Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Apr 2021
ReviewProfessionalism: microaggression in the healthcare setting.
Microaggressions are daily commonplace, subtle behaviors and attitudes toward others that arise from conscious or unconscious bias. Not only can microaggressions affect one's access to power, resources, and opportunity, but they could also contribute to the persistent disparities faced by marginalized groups among healthcare professionals as well as patients. ⋯ This review offers education on the correlation of microaggression and unconscious bias to health disparities, provides tools to address microaggressions as a bystander, and outlines processes for institutional improvement.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Apr 2021
ReviewDoes thoracic epidural anaesthesia constitute over-instrumentation in video- and robotic-assisted thoracoscopic lung parenchyma resections?
Effective and sustained perioperative analgesia in thoracic surgery and pulmonary resection is beneficial to patients by reducing both postoperative pulmonary complications and the incidence of chronic pain. In this review, the indication of thoracic epidural anaesthesia in video- (VATS) and robotic-assisted (RATS) thoracoscopy shall be critically objectified and presented in a differentiated way. ⋯ Since clear evidence-based recommendations for optimal postoperative analgesia are still lacking in VATS and RATS, there can be no universal recommendation that fits all centres and patients. In this context, thoracic epidural analgesia is the most effective analgesia procedure for perioperative pain control in VATS and RATS-assisted surgery for patients with pulmonary risk factors.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Apr 2021
ReviewEnhanced Recovery After Surgery, Lean, and claims-based quality databases: how does it all make sense?
Healthcare is rapidly evolving toward value-focused objectives, integrating outcomes and cost instead of simply volume. Concepts pertaining to Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), Lean, and claims-based risk-adjusted databases can be used to optimize value, but the application of Lean principles and risk-adjusted outcomes is poorly described in perioperative medicine in perioperative medicine. ⋯ Understanding administrative databases and Lean concepts for change management will allow the perioperative physician to better align medical concepts with health system tools for improving quality and reducing cost.
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Advances in the care of inhalational injuries have not kept pace with advances that have been seen in the treatment of cutaneous burns. There is not yet a standard of care for best outcomes for airway management of patients with known or suspected inhalational injuries. Clinicians must decide if to intubate the patient, and if so, whether to intubate early or late in their presentation. Unnecessary intubation affects morbidity and mortality. This review will summarize literature that highlights present practices in the treatment of patients with inhalation injuries. ⋯ Inhalational injuries are a significant source of morbidity and mortality in thermally injured patients. Treatment modalities, such as modified ventilator settings, alteration in fluid resuscitation, and a standardized grading system may improve morbidity and mortality.
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To provide a current overview of sepsis pathophysiology. ⋯ Sepsis represents a dysregulated host response to infection leading to organ dysfunction. Here, the pathogen triggers an initial exaggerated inflammatory-immune response that leads to activation or suppression of multiple endothelial, hormonal, bioenergetic, metabolic, immune, and other pathways. These, in turn, produce the circulatory and metabolic perturbations resulting in organ dysfunction. This review will provide an overview of underlying mechanisms and propose that these processes, whereas superficially viewed as dysfunctional, may actually be adaptive/protective in the first instance, though spilling over into maladaptation/harm depending on the magnitude of the host response.