Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Sep 2018
Population Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Dexmedetomidine in Children Undergoing Ambulatory Surgery.
Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is an α-2 adrenergic agonist with sedative and analgesic properties. Although not approved for pediatric use by the Food and Drug Administration, DEX is increasingly used in pediatric anesthesia and critical care. However, very limited information is available regarding the pharmacokinetics of DEX in children. The aim of this study was to investigate DEX pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK-PD) in Mexican children 2-18 years of age who were undergoing outpatient surgical procedures. ⋯ Our results suggest that in Mexican children 2-18 years of age with American Society of Anesthesiologists score of I/II, the DEX dose should be adjusted in accordance with lower DEX clearance.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Sep 2018
Promoting a Restrictive Intraoperative Transfusion Strategy: The Influence of a Transfusion Guideline and a Novel Software Tool.
The effect of neither transfusion guidelines nor decision support tools on intraoperative transfusion has been previously evaluated. The University of Michigan introduced a transfusion guideline in 2009, and in 2011, the Department of Anesthesiology developed a transfusion decision support tool. The primary aim of this study was to assess the associations of the transfusion guideline and the optional use of the software transfusion tool with intraoperative behaviors; pretransfusion hematocrit assessment (whether or not a hematocrit was checked before each red cell unit) and restrictive red cell use (withholding transfusion unless the hematocrit was ≤21%). ⋯ The introduction of a transfusion guideline was independently associated with increased intraoperative pretransfusion hematocrit assessment and restrictive transfusion. The use of a software tool did not further influence either behavior.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Sep 2018
A Simulation Study to Evaluate Improvements in Anesthesia Work Environment Contamination After Implementation of an Infection Prevention Bundle.
Microbiological contamination of the anesthesia work environment (AWE) is a potential source of health care-associated infections. Medication syringes, stopcocks, and many other areas are routinely contaminated during anesthetic care, and adherence to hand hygiene recommendations is poor. Using a simulation model, we investigated whether AWE contamination could be reduced by implementing an intervention bundle focused on infection prevention. ⋯ Our results support the concept of an infection prevention bundle in reducing AWE contamination. Anesthesia providers deliver care in a unique environment in which "clean" and "contaminated" tasks are performed rapidly and often in parallel. Linking hand hygiene to specific high-impact tasks such as administering medications, designating areas for contaminated equipment, and double gloving before airway management are simple steps that can be implemented rapidly and are compatible with timely patient care. Our study has improved awareness of infection prevention issues in our department, and has highlighted simple and achievable actions that have the potential to reduce health care-associated infections.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Sep 2018
Incidence and Risk Factors for Perioperative Cardiovascular and Respiratory Adverse Events in Pediatric Patients With Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Noncardiac Procedures.
While mortality and adverse perioperative events after noncardiac surgery in children with a broad range of congenital cardiac lesions have been investigated using large multiinstitutional databases, to date single-center studies addressing adverse outcomes in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing noncardiac surgery have only included small numbers of patients with significant heart disease. The primary objective of this study was to determine the incidences of perioperative cardiovascular and respiratory events in a large cohort of patients from a single institution with a broad range of congenital cardiac lesions undergoing noncardiac procedures and to determine risk factors for these events. ⋯ Intraoperative cardiovascular events and respiratory events in patients with CHD were relatively common. While cardiovascular events were highly associated with cardiovascular status, respiratory events were not associated with cardiovascular status.