Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2014
ReviewTrends in healthcare and the role of the anesthesiologist in the perioperative surgical home - the US perspective.
Although advances in science are important, changes in population structure and developments in health policy have equally critical roles in shaping the future of anesthesia practice. Therefore, it is important for anesthesiologists to be aware of these trends and their implications. ⋯ Global demographic and health policy trends are calling for new models of healthcare delivery. Anesthesiologists have much experience in the fields of risk assessment and quality improvement. They are well positioned to become leaders in the perioperative care environment of the future.
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Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) has a high incidence in children and requires prophylactic and therapeutic strategies. ⋯ Concluding from the existing guidelines and data on the handling of PONV in children at least 3 years, the following recommendations are given: outpatients undergoing small procedures should receive a single prophylaxis, outpatients at high risk a double prophylaxis, inpatients with surgery time of more than 30 min and use of postoperative opioids should get double prophylaxis, and inpatients receiving a high-risk surgical procedure or with other risk factors a triple prophylaxis (two drugs and total intravenous anesthesia). Dimenhydrinate can be used as a second choice, whereas droperidol and metoclopramide can only be recommended as rescue therapy.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2014
ReviewThe perioperative management of patients maintained on medications used to manage opioid addiction.
The substantial increase in prescription and illicit opioid abuse observed over the last 2 decades has significantly increased the number of patients in recovery from addiction and now maintained on opioid replacement or agonist therapy. These patients present unique challenges to perioperative pain management. ⋯ When possible, patients maintained on buprenorphine should be evaluated preoperatively to assess the feasibility of discontinuing the buprenorphine 72 h before surgery. If buprenorphine is continued during the perioperative period, patients may require significantly increased doses of standard opioids for analgesia. Patients maintained on methadone are at increased risk for respiratory-related complications and should receive a higher level of monitoring during the perioperative period. Patients who are on chronic methadone should continue their maintenance dose during the perioperative period. Where possible, nonopioid medications and regional anesthetic blockade are effective alternatives for analgesia in this population.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2014
ReviewCurrent management of von Willebrand disease and von Willebrand syndrome.
Anesthesiologists frequently care for patients with altered hemostasis and coagulation. Where a clear history of familial and personal bleeding exists, a thoughtful plan can be developed in advance to manage the issue perioperatively. However, in some cases, it may not be known that the patient has a disorder until excessive bleeding is noted during or after surgery. Recognition of the issue and appropriate targeted therapy are the keys to successful management. ⋯ The mainstay of the diagnosis of vWD is laboratory testing. Preoperative clinical assessment and a high level of suspicion are often effective to alert the anesthesiologist to the possibility of vWS, thus allowing for appropriate testing and potential prophylaxis in elective situations, as well as appropriately targeted therapy of unexpected bleeding when a hemostatic derangement was not anticipated preoperatively.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Jun 2014
Multicenter StudyQuantifying severe maternal morbidity in Scotland: a continuous audit since 2003.
Since 2003, a continuous audit of severe maternal morbidity in Scotland has been conducted, collecting data on consistently defined events in all the consultant-led maternity units within Scotland. This review summarizes the methodology of the audit and describes some of the main results accumulated in the 10 years audited [2003-2012 (The 2012 Scottish Confidential Audit of Severe Maternal Morbidity report is yet to be published. This article refers to extracts from 2012 data where available, but on other occasions refers to data from 2003 to 2011.)]. ⋯ Some key findings are as follows: admission to an ICU is required for 1 woman in every 700 births; major obstetric haemorrhage is experienced by 1 in 172 women; cases of eclampsia have decreased during the audit; there were deficiencies in antenatal risk identification and action planning; and the direct involvement of consultant obstetricians and anaesthetists in the care of women was below those recommended by the guidelines. The audit has demonstrated changes in clinical practice and in adherence to clinical guidelines over time. The information has been used to inform clinical practice within the Scottish maternity units.