Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomised crossover study to compare the user seal check and quantitative fit test between two types of duckbill N95 particulate respirator masks: The Halyard Fluidshield® N95 and the BSN Medical ProShield® N-95 particulate respirator masks.
N95 particulate respirator masks are currently recommended for all healthcare workers who care for patients with suspected or confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) when performing aerosol-generating procedures. The protection provided by N95 particulate respirator masks is dependent on the filter's efficiency and seal quality. In this prospective randomised crossover study, we conducted the user seal check and the quantitative fit test on two readily available duckbill models of N95 masks, the Halyard Fluidshield® N95 (Halyard, Alpharetta, GA, USA) and the BSN Medical ProShield® N-95 (BSN Medical, Mount Waverley, Victoria) particulate respirator masks. ⋯ We found that both types of masks provided reasonably high fit test pass rates among our participants and there was no significant difference between the two brands (77% for the Fluidshield and 65% for the ProShield, P = 0.916). Ninety-two percent of the participants could find at least one well-fitted mask among these two types of masks. We also demonstrated that the user seal check had low accuracy and low concordance (kappa coefficient of 0.16 for the Fluidshield and 0.08 for the ProShield) when compared to the quantitative fit test, and hence was not a reliable method to test seal quality.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2021
Review Case ReportsIatrogenic uvular injury related to airway instrumentation: A report of 13 cases from the webAIRS database and a review of uvular necrosis following inadvertent uvular injury.
Published reports of uvular necrosis are uncommon and it is possibly an under-reported complication of oropharyngeal manipulation. Uvular necrosis is thought to develop due to ischaemia secondary to mechanical compression of the uvula from oropharyngeal devices. Patients typically present with symptoms of a sore throat within 48 hours postoperatively. ⋯ While the postoperative findings varied, sore throat was the most frequent symptom. Most of the cases resolved spontaneously; the remainder with supportive treatment only. The findings suggest that patients who sustain a uvular injury can be reassured, but they should be advised to seek review early if sore throat persists or any difficulty with breathing develops.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2021
ReviewDosing of neuromuscular blocking agents in patients with obesity: A narrative review.
There is no consensus on which weight clinicians should use for weight-based dosing of neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs), as exemplified by differing or absent recommendations in clinical practice guidelines. The purpose of this paper is to review studies that evaluated various size descriptors for weight-based dosing of succinylcholine and non-depolarising NMBAs, and to provide recommendations for the descriptors of choice for the weight-based dosing of these agents in patients with obesity. All of the studies conducted to date involving depolarising and non-depolarising NMBAs in patients with obesity have assessed single doses or short-term infusions conducted in perioperative settings. Recognising that any final dosing regimen must take into account patient-specific considerations, the available evidence suggests that actual body weight is the size descriptor of choice for weight-based dosing of succinylcholine and that ideal body weight, or an adjusted (or lean) body weight, is the size descriptor of choice for weight-based dosing of non-depolarising NMBAs.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Mar 2021
Factors associated with low levels of patient satisfaction following peripheral nerve block.
Peripheral nerve blocks can provide surgical anaesthesia as well as excellent postoperative analgesia. When questioned postoperatively, however, some patients report low levels of satisfaction with their nerve block experience. At our hospital, patients undergoing regional anaesthesia have their patient characteristics, block characteristics and postoperative feedback routinely recorded in a block registry. ⋯ Only 24% (26/108) of patients who reported being 'not satisfied' stated that they would be unwilling to undergo a hypothetical future nerve block. Rebound pain of at least moderate intensity, procedural discomfort of at least moderate intensity and severe pain in the post-anaesthesia care unit are all negatively associated with patient satisfaction. Of these factors, rebound pain occurs most frequently, being present in 52% (403/777) of our respondents.