Environmental and economic impact of sustainable anaesthesia interventions: a single-centre retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Anaesthesia contributes substantially to the environmental impact of healthcare. To reduce the ecological footprint of anaesthesia, a set of sustainability interventions was implemented in the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. This study evaluates the environmental and economic implications of these interventions. METHODS: This was a single-centre retrospective observational study. We analysed the environmental impact and financial implications of changes in sevoflurane, desflurane, propofol, and plastic consumption over 2 yr (April 2021 to March 2023). The study included pre-implementation, implementation, and post-implementation phases. RESULTS: After implementation of sustainability measures, desflurane use was eliminated, there was a decrease in the consumption of sevoflurane from a median (inter-quartile range) of 25 (14-39) ml per case to 11 (6-22) ml per case (P<0.0001). Propofol consumption increased from 250 (150-721) mg per case to 743 (370-1284) mg per case (P<0.0001). Use of plastics changed: in the first quarter analysed, two or more infusion syringes were used in 62% of cases, compared with 74% of cases in the last quarter (P<0.0001). Two or more infusion lines were used in 58% of cases in the first quarter analysed, compared with 68% of cases in the last quarter (P<0.0001). This resulted in an 81% reduction in overall environmental impact from 3 (0-7) to 1 (0-3) CO2 equivalents in kg per case (P<0.0001). The costs during the final study phase were 11% lower compared with those in the initial phase: from 25 (13-41) to 21 (14-31) CHF (Swiss francs) per case (P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Implementing sustainable anaesthesia interventions can significantly reduce the environmental impact and cost of anaesthesia.

Recommendations From the International Consensus Conference on Anemia Management in Surgical Patients (ICCAMS).

BACKGROUND: Perioperative anemia has been associated with increased risk of red blood cell transfusion and increased morbidity and mortality after surgery. The optimal approach to the diagnosis and management of perioperative anemia is not fully established. OBJECTIVE: To develop consensus recommendations for anemia management in surgical patients. METHODS: An international expert panel reviewed the current evidence and developed recommendations using modified RAND Delphi methodology. RESULTS: The panel recommends that all patients except those undergoing minor procedures be screened for anemia before surgery. Appropriate therapy for anemia should be guided by an accurate diagnosis of the etiology. The need to proceed with surgery in some patients with anemia is expected to persist. However, early identification and effective treatment of anemia has the potential to reduce the risks associated with surgery and improve clinical outcomes. As with preoperative anemia, postoperative anemia should be treated in the perioperative period. CONCLUSIONS: Early identification and effective treatment of anemia has the potential to improve clinical outcomes in surgical patients.

Human-centered visualization technologies for patient monitoring are the future: a narrative review.

Medical technology innovation has improved patient monitoring in perioperative and intensive care medicine and continuous improvement in the technology is now a central focus in this field. Because data density increases with the number of parameters captured by patient-monitoring devices, its interpretation has become more challenging. Therefore, it is necessary to support clinicians in managing information overload while improving their awareness and understanding about the patient's health status. Patient monitoring has almost exclusively operated on the single-sensor-single-indicator principle-a technology-centered way of presenting data in which specific parameters are measured and displayed individually as separate numbers and waves. An alternative is user-centered medical visualization technology, which integrates multiple pieces of information (e.g., vital signs), derived from multiple sensors into a single indicator-an avatar-based visualization-that is a meaningful representation of the real-world situation. Data are presented as changing shapes, colors, and animation frequencies, which can be perceived, integrated, and interpreted much more efficiently than other formats (e.g., numbers). The beneficial effects of these technologies have been confirmed in computer-based simulation studies; visualization technologies improved clinicians' situation awareness by helping them effectively perceive and verbalize the underlying medical issue, while improving diagnostic confidence and reducing workload. This review presents an overview of the scientific results and the evidence for the validity of these technologies.

The European guideline on management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following trauma: sixth edition.

BACKGROUND: Severe trauma represents a major global public health burden and the management of post-traumatic bleeding continues to challenge healthcare systems around the world. Post-traumatic bleeding and associated traumatic coagulopathy remain leading causes of potentially preventable multiorgan failure and death if not diagnosed and managed in an appropriate and timely manner. This sixth edition of the European guideline on the management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following traumatic injury aims to advise clinicians who care for the bleeding trauma patient during the initial diagnostic and therapeutic phases of patient management. METHODS: The pan-European, multidisciplinary Task Force for Advanced Bleeding Care in Trauma included representatives from six European professional societies and convened to assess and update the previous version of this guideline using a structured, evidence-based consensus approach. Structured literature searches covered the period since the last edition of the guideline, but considered evidence cited previously. The format of this edition has been adjusted to reflect the trend towards concise guideline documents that cite only the highest-quality studies and most relevant literature rather than attempting to provide a comprehensive literature review to accompany each recommendation. RESULTS: This guideline comprises 39 clinical practice recommendations that follow an approximate temporal path for management of the bleeding trauma patient, with recommendations grouped behind key decision points. While approximately one-third of patients who have experienced severe trauma arrive in hospital in a coagulopathic state, a systematic diagnostic and therapeutic approach has been shown to reduce the number of preventable deaths attributable to traumatic injury. CONCLUSION: A multidisciplinary approach and adherence to evidence-based guidelines are pillars of best practice in the management of severely injured trauma patients. Further improvement in outcomes will be achieved by optimising and standardising trauma care in line with the available evidence across Europe and beyond.

Achieving a preoperative haemoglobin above 130 g L-1 may be more important in female than in male patients before cardiac surgery.

Sex-specific preoperative haemoglobin levels and the need for perioperative red cell transfusion in men and women are still debated. Cavalli and colleagues examined the appropriateness of World Health Organization (WHO) anaemia thresholds (haemoglobin <130 g L-1 for males and <120 g L-1 for females) in a retrospective cohort analysis of >6000 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The authors concluded that the WHO anaemia threshold disproportionately disadvantages female cardiac surgery patients, and a preoperative haemoglobin level of at least 130 g L-1 should be targeted in all cardiac surgical patients regardless of sex.

Penny-wise and pound-foolish: the challenges of preoperative anaemia management.

The timely correction of anaemia before major surgery is important for optimising perioperative patient outcomes. However, multiple barriers have precluded the global expansion of preoperative anaemia treatment programmes, including misconceptions about the true cost/benefit ratio for patient care and health system economics. Institutional investment and buy-in from stakeholders could lead to significant cost savings through avoided complications of anaemia and red blood cell transfusions, and through containment of direct and variable costs of blood bank laboratories. In some health systems, billing for iron infusions could generate revenue and promote growth of treatment programmes. The aim of this work is to galvanise integrated health systems worldwide to diagnose and treat anaemia before major surgery.

Environmental sustainability from anesthesia providers' perspective: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The world faces a significant global health threat - climate change, which makes creating more environmentally sustainable healthcare systems necessary. As a resource-intensive specialty, anesthesiology contributes to a substantial fraction of healthcare's environmental impact. This alarming situation invites us to reconsider the ecological health determinants and calls us to action. METHODS: We conducted a single-center qualitative study involving an online survey to explore the environmental sustainability from anesthesia providers' perspectives in a center implementing internal environmentally-sustainable anesthesia guidelines. We asked care providers how they perceive the importance of environmental issues in their work; the adverse effects they see on ecological sustainability in anesthesia practice; what measures they take to make anesthesia more environmentally friendly; what barriers they face in trying to do so; and why they are unable to adopt ecologically friendly practices in some instances. Using a thematic analysis approach, we identified dominating themes in participants' responses. RESULTS: A total of 62 anesthesia providers completed the online survey. 89% of the participants stated that environmental sustainability is essential in their work, and 95% reported that they implement measures to make their practice greener. A conscious choice of anesthetics was identified as the most common step the respondents take to reduce the environmental impact of anesthesia. Waste production and improper waste management was the most frequently mentioned anesthesia-associated threat to the environment. Lacking knowledge/teaching in sustainability themes was recognized as a crucial barrier to achieving ecology goals. CONCLUSIONS: Sustainable anesthesia initiatives have the potential to both encourage engagement among anesthesia providers and raise awareness of this global issue. These findings inspire opportunities for action in sustainable anesthesia and broaden the capacity to decrease the climate impact of health care.

Coagulation Management of Critically Bleeding Patients With Viscoelastic Testing Presented as a 3D-Animated Blood Clot (The Visual Clot): Randomized Controlled High-Fidelity Simulation Study.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend using viscoelastic coagulation tests to guide coagulation management, but interpreting the results remains challenging. Visual Clot, a 3D animated blood clot, facilitates interpretation through a user-centered and situation awareness-oriented design. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the effects of Visual Clot versus conventional viscoelastic test results (rotational thrombelastometry [ROTEM] temograms) on the coagulation management performance of anesthesia teams in critical bleeding situations. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized, high-fidelity simulation study in which anesthesia teams (consisting of a senior anesthesiologist, a resident anesthesiologist, and an anesthesia nurse) managed perioperative bleeding scenarios. Teams had either Visual Clot or ROTEM temograms available to perform targeted coagulation management. We analyzed the 15-minute simulations with post hoc video analysis. The primary outcome was correct targeted coagulation therapy. Secondary outcomes were time to targeted coagulation therapy, confidence, and workload. In addition, we have conducted a qualitative survey on user acceptance of Visual Clot. We used Poisson regression, Cox regression, and mixed logistic regression models, adjusted for various potential confounders, to analyze the data. RESULTS: We analyzed 59 simulations. Teams using Visual Clot were more likely to deliver the overall targeted coagulation therapy correctly (rate ratio 1.56, 95% CI 1.00-2.47; P=.05) and administer the first targeted coagulation product faster (hazard ratio 2.58, 95% CI 1.37-4.85; P=.003). In addition, participants showed higher decision confidence with Visual Clot (odds ratio 3.60, 95% CI 1.49-8.71; P=.005). We found no difference in workload (coefficient -0.03, 95% CI -3.08 to 2.88; P=.99). CONCLUSIONS: Using Visual Clot led to a more accurate and faster-targeted coagulation therapy than using ROTEM temograms. We suggest that relevant viscoelastic test manufacturers consider augmenting their complex result presentation with intuitive, easy-to-understand visualization to ease users' burden from unnecessary cognitive load and enhance patient care.

Hyperlactatemia and poor outcome After postcardiotomy veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: An individual patient data meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Postcardiotomy veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A-ECMO) is associated with significant mortality. Identification of patients at very high risk for death is elusive and the decision to initiate V-A-ECMO is based on clinical judgment. The prognostic impact of pre-V-A-ECMO arterial lactate level in these critically ill patients has been herein evaluated. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted to identify studies on postcardiotomy VA-ECMO for the present individual patient data meta-analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 1269 patients selected from 10 studies were included in this analysis. Arterial lactate level at V-A-ECMO initiation was increased in patients who died during the index hospitalization compared to those who survived (9.3 vs 6.6 mmol/L, p < 0.0001). Accordingly, in hospital mortality increased along quintiles of pre-V-A-ECMO arterial lactate level (quintiles: 1, 54.9%; 2, 54.9%; 3, 67.3%; 4, 74.2%; 5, 82.2%, p < 0.0001). The best cut-off for arterial lactate was 6.8 mmol/L (in-hospital mortality, 76.7% vs. 55.7%, p < 0.0001). Multivariable multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression model including arterial lactate level significantly increased the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (0.731, 95% CI 0.702-0.760 vs 0.679, 95% CI 0.648-0.711, DeLong test p < 0.0001). Classification and regression tree analysis showed the in-hospital mortality was 85.2% in patients aged more than 70 years with pre-V-A-ECMO arterial lactate level ≥6.8 mmol/L. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients requiring postcardiotomy V-A-ECMO, hyperlactatemia was associated with a marked increase of in-hospital mortality. Arterial lactate may be useful in guiding the decision-making process and the timing of initiation of postcardiotomy V-A-ECMO.

Patient Blood Management in Pregnancy.

Background: Patient blood management (PBM) is a multidisciplinary and patient-centered treatment approach, comprising the detection and treatment of anemia, the minimization of blood loss, and the rational use of allogeneic transfusions. Pregnancy, delivery, and the puerperium are associated with increased rates of iron deficiency and anemia, which correlates with worse maternal and fetal outcomes and places pregnant women at increased risk of obstetric hemorrhage. Summary: Early screening for iron deficiency before the onset of anemia, as well as the use of oral and intravenous iron to treat iron deficiency anemia, has been shown to be beneficial. Anemia in pregnancy and the puerperium should be treated according to a staged regimen, administering either iron alone or in combination with an off-label use of human recombinant erythropoietin in selected patients. This regimen should be tailored to the needs of each individual patient. Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) accounts for up to one-third of maternal deaths in both developing and developed countries. Bleeding complications should be anticipated and blood loss reduced by interdisciplinary preventive measures and individually tailored care. It is recommended that facilities have a PPH algorithm, primarily focusing on prevention through use of uterotonics, but also incorporating early diagnosis of the cause of bleeding, optimization of hemostatic conditions, timely administration of tranexamic acid, and integration of point-of-care tests to support the guided substitution of coagulation factors, alongside standard laboratory tests. Additionally, cell salvage has proven beneficial and should be considered for various indications in obstetrics including hematologic disturbances, as well as various forms of placental disorders. Key Message: This article reviews PBM in pregnancy, delivery, and the puerperium. The concept comprises early screening and treatment of anemia and iron deficiency, a transfusion and coagulation algorithm during delivery, as well as cell salvage.

A mobile application to facilitate implementation of programmatic assessment in anaesthesia training.

BACKGROUND: Programmatic assessment is a concept to support learning through continuously providing information about learner progress to trainees and supervisors. Central to the concept are multiple low-stakes workplace-based assessments and meaningful feedback opportunities. Mobile technology may facilitate frequent and concise workplace-based assessments and trigger meaningful feedback. We designed a mobile application (app) for real-time use at the workplace utilising the concept of entrustable professional activities. As the primary outcome, we analysed completion times and as the secondary outcome the quality of documented learning goals. METHODS: The prEPAred app requests trainees and supervisors to rate level of supervision of a professional activity directly after completion. Subsequently, ratings are compared, and supervisors may provide feedback via the app. We tested the app in five anaesthesiology departments at major teaching hospitals, analysing completion times, agreement on ratings, and quality of documented learning goals. RESULTS: We recorded 1518 assessments from 159 trainees and 89 supervisors. Median time for level of supervision rating was 56 (inter-quartile range: 39-85) s for trainees and 17 (11-30) s for supervisors. Learning goals via the app were documented in 767 cases (50.5%). Median feedback time was 2 min, 31 s (confidence interval [CI]: 1 min, 20 s to 5 min, 20 s). In 443 (29%) cases, a specific learning goal was documented. A post hoc analysis revealed that the odds of documenting learning goals increased if trainees rated the level of supervision higher than their supervisors (odds ratio 1.39; CI: 1.03-1.87). CONCLUSIONS: The prEPAred mobile app enabled frequent and concise documentation of workplace-based assessments. Disagreement in level of supervision rating stimulated documentation of specific learning goals indicating more meaningful feedback. Thus, the tool could advance workplace-based assessments towards programmatic assessment.

Anesthesia personnel's visual attention regarding patient monitoring in simulated non-critical and critical situations, an eye-tracking study.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive ergonomics design of patient monitoring may reduce human factor errors in high-stress environments. Eye-tracking is a suitable tool to gain insight into the distribution of visual attention of healthcare professionals with patient monitors, which may facilitate their further development. METHODS: This prospective, exploratory, high-fidelity simulation study compared anesthesia personnel's visual attention (fixation count and dwell-time) to 15 areas of interest on the patient monitor during non-critical and critical anesthesia situations. Furthermore, we examined the extent to which participants' experience influenced visual attention and which vital signs displayed on the patient monitor received the most visual attention. We used mixed zero-inflated Poisson regression and mixed linear models to analyze the data. RESULTS: Analyzing 23 ten-minute scenarios, we found significantly more fixations to the areas of interest on the patient monitor during critical than non-critical situations (rate ratio of 1.45; 95% CI 1.33 to 1.59; p < 0.001). However, the dwell-time on the areas of interest did not significantly differ between the non-critical and critical situations (coefficient of - 1.667; 95% CI - 4.549 to 1.229; p = 0.27). The professional experience did not significantly influence the visual attention (fixation: rate ratio of 0.88; 95% CI 0.54 to 1.43; p = 0.61 and dwell-time: coefficient of 0.889; 95% CI - 1.465 to 3.229; p = 0.27). Over all situations, anesthesia personnel paid the most attention to the vital signs blood pressure (fixation: mean [SD] of 108 [74.83]; dwell-time: mean [SD] of 27 [15.90] seconds), end-expiratory carbon dioxide (fixation: mean [SD] of 59 [47.39]; dwell-time: mean [SD] of 30 [21.51] seconds), and the electrocardiogram (fixation: mean [SD] of 58 [64.70]; dwell-time: mean [SD] of 15 [14.95] seconds). CONCLUSIONS: Critical anesthesia situations increased anesthesia personnel's visual interaction with the patient monitor. Furthermore, we found that their visual attention focused mainly on a few vital signs. To assist clinicians in critical situations, manufacturers should optimize monitors to convey necessary information as easily and quickly as possible and optimize the visibility of less frequently observed but equally critical vital signs, especially when they are in an abnormal range.

Iron deficiency and biomarkers of inflammation: a 3-year prospective analysis of the DO-HEALTH trial.

BACKGROUND: The longitudinal association between iron deficiency and inflammatory biomarkers levels has not been fully explored among relatively healthy older adults. AIMS: To assess whether iron deficiency at baseline and at any yearly follow-up time point, with or without anemia, was associated with changes from baseline in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels over 3 years. METHODS: This is a post-hoc observational analysis of DO-HEALTH, a double-blind, randomized controlled trial including 2157 European community-dwelling adults age 70+. The outcomes were changes from baseline in hs-CRP and IL-6 levels, measured at 12, 24, and 36 months of follow-up. Iron deficiency was defined by soluble transferrin receptor levels > 28.1 nmol/L and baseline anemia by hemoglobin levels < 130 g/L for men and < 120 g/L for women. RESULTS: In total, 2141 participants were included in the analyses (mean age: 74.9 years, 61.5% of women, 26.8% with iron deficiency). Baseline iron deficiency was associated with greater increase in IL-6 levels (mean difference in change: 0.52 ng/L, 95%CI 0.03-1.00, P = .04) over 3 years. Iron deficiency at any yearly time point was associated with higher increases in hs-CRP (mean difference in change: 1.62 mg/L, 95%CI 0.98-2.26, P < .001) and IL-6 levels (mean difference in change: 1.33 ng/L, 95%CI 0.87-1.79, P < .001) over 3 years. No significant interaction between iron deficiency and anemia was found, suggesting that the results are independent of the anemic status. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that iron deficiency may play a role in low-grade chronic inflammation among relatively healthy older adults.

Prevalence and incidence of iron deficiency in European community-dwelling older adults: an observational analysis of the DO-HEALTH trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Iron deficiency is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in older adults. However, data on its prevalence and incidence among older adults is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and incidence of iron deficiency in European community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 70 years. METHODS: Secondary analysis of the DO-HEALTH trial, a 3-year clinical trial including 2157 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 70 years from Austria, France, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland. Iron deficiency was defined as soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) > 28.1 nmol/L. Prevalence and incidence rate (IR) of iron deficiency per 100 person-years were examined overall and stratified by sex, age group, and country. Sensitivity analysis for three commonly used definitions of iron deficiency (ferritin < 45 µg/L, ferritin < 30 µg/L, and sTfR-ferritin index > 1.5) were also performed. RESULTS: Out of 2157 participants, 2141 had sTfR measured at baseline (mean age 74.9 years; 61.5% women). The prevalence of iron deficiency at baseline was 26.8%, and did not differ by sex, but by age (35.6% in age group ≥ 80, 29.3% in age group 75-79, 23.2% in age group 70-74); P < 0.0001) and country (P = 0.02), with the highest prevalence in Portugal (34.5%) and the lowest in France (24.4%). As for the other definitions of iron deficiency, the prevalence ranged from 4.2% for ferritin < 30 µg/L to 35.3% for sTfR-ferritin index > 1.5. Occurrences of iron deficiency were observed with IR per 100 person-years of 9.2 (95% CI 8.3-10.1) and did not significantly differ by sex or age group. The highest IR per 100 person-years was observed in Austria (20.8, 95% CI 16.1-26.9), the lowest in Germany (6.1, 95% CI 4.7-8.0). Regarding the other definitions of iron deficiency, the IR per 100 person-years was 4.5 (95% CI 4.0-4.9) for ferritin < 45 µg/L, 2.4 (95% CI 2.2-2.7) for ferritin < 30 µg/L, and 12.2 (95% CI 11.0-13.5) for sTfR-ferritin index > 1.5. CONCLUSIONS: Iron deficiency is frequent among relatively healthy European older adults, with people aged ≥ 80 years and residence in Austria and Portugal associated with the highest risk.

Physicians' perceptions of two ways of algorithm presentation: graphic versus text-based approach.

Acute bleeding during surgery or after trauma harms patients, and challenges involved physicians. Protocols and cognitive aids can help in such situations. This dual-centre study investigated physicians' opinions regarding two ways to present cognitive aids, graphic 'Haemostasis Traffic Light' and text-based, using the example of a coagulation management algorithm to identify the strengths and limitations of both presentation modalities. Using qualitative research methods, we identified recurring answer patterns and derived major topics and subthemes through inductive coding. Eighty-four physicians participated. We assigned each half randomly to one of the cognitive aids (graphic/text-based) and determined 447 usable statements. We qualitatively deduced the importance of having a cognitive aid for physicians. Furthermore, it is noticeable that the graphic group made more positive comments (154 of 242 (64%) statements), while the text-based participants made more negative annotations (126 of 205 (61%) statements), suggesting a generally stronger approval of this cognitive aid. Practitioner summary: This qualitative study provides an overview of physicians` positive and negative perceptions regarding two presentation ways for a coagulation management algorithm. Participants perceived the graphic method created according to user-centred design principles more positively. The analysis reveals components that an ideal algorithm should have to help streamline the decision-making process.

Voice alerting as a medical alarm modality for next-generation patient monitoring: a randomised international multicentre trial.

BACKGROUND: Acoustic alarms in medical devices are vital for patient safety. State-of-the-art patient monitoring alarms are indistinguishable and contribute to alarm fatigue. There are two promising new sound modalities for vital sign alarms. Auditory icons convey alarms as brief metaphorical sounds, and voice alerts transmit information using a clear-spoken language. We compared how reliably healthcare professionals identified alarms using these two modalities. METHODS: This investigator-initiated computer-based multicentre simulation study included 28 anaesthesia providers who were asked to identify vital sign alarms in randomised order, once with voice alerts and once with auditory icons. We further assessed time to decision, diagnostic confidence, and perceived helpfulness. We analysed the results using mixed models, adjusted for possible confounders. RESULTS: We assessed 14 alarms for each modality, resulting in 392 comparisons across all participants. Compared with auditory icons, healthcare providers had 58 times higher odds of correctly identifying alarms using voice alerts (odds ratio 58.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 25.1-133.6; P<0.001), made their decisions about 14 s faster (coefficient -13.9; 95% CI: -15.8 to -12.1 s; P<0.001), perceived higher diagnostic confidence (100% [392 of 392] vs 43% [169 of 392; P<0.001]), and rated voice alerts as more helpful (odds ratio 138.2; 95% CI: 64.9-294.1; P<0.001). The participants were able to identify significantly higher proportions of alarms with voice alerts (98.5%; P<0.001) and auditory icons (54.1%; P<0.001) compared with state-of-the-art alarms (17.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Voice alerts were superior to auditory icons, and both were superior to current state-of-the-art auditory alarms. These findings demonstrate the potential that voice alerts hold for patient monitoring.

Avatar-based patient monitoring in critical anaesthesia events: a randomised high-fidelity simulation study.

BACKGROUND: Failures in situation awareness cause two-thirds of anaesthesia complications. Avatar-based patient monitoring may promote situation awareness in critical situations. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomised, high-fidelity simulation study powered for non-inferiority. We used video analysis to grade anaesthesia teams managing three 10 min emergency scenarios using three randomly assigned monitoring modalities: only conventional, only avatar, and split-screen showing both modalities side by side. The primary outcome was time to performance of critical tasks. Secondary outcomes were time to verbalisation of vital sign deviations and the correct cause of the emergency, perceived workload, and usability. We used mixed Cox and linear regression models adjusted for various potential confounders. The non-inferiority margin was 10%, or hazard ratio (HR) 0.9. RESULTS: We analysed 52 teams performing 154 simulations. For performance of critical tasks during a scenario, split-screen was non-inferior to conventional (HR=1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96-1.33; not significant in test for superiority); the result for avatar was inconclusive (HR=0.98; 95% CI, 0.83-1.15). Avatar was associated with a higher probability for verbalisation of the cause of the emergency (HR=1.78; 95% CI, 1.13-2.81; P=0.012). We found no evidence for a monitor effect on perceived workload. Perceived usability was lower for avatar (coefficient=-23.0; 95% CI, -27.2 to -18.8; P<0.0001) and split-screen (-6.7; 95% CI, -10.9 to -2.4; P=0.002) compared with conventional. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed non-inferiority of split-screen compared with conventional monitoring for performance of critical tasks during anaesthesia crisis situations. The patient avatar improved verbalisation of the correct cause of the emergency. These results should be interpreted considering participants' minimal avatar but extensive conventional monitoring experience.

Physicians' perceptions regarding acute bleeding management: an international mixed qualitative quantitative study.

BACKGROUND: Acute bleeding is an omnipresent challenge for all physicians. Uncontrolled hemorrhage is the most common preventable cause of death after trauma worldwide. In different surgical disciplines, hemorrhage represents an independent risk factor for increased postoperative morbimortality, directly affecting patients' outcomes. This study asked anesthesiologists about their personal perceived challenges when treating bleeding patients. METHODS: This investigator-initiated, prospective, international, dual-center, mixed qualitative and quantitative study interrogated anesthesiologists about what they found easy and what difficult in treating acutely bleeding patients. Following the template approach for qualitative research, we identified major and minor topics through free inductive coding and word count. In a second step, we derived ten statements from the participants' answers. Using a field survey, we then asked the participants to rate their level of agreement with the derived statements. We analyzed the answers using one sample Wilcoxon test and the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: We included a total of 84 physicians in the qualitative interrogations and a different group of 42 anesthesiologists in the quantitative part. We identified 11 major topics and 19 associated subtopics. The main topics and the degree of agreement (here as agree or strongly agree) were as follows: "Complexity of the topic" (52.4% agreed to find the topic complex), "Cognitive aids" (92.9% agreed to find them helpful), "Time management" (64.3% agreed to feeling time pressure), "Human factors" (95.2% agreed that human factors are essential), "Resources" (95.2% agreed that resources are essential), "Experience" and "Low frequency of cases" (57.1% agreed to lack practice), "Diagnostic methods" (31.0% agreed that the interpretation of test results is difficult), "Anticoagulation" (85.7% agreed to it being difficult), "Treatment" (81.0% agreed to knowing the first therapeutic steps), and "Nothing". CONCLUSIONS: Anesthesiologists in two large tertiary care facilities in different parts of the world found coagulation management, especially in anticoagulated patients, complex. We identified the delayed diagnostic test results and their interpretation as challenges. Resources, treatment protocols and human factors such as team communication were perceived to facilitate management. Future studies should explore the challenges in smaller hospitals and other parts of the world and test new technologies addressing the identified difficulties.

Making patient blood management the new norm(al) as experienced by implementors in diverse countries.

BACKGROUND: Patient blood management (PBM) describes a set of evidence-based practices to optimize medical and surgical patient outcomes by clinically managing and preserving a patient's own blood. This concepts aims to detect and treat anemia, minimize the risk for blood loss and the need for blood replacement for each patient through a coordinated multidisciplinary care process. In combination with blood loss, anemia is the main driver for transfusion and all three are independent risk factors for adverse outcomes including morbidity and mortality. Evidence demonstrates that PBM significantly improves outcomes and safety while reducing cost by macroeconomic magnitudes. Despite its huge potential to improve healthcare systems, PBM is not yet adopted broadly. The aim of this study is to analyze the collective experiences of a diverse group of PBM implementors across countries reflecting different healthcare contexts and to use these experiences to develop a guidance for initiating and orchestrating PBM implementation for stakeholders from diverse professional backgrounds. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 1-4 PBM implementors from 12 countries in Asia, Latin America, Australia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Responses reflecting the drivers, barriers, measures, and stakeholders regarding the implementation of PBM were summarized per country and underwent qualitative content analysis. Clustering the resulting implementation measures by levels of intervention for PBM implementation informed a PBM implementation framework. RESULTS: A set of PBM implementation measures were extracted from the interviews with the implementors. Most of these measures relate to one of six levels of implementation including government, healthcare providers, funding, research, training/education, and patients/public. Essential cross-level measures are multi-stakeholder communication and collaboration. CONCLUSION: The implementation matrix resulting from this research helps to decompose the complexity of PBM implementation into concrete measures on each implementation level. It provides guidance for diverse stakeholders to design, initiate and develop strategies and plans to make PBM a national standard of care, thus closing current practice gaps and matching this unmet public health need.

Effects of an Animated Blood Clot Technology (Visual Clot) on the Decision-Making of Users Inexperienced in Viscoelastic Testing: Multicenter Trial.

BACKGROUND: Viscoelastic test-guided coagulation management has become increasingly important in assessing hemostasis. We developed Visual Clot, an animated, 3D blood clot that illustrates raw rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) parameters in a user-centered and situation awareness-oriented method. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of Visual Clot by examining its effects on users that are novices in viscoelastic-guided resuscitation. METHODS: We conducted an investigator-initiated, international, multicenter study between September 16, 2020, and October 6, 2020, in 5 tertiary care hospitals in central Europe. We randomly recruited medical students and inexperienced resident physicians without significant prior exposure to viscoelastic testing. The 7 participants per center managed 9 different ROTEM outputs twice, once as standard ROTEM tracings and once as the corresponding Visual Clot. We randomly presented the 18 viscoelastic cases and asked the participants for their therapeutic decisions. We assessed the performance, diagnostic confidence, and perceived workload in managing the tasks using mixed statistical models and adjusted for possible confounding factors. RESULTS: Analyzing a total of 630 results, we found that the participants solved more cases correctly (odds ratio [OR] 33.66, 95% CI 21.13-53.64; P<.001), exhibited more diagnostic confidence (OR 206.2, 95% CI 93.5-454.75; P<.001), and perceived less workload (coefficient -41.63; 95% CI -43.91 to -39.36; P<.001) using Visual Clot compared to using standard ROTEM tracings. CONCLUSIONS: This study emphasizes the practical benefit of presenting viscoelastic test results in a user-centered way. Visual Clot may allow inexperienced users to be involved in the decision-making process to treat bleeding-associated coagulopathy. The increased diagnostic confidence, diagnostic certainty, reduced workload, and positive user feedback associated with this visualization may promote the further adoption of viscoelastic methods in diverse health care settings.