Anaesthesia
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The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist is a cost-effective tool that has been shown to improve patient safety. We explored the applicability and effectiveness of quality improvement methodology to implement the WHO checklist and surgical counts at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda between October 2012 and September 2013. Compliance rates were evaluated prospectively and monthly structured feedback sessions were held. ⋯ Use of the checklist was associated with performance of surgical counts (p value < 0.001; r(2) = 0.91). Pareto analysis showed that understaffing, malfunctioning and lack of equipment were the main challenges. A carefully designed quality improvement project, including stepwise incremental change and standardisation of practice, can be an effective way of improving clinical practice in low-income settings.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A comparison of the i-gel(™) and the PRO-Breathe(®) laryngeal mask during pressure support ventilation in children.
Many studies comparing the i-gel(™) with laryngeal masks include patients in whom laryngeal mask cuff inflation pressures are higher than recommended, or involve the use of neuromuscular blocking drugs and positive pressure ventilation. We compared the i-gel with the PRO-Breathe(®) laryngeal mask in anaesthetised, spontaneously breathing children. Two hundred patients aged up to 16 years were randomly allocated to either the i-gel or the PRO-Breathe laryngeal mask. ⋯ Leakage volume was significantly higher with i-gel sizes 1.5 (p = 0.015), 2 (p = 0.375), 2.5 (p = 0.021) and 3 (p = 0.003) compared with the equivalent-sized PRO-Breathe device. Device dislodgement following successful initial placement was more frequent with the i-gel (5%) compared with the PRO-Breathe laryngeal mask (0%). We conclude that the PRO-Breathe laryngeal mask is superior to the i-gel in terms of leakage volume and device dislodgement.