Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Dec 2014
Association of Preoperative Uric Acid and Acute Kidney Injury Following Cardiovascular Surgery.
Recent studies suggested that elevated serum uric acid levels may be associated with the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in several settings. However, the effect of uric acid on the risk of AKI after cardiovascular surgery remains uncertain. ⋯ Preoperative elevated serum uric acid is an independent risk factor for AKI in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. This finding suggests that preoperative measurements of serum uric acid concentration may help stratify risks for AKI in these patients.
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Dec 2014
Checklist Usage Decreases Critical Task Omissions When Training Residents to Separate From Simulated Cardiopulmonary Bypass.
Separation from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) requires multiple preparatory steps, during which mistakes, omissions, and human errors may occur. Checklists have been used extensively in aviation to improve performance of complex, multistep tasks. The aim of this study was to (1) develop a checklist using a modified Delphi process to identify essential steps necessary to prepare for separation from CPB, and (2) compare the frequency of completed items with and without the use of a checklist in simulation. It was hypothesized that the use of a checklist would reduce the number of omissions. ⋯ A modified Delphi process can be used to create a checklist of steps in preparing to separate from CPB. Using this checklist during simulation resulted in increased frequency of completing designated tasks in comparison to relying on memory alone. Checklists may reduce omission errors during complex periods of anesthesiologists' perioperative workflow.