Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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Pulmonary aspiration is an adverse event with high morbidity and mortality. Despite fasting for > 8 hr, some patients still have residual gastric volume and are thus at risk of aspiration. We aimed to determine the accuracy of gastric ultrasound in assessing residual gastric content in patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. ⋯ Ultrasonography was an effective way to assess residual gastric content, which can help improve patient safety.
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Same-day mobilization and early hospital discharge is increasingly emphasized following hip and knee arthroplasty. One challenge of spinal anesthesia in this setting is achieving adequate block height while avoiding excessively large local anesthetic doses and prolonged motor and sensory blockade. Using a hypobaric local anesthetic solution is one potential strategy, as its intrathecal distribution can be reliably manipulated by patient positioning to achieve adequate block height independent of dose. ⋯ The anesthetic profiles of low-dose hypobaric mepivacaine and bupivacaine were favorable for fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty with short and predictable operating times.
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Approximately 320 million surgeries occur annually worldwide, increasingly performed on an ageing, comorbid population in whom postoperative complications contribute significantly to mortality. While anesthesiologists have led advances in perioperative care, the optimal structure of the provision of postoperative care has lacked discourse. ⋯ We discuss case vignettes to illustrate common examples of how the APOS enabled early detection and treatment escalation for deteriorating patients and provide a focused narrative literature review. The anesthesiology-led perioperative outreach model described herein could provide an implementable framework for institutions seeking to enhance their quality of postoperative care-particularly among complex, comorbid patients at risk of postoperative morbidity.
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Multicenter Study
The implementation of preoperative optimization in British Columbia: a quality improvement initiative.
Surgical patient optimization is a proactive approach to improve postoperative outcomes. This article reviews the development of the Surgical Patient Optimization Collaborative, an initiative supporting preoperative optimization in British Columbia, Canada. ⋯ Preoperative optimization programs were successfully implemented across multiple sites in British Columbia. High-quality clinical outcome analyses are still needed to determine the impact of preoperative optimization on postoperative outcomes. The insight gained from the Collaborative's implementation process may help inform future multicentre preoperative optimization efforts.