• Jean-Baptiste Hardy, Antoine Gouin, Cédric Damm, Vincent Compère, Benoît Veber, and Bertrand Dureuil.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Rouen University Hospital, rue de Germont, 76000 Rouen, France. Electronic address: jeanbaptistehardy@hotmail.fr.
• Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med. 2018 Feb 1; 37 (1): 17-23.

BackgroundAnaesthesiologists may occasionally manage life-threatening operating room (OR) emergencies. Managing OR emergencies implies real-time analysis of often complicated situations, prompt medical knowledge retrieval, coordinated teamwork and effective decision making in stressful settings. Checklists are recommended to improve performance and reduce the risk of medical errors. This study aimed to assess the usefulness of the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care's (SFAR) "Malignant Hyperthermia" (MH) checklist on a simulated episode of MH crisis and management thereof by registered anesthesiologists.MethodsTwenty-four anaesthesiologists were allocated to 2 groups (checklist and control). Their technical performance in adherence with the SFAR guidelines was assessed by a 30-point score and their non-technical performance was assessed by the Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) score. Every task completion was assessed independently. Data are shown as median (first-third quartiles).ResultsAnaesthesiologists in the checklist group had higher technical performance scores (24/30 (21.5-25) vs 18/30 (15.5-19.5), P=0.002) and ANTS scores (56.5/60 (47.5-58) vs 48.5/60 (41-50.5), P=0.024). They administered the complete initial dose of dantrolene (2mg/kg) more quickly (15.7 minutes [13.9-18.3] vs 22.4 minutes [18.6-25]) than the control group (P=0.017). However, anaesthesiologists deemed the usability of the checklist to be perfectible.ConclusionRegistered anaesthesiologists' use of the MH checklist during a simulation session widely improved their adherence to guidelines and non-technical skills. This study strongly suggests the benefit of checklist tools for emergency management. Notwithstanding, better awareness and training for anaesthesiologists could further improve the use of this tool.Copyright © 2017 Société française d'anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

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