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PubMed2000

Induction pain perception after premedication with propofol vs lidocaine: a pilot study.

Propofol, an intravenous (i.v.) sedative-hypnotic agent, is commonly used for the induction of general anesthesia. It has, however, a substantial potential for causing burning pain at the i.v. site. Several preinduction pharmacologic agents are used routinely to blunt or diminish this burning sensation. Little is published on the effect of a preinduction dose of propofol for pain reduction. Lidocaine, the most studied agent, is recommended by the manufacturer of propofol as a preinduction agent to minimize this burning sensation. If lidocaine could be eliminated, time and cost savings from decreased use of drug, syringes, needles, and alcohol swabs would be realized. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical effectiveness of administering preinduction doses of lidocaine vs propofol for decreasing pain experienced during anesthetic induction with propofol. Thirty unmedicated patients, ASA physical status I or II, scheduled to undergo general anesthesia for a surgical procedure were included. Patients were randomly assigned, using a random number chart, to receive 20 mg propofol or 40 mg lidocaine intravenously before entering the operating room suite. A minimum of 30 seconds, but not more than 45 seconds, following the administration of randomized drug with open-flow i.v. fluid, the induction dose of propofol (2.5 mg/kg) was begun through the same i.v. site. When one half of the dose had been administered and cleared the tubing by visualization, the patient was asked whether any discomfort was felt in the hand. If the response was yes, the patient was asked to rate the pain as mild, moderate, or severe. Then, the anesthetic process continued normally. No statistically significant difference occurred in pain prevention between treatment groups. In the lidocaine group, 53% (8/15) of patients were pain-free; in the propofol group, 47% (7/15) were painfree. However, when pain occurred, it was more likely to be classified as severe by the propofol group, 50% (4/8), compared with the lidocaine group, 14% (1/7). No difference existed in the ability of propofol or lidocaine to decrease the incidence of pain during an induction dose of propofol. The incidence of severe pain, however, was more frequent in the propofol group. The small number of patients experiencing severe pain precluded statistical analysis. Blunting pain associated with propofol warrants further study.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Postoperative pneumonia.

1. Postoperative nosocomial (hospital-associated) pneumonia is among the most serious complications of surgery. The mortality from these pneumonias is 30%, even with treatment with appropriate antibiotics. 2. The incidence of pneumonia in patients on ventilators averages 14 times that of patients not receiving mechanical ventilator support. These pneumonias are a major factor in the deaths of patients using ventilators. The design and necessary functions of ventilators contribute to bacterial colonization of the machinery, airway, and lungs. Burn patients also represent a particularly vulnerable group in relation to nosocomial pneumonia. 3. Health care workers can introduce organisms from the environment or the patient in the next bed by neglecting handwashing between patients. Some health care professionals think it is not necessary to change the gloves that protect them from bloodborne pathogens when moving between patients. Such erroneous beliefs add significantly to the patient's bacterial colonization, often with treatment-resistant organisms.

Aged↗

PubMed1970

Surgical wound sepsis.

With the help of a surgical nurse and using data-processing techniques, a prospective clinical study was conducted to determine the wound infection rate in two hospitals in Calgary. The overall sepsis rate was 5.2% and the clean wound rate 3.5%. The latter is the more meaningful figure as it allows for comparison between hospitals, specialties and individuals and is a good guide for hospital morbidity reviews. The groundwork for succeeding wound infection is laid in the operating theatre, and it is believed that wound infection would be reduced more by attention to Halsted's principles than by more rigid aseptic techniques. It is estimated that wound sepsis costs the Province of Alberta 1.5 million dollars per year for hospitalization alone. This amounts to roughly $1 per person per year. The annual cost of a prospective study such as the present one is approximately $7000. This is equivalent to the cost of hospitalizing 24 patients with infected wounds for one week (at $300 per week). One dividend of a prospective study is an associated reduction in infection rate. This reduction more than pays for the cost of the program.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1995

Meeting infection control standards in the OR.

Quality health care is associated with the absence of negative outcomes in patients. Institutions realize that quality cannot be assured but it can be assessed and methods can be developed to improve patient care. Many heath care institutions, therefore, have begun the conceptual transition from quality assurance model to principles of continuous quality improvement (CQI). This article describes a CQI project that was developed to enhance infection control standards in OR settings. The project involved three phases: development of a survey tool, implementation of an environmental assessment and monitoring model, and transfer of the model to OR staff members. Five months after implementation of the model, the chi-square test revealed there was a significant improvement in compliance (chi 2 = 5.0, P < .03). After 22 months of using the model, compliance to infection control standards remains high and OR staff members have taken ownership of the model by incorporating it into their departmental CQI process.

Hospitals, University↗

PubMed2000

[Practical realization of a patient-accompanying concept in anesthesia and intensive care].

UNLABELLED: Our current concept of stationary workplaces results in an interruption in patient monitoring and treatment. Because transfers are invariably associated with a reduction or interruption in the monitoring and treatment chain, an endangerment to critically-ill patients, as well as a significant increase in the mortality rates, can result. DESIGN: In the new construction of the Cardiac Clinic, the previous concept of immobile anesthesia and intensive care workstations has been completely abandoned. The complete treatment workstation, including monitoring and fluid management, is set up on a bedside cart which accompanies the patients uninterruptedly--from anesthesia administration, to the operating room, to the ICU or recovery room, as well as during elective or emergency interventions outside the ICU. Transport times and complications from 995 transports (ASA III and IV) were analysed and compared with 880 transports with the conventional system. RESULTS: During all intrahospital transfers with the mobile workplace, there were no complications resulting from faulty operation or accidental adjustment of the perfusors, or from disconnecting the monitoring,-, respiration-, or infusion lines. On the whole, there were fewer cases of circulatory instability during transport, since infusion treatment and medication could be administered without interruption. All hemodynamic parameters were recorded during transport, as were cardiac minute output and right- and left-atrial filling pressures. The mobile workplace system allows for the shortest possible transport and exchange times--13.5 min, as compared to 42.5 min with the conventional system. The reconnection of monitoring equipment with zeroing, adjustment of the alarm limits, as well as exchanging perfusors and infusomats before and after transport is eliminated entirely. CONCLUSION: This mobile workplace, in which all components of the anesthesiological and intensive care workstations are integrated, guarantees the highest possible level of patient safety, since nothing has to be disconnected until the patient is transferred to a normal-care ward. In addition to the improved ergonomic design of the nurse's and doctor's workplace, substantial savings can also be made.

Anesthesia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The biological monitoring of inhalation anaesthetics.

The biological monitoring of inhalation anaesthetics. Occupational exposure to inhalation anaesthetics is an undesired consequence of the work in the operating theatre. Anaesthesia is currently practised using nitrous oxide associated with one or more potent anaesthetics (halothane, enflurane, isoflurane). In the present study we evaluated the occupational exposure to inhalation anaesthetics during anaesthesia in 190 operating theatres of 41 hospitals in Italy. Nitrous oxide, halothane, enflurane, isoflurane were detected in the urine of 1521 exposed subjects (anaesthetists, surgeons and nurses). Significant correlations were found between the anaesthetic concentrations in urine produced during the shift (Cu) and anaesthetic environmental concentrations (CI). The results show that the urinary anaesthetic concentration can be used as an appropriate biological exposure index. The biological threshold values (urinary concentration values) proposed are the following: nitrous oxide, 15, 28 and 57 micrograms/L for an environmental exposure of 25, 50 and 100 ppm respectively; halothane, 97 micrograms/L (for an environmental exposure of 50 ppm), 6.1 micrograms/L (for an environmental exposure of 2 ppm) and 3.3 micrograms/L (for an environmental exposure of 0.5 ppm); enflurane, 145 micrograms/L (for an environmental exposure of 50 ppm), 22.7 micrograms/L (for an environmental exposure of 10 ppm), 3.7 micrograms/L (for an environmental exposure of 1 ppm); isoflurane, 5.3 micrograms/L (for an environmental exposure of 2 ppm) and 1.8 micrograms/L (for an environmental exposure of 0.5 ppm). These values apply to urine samples collected at the end of 4-hours' exposure to the anaesthetics.

Anesthetics, Inhalation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cost-effectiveness analysis of antiemetic therapy for ambulatory surgery.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the relative cost-effectiveness ratios of (1) therapy with ondansetron, droperidol, and metoclopramide in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and (2) prophylactic versus rescue therapy of PONV with these agents. DESIGN: Cost-effectiveness analysis based on the estimated costs of 12 mutually exclusive outcomes identified by decision analysis. SETTING: Computer model of outcome established using data extracted from published studies and a survey of current practice in two university-affiliated hospitals. PATIENTS: Patients undergoing operations associated with a high risk of PONV. INTERVENTIONS: The cost-effectiveness of prophylactic antiemetic therapy was compared among three drugs and also compared with limiting treatment to established PONV. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Direct costs included drug acquisition, drug delivery, equipment used in managing vomiting, and additional nursing time costs. Indirect costs included drugs and materials used to treat persistent nausea and/or vomiting and the side effects of prophylactic drugs, increased time spent in the postanesthesia care unit, unanticipated hospitalization, and lost earnings due to hospitalization. Separate models were created for patients with both nausea and vomiting and with isolated nausea. The total incremental costs associated with the prophylactic use of ondansetron, metoclopramide, and droperidol were $37.74, $28.43, and $18.17 per patient, respectively. The costs per emesis-free patient with the prophylactic use of ondansetron, metoclopramide, and droperidol, were $55.91, $71.08, and $30.15, respectively, and per nausea-free patient $68.93, $82.74, and $33.52, respectively. Prophylactic antiemetic therapy was cost-effective for operations with a high frequency of emesis, whereas treatment of established symptoms was more cost-effective when the frequency was lower. For ondansetron, prophylactic use was cost-effective only when the frequency of emesis exceeded 33%, whereas prophylactic droperidol was cost-effective even if the frequency was 10%. CONCLUSIONS: When drug costs, efficacy, and adverse events were all considered, prophylactic droperidol was more cost-effective than ondansetron, and both drugs were more cost-effective than metoclopramide. However, the expected frequency of PONV, as well as local drug acquisition costs, can significantly influence whether a particular antiemetic is cost-effective when given prophylactically or only as therapy for established PONV.

Ambulatory Surgical Procedures↗

PubMed1991

Giant cerebral aneurysm repair. Incorporating cardiopulmonary bypass and neurosurgery.

Since our initial experience on April 28, 1989, a total of nine patients have received treatment for giant cerebral aneurysm using cardiopulmonary bypass with deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest. The following data summarize our findings associated with these patients. The average patient's age was 46 years (range: 16 to 59 years of age). Seven patients were female, two were male. The procedure required approximately eight hours to complete with an average cardiopulmonary bypass time of 104 minutes (range: 60 to 140 minutes). Circulatory arrest time averaged 26 minutes (range, 12 to 45 minutes) with an average of 30 minutes (range: 10 to 62 minutes) required to cool the patient to below 18 degrees C (64 degrees F). An average of 54 minutes (range: 28 to 81 minutes) was required to warm the patient to a bladder temperature of 36 degrees C (96.8 degrees F). During the cooling period, five patients went into asystole spontaneously, four patients required bolus of 20 mEq of potassium chloride, and upon rewarming, spontaneous defibrillation occurred in six patients. Three patients were defibrillated without difficulty with external shock. The average number of blood products administered in each of the nine patients was 3.6 units of packed red blood cells, 3 units of fresh frozen plasma, and 6.5 units of platelets. Six patients recovered postoperatively without complication, and the recovery of three patients was affected by the complex anatomical location of the giant aneurysm. Cardiopulmonary bypass with deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest offers an alternative approach to the treatment of giant cerebral aneurysms considered inoperable by conventional techniques. The effectiveness of each procedure depends on the collaborative efforts of every member of the perioperative nursing team, the neurosurgical team, the cardiac surgical team, the neuroanesthesiology team, and the perfusionists. Careful planning and anticipation at every stage of the surgery can reduce surgical time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and most importantly, circulatory arrest time.

Angiography↗

PubMed2006

Microstream capnography improves patient monitoring during moderate sedation: a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Investigative efforts to improve monitoring during sedation for patients of all ages are part of a national agenda for patient safety. According to the Institute of Medicine, recent technological advances in patient monitoring have contributed to substantially decreased mortality for people receiving general anesthesia in operating room settings. Patient safety has not been similarly targeted for the several million children annually in the United States who receive moderate sedation without endotracheal intubation. Critical event analyses have documented that hypoxemia secondary to depressed respiratory activity is a principal risk factor for near misses and death in this population. Current guidelines for monitoring patient safety during moderate sedation in children call for continuous pulse oximetry and visual assessment, which may not detect alveolar hypoventilation until arterial oxygen desaturation has occurred. Microstream capnography may provide an "early warning system" by generating real-time waveforms of respiratory activity in nonintubated patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether intervention based on capnography indications of alveolar hypoventilation reduces the incidence of arterial oxygen desaturation in nonintubated children receiving moderate sedation for nonsurgical procedures. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: We included 163 children undergoing 174 elective gastrointestinal procedures with moderate sedation in a pediatric endoscopy unit in a randomized, controlled trial. All of the patients received routine care, including 2-L supplemental oxygen via nasal cannula. Investigators, patients, and endoscopy staff were blinded to additional capnography monitoring. In the intervention arm, trained independent observers signaled to clinical staff if capnograms indicated alveolar hypoventilation for >15 seconds. In the control arm, observers signaled if capnograms indicated alveolar hypoventilation for >60 seconds. Endoscopy nurses responded to signals in both arms by encouraging patients to breathe deeply, even if routine patient monitoring did not indicate a change in respiratory status. OUTCOME MEASURES: Our primary outcome measure was patient arterial oxygen desaturation defined as a pulse oximetry reading of <95% for >5 seconds. Secondary outcome measures included documented assessments of abnormal ventilation, termination of the procedure secondary to concerns for patient safety, as well as other more rare adverse events including need for bag-mask ventilation, sedation reversal, or seizures. RESULTS: Children randomly assigned to the intervention arm were significantly less likely to experience arterial oxygen desaturation than children in the control arm. Two study patients had documented adverse events, with no procedures terminated for patient safety concerns. Intervention and control patients did not differ in baseline characteristics. Endoscopy staff documented poor ventilation in 3% of all procedures and no apnea. Capnography indicated alveolar hypoventilation during 56% of procedures and apnea during 24%. We found no change in magnitude or statistical significance of the intervention effect when we adjusted the analysis for age, sedative dose, or other covariates. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this controlled effectiveness trial support routine use of microstream capnography to detect alveolar hypoventilation and reduce hypoxemia during procedural sedation in children. In addition, capnography allowed early detection of arterial oxygen desaturation because of alveolar hypoventilation in the presence of supplemental oxygen. The current standard of care for monitoring all patients receiving sedation relies overtly on pulse oximetry, which does not measure ventilation. Most medical societies and regulatory organizations consider moderate sedation to be safe but also acknowledge serious associated risks, including suboptimal ventilation, airway obstruction, apnea, hypoxemia, hypoxia, and cardiopulmonary arrest. The results of this controlled trial suggest that microstream capnography improves the current standard of care for monitoring sedated children by allowing early detection of respiratory compromise, prompting intervention to minimize hypoxemia. Integrating capnography into patient monitoring protocols may ultimately improve the safety of nonintubated patients receiving moderate sedation.

Adolescent↗