Journal of perioperative practice
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Comparative Study
A comparative prospective cohort study comparing physical exam to ultrasound for identifying the cricoid cartilage.
Applying cricoid pressure is a common practice when intubating patients thought to be at risk of pulmonary aspiration. Recently, the perceived benefits of applying cricoid pressure have been questioned. ⋯ The median distance to target was 10 mm. We concluded that palpation is an inaccurate method to locate the cricoid cartilage in the studied population.
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The following article highlights the establishment of the West Midlands Major Trauma Centres (MTC) in April 2012 and specifically the West Midlands Major Trauma Centre Theatre Practitioner Collaborative in June 2013. The article looks at the involvement of theatre practitioners working as an integral part of the emergency department and supporting anaesthetists when attending alerts. ⋯ The MTC collaborative ensures that there is support for individual centres with regular meetings covering clinical and educational issues as well as conducting cross site skill programmes. The collaborative are working toward a formal approach to a higher educational institution, to consider establishing a post graduate training module and to prepare theatre practitioners for the role in the emergency department.
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A UK study found that obese patients are twice as likely as non-obese patients to develop airway problems during general anaesthesia (Cook et al 2011). This article focuses on airway management of morbidly obese patients during anaesthesia and examines the associated respiratory, gastric, and existing co-morbidity complications that can be expected. Strategies that practitioners can use to reduce these risks are discussed.