Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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While the operating room (OR) has significantly benefited from aviation strategies to improve safety, the rate of avoidable human errors remains relatively high. One key aviation strategy that has yet to be formally established in the OR is the "sterile cockpit" rule, which prohibits all non-essential behaviours during critical moments of a flight. Applying this rule to the OR may enhance patient safety, but the critical moments of surgery need to be defined first. ⋯ By defining the most critical moments of surgery, future research can determine the relative importance of behaviour and actions at each stage and target interventions to these stages.
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Despite the popularity of the erector spinae plane (ESP) block, both the mechanism of the block and the extent of injectate spread is unclear. This study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate the spread of local anesthetic injectate following ESP blocks in six patients with pain. ⋯ Our study showed that the ESP block injectate consistently spread to the erector spinae muscles, neural foramina, and intercostal space. It was associated with sensory changes and pain relief in the dorsal and ventral thoracic and abdominal walls. Nevertheless, the extent of spread to the neural foramina and intercostal space, and the sensory block itself, was highly variable.