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K S Pearson

Publications and source records attributed to K S Pearson.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

A prospective study to select and evaluate anesthesiology residents: phase I, the critical incident technique.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To develop categories of behavior that define an applicant's aptitude for anesthesia, and to attempt to determine the relative importance of these behaviors to successful residency performance. DESIGN: Prospective open study. SETTING: Anesthesia residencies at three midwest university teaching hospitals. INTERVENTIONS: Using a structured interview format known as the critical incident technique, faculty anesthesiologists were asked to describe examples of effective and ineffective behaviors observed among anesthesia residents during the twelve months prior to the interview. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Interviews initially held with 34 anesthesiologists generated 172 incidents. These incidents formed the basis for a categorization analysis performed by two anesthesiologists. Six categories were developed: preparedness, interpersonal skills, response to teaching, data monitoring, technical skills, and emergency situations. Validation of these categories was confirmed with three subsequent interviews, in which 92 anesthesiologists generated 475 incidents. Most incidents were found to conform to the previously defined categories using a reallocation index with a range of 0.70 to 0.80. The category "technical skills" fell below the defined range. Over 60 percent of the incidents involved noncognitive personal attributes: preparedness, interpersonal skills, and response to teaching. CONCLUSION: Effective behavior in six categories identifies an applicant's aptitude for anesthesia. Selection of residents may be enhanced by routinely assessing noncognitive characteristics.

Anesthesiology

AANA Journal Course: update for nurse anesthetists-brain death: terminology, clinical criteria, and diagnostic testing.

Developmental strides in biomedical technology and the growth and availability of intensive care units have paralleled the development of organ transplantation programs. The establishment of these programs required the development of a new definition, criteria, and test of death to facilitate the procurement of suitable organs. The historical definition of death, in instances of organ transplantation, is no longer compatible as cardiopulmonary support can be readily applied to individuals without spontaneous circulation and respiration. This AANA Journal course will examine the definitions of death and the evolution of the term "brain death." The essential clinical criteria and confirmatory diagnostic testing for the determination of adult "whole-brain death" will be reviewed.

Adult

Assessment of an interactive learning system with "sensorized" manikin head for airway management instruction.

An interactive, self-study learning system for airway management instruction that utilizes a "sensorized" manikin head (Actronics Inc., Pittsburgh, PA) was compared to didactic instruction from anesthesiologists during third-year medical student anesthesia rotations. Before students were allowed to participate in airway management on anesthetized patients, they were randomly separated into two groups. One group received instruction from the learning system, and the other group was given a lecture with guided practice on a standard tracheal intubating manikin. Differences between groups were then assessed using 22 separate variables as all students performed actual airway management on patients undergoing general anesthesia. Anesthesia faculty, residents, and nurse anesthetists, blinded to group, served as assessors. There were 48 and 49 students in the didactic instruction and learning system groups, respectively. Beginning experience level of students with respect to airway management was similar between groups before the anesthesia rotations. There were 185 and 188 evaluation forms completed to assess the didactic instruction and learning system groups, respectively. Demographic data regarding patients were recorded. Patients in the learning system group on whom students performed airway management were older, had a larger average body mass index, and their airways more frequently received higher Mallampati classifications (glottic structures more difficult to visualize). No difference in the quality of airway management efforts or in students' appraisal of their own performances was seen between groups. Neither group demonstrated more rapid development of psychomotor skills. Students were equally satisfied with both methods of instruction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Education, Medical, Undergraduate

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Publishing

Neuromuscular and cardiovascular effects of mivacurium chloride (BW B1090U) during nitrous oxide-fentanyl-thiopentone and nitrous oxide-halothane anaesthesia.

Seventy-two adult surgical patients were studied to compare neuromuscular and cardiovascular effects of mivacurium chloride during nitrous oxide-fentanyl-thiopentone (BAL group) or nitrous oxide-halothane (HAL group) anaesthesia. Eighteen patients in the BAL group received an initial bolus of mivacurium, either the ED25 (n = 9) or the ED50 (n = 9) (0.03 and 0.05 mg kg-1). These doses were based on the assumption that the slope of the dose-response curve during nitrous oxide-opioid anaesthesia would be approximately the same as the slope of the neuromuscular response from the first human studies with mivacurium. Twenty-seven additional patients were allocated to subgroups of nine patients to receive mivacurium 0.04, 0.08 or 0.15 mg kg-1. Twenty-seven patients in the HAL group were allocated also to subgroups of nine patients to receive mivacurium 0.03, 0.04 or 0.15 mg kg-1. During stable anaesthesia, mean endtidal halothane concentrations were maintained at 0.49 +/- 0.01%. The estimated ED50, ED75 and ED95 for BAL and HAL groups were 0.039, 0.05 and 0.073 mg kg-1 and 0.040, 0.053 and 0.081 mg kg-1, respectively. Halothane did not potentiate maximum block or time to maximum block. Halothane did affect spontaneous recovery. With the 0.15-mg kg-1 dose, time to 95% recovery was prolonged significantly in the HAL group (30.0 (SEM 1.4) min) compared with the BAL group (24.1 (1.5) min). Recovery index from 25% to 75% recovery was also prolonged significantly in the HAL group (7.0 (0.4) min) compared with the BAL group (5.4 (0.4) min). There were no significant haemodynamic changes in groups given mivacurium doses up to and including 2 x ED95 by bolus i.v. administration.

Adolescent

Neuromuscular and cardiovascular effects of mivacurium chloride (BW B109OU) during nitrous oxide-narcotic, nitrous oxide-halothane and nitrous oxide-isoflurane anesthesia in surgical patients.

One hundred seventeen adult surgical patients were studied to compare neuromuscular and cardiovascular effects of mivacurium chloride during nitrous oxide-narcotic (BAL, n = 45) nitrous oxide-halothane (HAL, n = 27) and nitrous oxide-isoflurane (ISF, n = 45) anesthesia. Anesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide (60%-70%) and oxygen (30%-40%) with end-tidal concentrations of halothane or isoflurane to yield a total MAC of approximately 1.25, or with supplemental fentanyl and thiopental as clinically indicated. Twitch response of the adductor pollicis muscle was elicited by supramaximal square wave pulses of 0.2 msec duration at a frequency of 0.15 Hz (Grass S44 stimulator) to the ulnar nerve and quantitated by a Grass FT10 transducer. Nine patients in each of the HAL and ISF groups received one of four doses of mivacurium (0.03, 0.05, 0.10 or 0.15 mg/kg). Ninety patients in the balanced anesthesia group received one of seven doses of mivacurium (0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.08, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25 mg/kg). The ED50, ED75 and ED95 of mivacurium in each group were estimated from linear regression plots of log dose versus probit of maximum percentage depression of twitch height. The ED50, ED75 and ED95 for halothane and isoflurane are 0.040, 0.053 and 0.081 and 0.037, 0.043 and 0.053, respectively. The ED50, ED75, and ED95 for the balanced group are 0.039, 0.050, and 0.073 mg/kg respectively. There was no significant difference between the slopes of the HAL and BAL inhalation anesthetic dose-response curves. The slope of the ISF group was significantly than the slope of the BAL group. Intercepts of the HAL and BAL curves were not different. The isoflurane curve's intercept was significantly less than the other groups' intercepts, lying above the halothane curve, but below the BAL curve. For the 0.05 mg/kg dose, maximum block was greater in the ISF group (89.1 +/- 2.7%, n = 9) than in the HAL (70.3 +/- 7.6%, n = 9) or BAL (67.7 +/- 6.4%, n = 9) groups. At higher doses of mivacurium, isoflurane produces a greater potentiation of neuromuscular block than halothane or balanced anesthesia. There were no significant cardiovascular changes seen in any group following mivacurium doses up to 0.15 mg/kg (approximately 2xED95).

Adult

Isoflurane for refractory status epilepticus: a clinical series.

General anesthesia has been recommended to control convulsive status epilepticus that is refractory to conventional anticonvulsant therapy. Halothane has been the recommended agent, but without experimental justification. Isoflurane, which has no reported organ toxicity and produces electrographic suppression at clinically useful concentrations in normal humans, should be a better volatile anesthetic for this purpose. The efficacy and safety of isoflurane administered to control convulsive status epilepticus were assessed on 11 occasions in nine patients in seven North American hospitals. Isoflurane, administered for 1-55 h, stopped seizures in all patients and was able to be titrated to produce burst-suppression patterns on electroencephalograms. Blood pressure support with iv fluids and/or pressor infusions was required in all of the patients. Seizures resumed upon discontinuation of isoflurane on eight of 11 occasions. Six of the nine patients died. The three survivors sustained cognitive deficits. In one patient urine fluoride concentrations were elevated, although not to nephrotoxic levels. These cases suggest that isoflurane 1) is an effective, rapidly titratable anticonvulsant; 2) does not reverse underlying causes of the refractory seizures; and 3) usually necessitates hemodynamic support with fluids and/or pressors. Isoflurane may be administered for seizures, but only when iv agents in anesthetic doses are ineffective or produce unacceptable side effects.

Adolescent

A cost/benefit analysis of randomized invasive monitoring for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of choice of invasive monitoring on cost, morbidity, and mortality in cardiac surgery. Two hundred and twenty-six adults undergoing elective cardiac surgery were initially assigned at random to receive either a central venous pressure monitoring catheter (group I), a conventional pulmonary artery (PA) catheter (group II), or a mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) measuring PA catheter (group III). If the attending anesthesiologist believed that the patient initially randomized to group I should have a PA catheter, that patient was then reassigned to receive either a conventional PA catheter (group IV) or SvO2 measuring PA catheter (group V). The total costs were defined as the total amount billed to the patient for the catheter used; the professional cost of its insertion; and the determinations of cardiac output, arterial blood gas tensions, hemoglobin level, and hematocrit. Mean total monitoring and laboratory costs in Group I ($591 +/- 67) were statistically significantly (P less than 0.05) less than costs in Group II ($856 +/- 231). Further, mean monitoring and laboratory costs in Group II were statistically significantly (P less than 0.05) less than those in Group III ($1128 +/- 759). Patients in group IV incurred mean total costs of $986 +/- 578, while those in group V had mean total costs of $1126 +/- 382 (NS). There were no significant differences between any of the groups with respect to length of stay in the intensive care unit, morbidity, or mortality.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blood Gas Analysis

Continuous enteral feeding and short fasting periods enhance perioperative nutrition in patients with burns.

Both retrospective and prospective analyses of the effects of various fasting regimens were carried out on the achievement of calculated caloric needs of patients with severe burns. The records of patients who received enteral feedings while undergoing burn debridements were divided into three groups and retrospectively analyzed to determine the effect that duration of fasting had an achievement of caloric needs and on the risks of aspiration. Patients in two other groups were prospectively studied to determine the safety and efficacy of stopping continuous enteral feedings 1 and 4 hours before surgery, respectively. Techniques of airway management and anesthetic induction were left to the discretion of the attending anesthesiologist. In the retrospective analysis, patients in group I, who fasted for 2 hours achieved 28% of their calculated 24-hour caloric goals compared with 11% in those who fasted for 2 to 8 hours (group II) and 6% in those who fasted for more than 8 hours (group III) before surgery (p less than 0.001). In the prospective portion of the study, patients who fasted for 1 hour before anesthesia was induced achieved 30% of their caloric needs, whereas those who fasted for 4 hours achieved 15% of their target nutritional needs (p = 0.0001). No patient had evidence of pulmonary aspiration. We conclude that controlled enteral feedings and shortened preoperative fasting periods can safely enhance nutritional support in patients with burns.

Adult