AANA journal
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Biography Historical Article
Alice Magaw (Kessel): her life in and out of the operating room.
Alice Magaw (Kessel) was a pioneer in nursing research and the practice of nurse anesthesia through the publication of her clinical findings. This historical review will consolidate and preserve existing information and document new findings pertaining to this outstanding anesthetist. Primary historical sources, newspapers, legal documents, and other forms of information will be utilized, as well as correspondence with individuals who had some relative association with Magaw.
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Review Case Reports
Anesthetic management of a pregnant patient with an automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: a case report.
There is little data currently available for the obstetric anesthetist to use as a reference for the anesthetic management of laboring women with automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (AICDs). This case report involves a parturient with an AICD and a history of serious cardiac events. ⋯ The choice of anesthetics used to provide her with analgesia for labor is described, including the rationale for this anesthetic plan. A review of the literature that contains information on safe and effective anesthesia used for laboring women with AICDs is described.
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Patients are admitted for surgery while taking a wide array of medications, and nurse anesthetists must evaluate their effectiveness and compatibility with anesthesia. Anesthetists must be familiar with the basic pharmacology of each drug and the potential adverse effects and possible drug interactions that may occur when anesthetic drugs are administered. If a medication requires discontinuation, we must ensure that the patient's disease remains controlled throughout the perioperative period. ⋯ Most medications taken for minor disorders that do not have systemic effects can be safely continued without incident. Some medications may require discontinuation or temporary alteration of the dosing schedule to avoid problems in the perioperative period. This course reviews the current literature regarding the anesthetic management of several commonly encountered drug classes.