace Hygiene During Covid-19: The Gray Airway Basin And The Epic Hand Hygiene Event, Anna Rabinowitz, Kent Berg, Daniel Casey, Dietrich Gravenstein

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

What’s the Problem?

The COVID-19 Pandemic has highlighted the need for anesthesia providers to decrease workspace contamination, particularly during and after airway management.

Delineation of “clean” and “dirty” spaces in the anesthesia workplace has been historically challenging, but the heightened awareness of microbial contamination presents a new opportunity to effect behavioral change among staff.

Anesthesiologist-Led Covid-19 Airway Training Skills Session To Teach Novel Team Approach And Workflow, Anna Rabinowitz, Daniel Casey, Elaine Kilmartin

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

What’s the Problem?

Intubation is an aerosol-generating procedure that poses a significant infectious risk to the operator in the COVID-19 era, where the volume of intubations was expected to increase dramatically. Following national anesthesia societal and organizational recommendations regarding best practices to decrease risk of viral transmission, a new 3-person airway team approach was developed. Additions to the preexisting airway management workflow included an aerosol-containing intubation shield, a new breathing circuit configuration incorporating HEPA filtration, and the use of unfamiliar PPE, all of which required mastery of a complex sequence of events surrounding the patient encounter. This high-stakes workflow was …

Telogen Effluvium: A Review Of The Literature, Fahham Asghar, Nazia Shamim, Umar Farooque, Haris Sheikh, Ramsha Aqeel

Department of Anaesthesia

Telogen effluvium is one of the most common causes of alopecia. It is a scalp disorder characterized by excessive shedding of hair. Several factors such as drugs, trauma, and emotional and physiological stress can lead to the development of telogen effluvium. Multiple alterations in the hair cycle have been proposed as the underlying mechanism. Telogen effluvium can present as acute or chronic hair fall with symptoms such as trichodynia. Diagnostic tests that can be used include hair wash test, trichogram, phototrichogram, and scalp biopsy. In the treatment of telogen effluvium, it is essential to identify and remove the causative factors …

Managing Acute Pain In Hiv+/Aids Patients: Knowledge And Practice Trends Among Emergency Physicians Of Major Tertiary Care Centers Of A Developing Country, Aliya Ahmed, Gauhar Afshan, Robyna Irshad Khan, Badar Afzal Khan, Seemin Jamali, Nighat Farooq, Sarosh Saleem, Rubaba Naeem, Uzma R. Khan

Department of Anaesthesia

Objective: To assess knowledge and practice trends in managing acute pain in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV+) or having acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among emergency physicians of four tertiary care hospitals. Acute pain management in such patients is complex because of multiple concomitant painful conditions related to their disease. After obtaining ethical approval and written informed consent, emergency physicians were requested to fill out a questionnaire.
Results: Out of 84 physicians who participated, 49 had managed HIV+/AIDS patients during the preceding year. Out of the 49, 30 (61.2%) physicians stated that they used a combination of analgesics for …