European journal of anaesthesiology
-
Multicenter Study Controlled Clinical Trial
Implementing situation-background-assessment-recommendation in an anaesthetic clinic and subsequent information retention among receivers: A prospective interventional study of postoperative handovers.
Communication errors cause clinical incidents and adverse events in relation to surgery. To ensure proper postoperative patient care, it is essential that personnel remember and recall information given during the handover from the operating theatre to the postanaesthesia care unit. Formalizing the handover may improve communication and aid memory, but research in this area is lacking. ⋯ Compared with the comparison group with no intervention, when SBAR was implemented in an anaesthetic clinic, we were unable to show any improvement in recalled information among receivers following postoperative handover.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Tizanidine for the management of acute postoperative pain after inguinal hernia repair: A placebo-controlled double-blind trial.
α2-Agonists are used postoperatively as a component of multimodal analgesia. Tizanidine is a centrally acting α2-agonist with muscle relaxant properties. ⋯ The addition of tizanidine to the postoperative pain therapy after herniorrhaphy decreased postoperative pain and analgesic consumption and improved return to normal activity and quality of life.
-
Postoperative pain has been poorly managed for decades. Recent surveys from USA and Europe do not show any major improvement. Persistent postoperative pain is common after most surgical procedures, and after thoracotomy and mastectomy, about 50% of patients may experience it. ⋯ Procedure-specific postoperative pain management recommendations are evidence based, and also take into consideration the role of anaesthetic and surgical techniques, clinical routines and risk-benefit aspects. The role of acute pain services to improve pain management and outcome is well accepted but implementation seems challenging. The need for upgrading the role of surgical ward nurses and collaboration with surgeons to implement enhanced recovery after surgery protocols with regular audits to improve postoperative outcome cannot be overstated.
-
Decisions by anaesthesiologists directly impact the treatment, safety, recovery and quality of life of patients. Physical or mental collapse due to overwork or stress (burnout) in anaesthesiologists may, therefore, be expected to negatively affect patients, departments, healthcare facilities and families. ⋯ Burnout rates in Belgrade teaching hospitals among anaesthesiologists are higher than in foreign hospitals. Emotional and/or physical breakdowns can have serious effects when these individuals care for patients in extremely stressed situations that may occur perioperatively. Causes for burnout should be examined more closely and means implemented to reverse this process.