Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2013
ReviewThe Use of Cognitive Aids During Emergencies in Anesthesia: A Review of the Literature.
Cognitive aids are prompts designed to help users complete a task or series of tasks. They may take the form of posters, flowcharts, checklists, or even mnemonics. It has been suggested that the use of cognitive aids improves performance and patient outcomes during anesthetic emergencies; however, a systematic assessment of the evidence is lacking. ⋯ Cognitive aids should continue to be developed from established clinical guidelines where guidelines exist. They would also benefit from more extensive simulation-based usability testing before use. Further evidence is required to explore the effects of cognitive aids in anesthetic emergencies, how they affect team function, and their design considerations.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA Comparison Between the Bonfils Intubation Fiberscope and McCoy Laryngoscope for Tracheal Intubation in Patients with a Simulated Difficult Airway.
The Bonfils Intubation Fibrescope (Bonfils) and the McCoy laryngoscope (McCoy) are airway devices designed to assist tracheal intubation in difficult cases. Individually, both the Bonfils and McCoy have demonstrated superiority to the Macintosh laryngoscope in a simulated difficult airway. In this study, we compared the Bonfils with the McCoy laryngoscope in patients whose tracheal intubation had been intentionally hindered. Our primary hypothesis was that there is a significant difference in the rate of success for tracheal intubation when using the Bonfils or McCoy laryngoscope in patients with an intentionally hindered airway. ⋯ In the hands of trained operators, there appears to be no clinically significant difference in success, time to intubation, or adverse outcomes, when comparing the Bonfils with the McCoy laryngoscope, in the setting of a simulated difficult airway. The choice to use either device should remain based on appropriate patient selection, available aids, individual operator's experience, and economic circumstances.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialLiposomal Bupivacaine as a Single-Injection Peripheral Nerve Block: A Dose-Response Study.
Currently available local anesthetics approved for single-injection peripheral nerve blocks have a maximum duration of <24 hours. A liposomal bupivacaine formulation (EXPAREL, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., San Diego, CA), releasing bupivacaine over 96 hours, recently gained Food and Drug Administration approval exclusively for wound infiltration but not peripheral nerve blocks. ⋯ The results of this investigation suggest that deposition of a liposomal bupivacaine formulation adjacent to the femoral nerve results in a partial sensory and motor block of >24 hours for the highest doses examined. However, the high variability of block magnitude among subjects and inverse relationship of dose and response magnitude attests to the need for a phase 3 study with a far larger sample size, and that these results should be viewed as suggestive, requiring confirmation in a future trial.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialA Phase Ib, Dose-Finding Study of Multiple Doses of Remimazolam (CNS 7056) in Volunteers Undergoing Colonoscopy.
We performed the first multiple dose study of remimazolam designed to assess both the feasibility of maintaining suitable sedation during colonoscopy and reversing the sedative effects of remimazolam with flumazenil. ⋯ Remimazolam has the attributes of a sedative drug, with success rates comparable with recent studies of other drugs. Remimazolam provided adequate sedation in 33 of 44 subjects undergoing colonoscopy, and its sedative effects were easily reversed with flumazenil.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA Comparison of Quincke and Whitacre Needles with Respect to Risk of Intravascular Uptake in S1 Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injections: A Randomized Trial of 1376 Cases.
Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is a useful treatment modality for pain management. Most complications of TFESI are minor and transient. However, there is a risk of serious complications such as nerve injury, spinal cord infarct, or paraplegia. Some of the risks are related to direct injury to the vessel or intravascular injection of the particulate steroid. We prospectively tested the hypothesis that the intravascular injection rate of the Whitacre needle is lower than that of the Quincke needle during TFESI. ⋯ To reduce the risk of intravascular injection, the use of Whitacre needles without intrasacral bone contact may be a safer and more effective approach.