2023 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Preoperative Fasting: Carbohydrate-containing Clear Liquids with or without Protein, Chewing Gum, and Pediatric Fasting Duration-A Modular Update of the 2017 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Preoperative Fasting.

These practice guidelines are a modular update of the "Practice guidelines for preoperative fasting and the use of pharmacologic agents to reduce the risk of pulmonary aspiration: Application to healthy patients undergoing elective procedures." The guidance focuses on topics not addressed in the previous guideline: ingestion of carbohydrate-containing clear liquids with or without protein, chewing gum, and pediatric fasting duration.

2023 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Monitoring and Antagonism of Neuromuscular Blockade: A Report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Neuromuscular Blockade.

These practice guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations on the management of neuromuscular monitoring and antagonism of neuromuscular blocking agents during and after general anesthesia. The guidance focuses primarily on the type and site of monitoring and the process of antagonizing neuromuscular blockade to reduce residual neuromuscular blockade.

Quantitative Neuromuscular Monitoring in Clinical Practice: A Professional Practice Change Initiative.

BACKGROUND: Residual neuromuscular blockade can be avoided with quantitative neuromuscular monitoring. The authors embarked on a professional practice initiative to attain documented train-of-four ratios greater than or equal to 0.90 in all patients for improved patient outcomes through reducing residual paralysis. METHODS: The authors utilized equipment trials, educational videos, quantitative monitors in all anesthetizing locations, and electronic clinical decision support with real-time alerts, and initiated an ongoing professional practice metric. This was a retrospective assessment (2016 to 2020) of train-of-four ratios greater than or equal to 0.9 that were documented before extubation. Anesthesia records were manually reviewed for neuromuscular blockade management details. Medical charts of surgical patients who received a neuromuscular blocking drug were electronically searched for patient characteristics and outcomes. RESULTS: From pre- to postimplementation, more patients were assigned American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status III to V, fewer were inpatients, the rocuronium average dose was higher, and more patients had a prereversal train-of-four count less than 4. Manually reviewed anesthesia records (n = 2,807) had 2 of 172 (1%) cases with documentation of train-of-four ratios greater than or equal to 0.90 in November 2016, which was fewer than the cases in December 2020 (250 of 269 [93%]). Postimplementation (February 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020), sugammadex (650 of 935 [70%]), neostigmine (195 of 935 [21%]), and no reversal (90 of 935 [10%]) were used to attain train-of-four ratios greater than or equal to 0.90 in 856 of 935 (92%) of patients. In the electronically searched medical charts (n = 20,181), postimplementation inpatients had shorter postanesthesia care unit lengths of stay (7% difference; median [in min] [25th, 75th interquartile range], 73 [55, 102] to 68 [49, 95]; P < 0.001), pulmonary complications were less (43% difference; 94 of 4,138 [2.3%] to 23 of 1,817 [1.3%]; P = 0.010; -1.0% difference [95% CI, -1.7 to -0.3%]), and hospital length of stay was shorter (median [in days] [25th, 75th], 3 [2, 5] to 2 [1, 4]; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this professional practice initiative, documentation of train-of-four ratios greater than or equal to 0.90 occurred for 93% of patients in a busy clinical practice. Return-of-strength documentation is an intermediate outcome, and only one of many factors contributing to patient outcomes.

Using Lean tools to improve the efficiency of awake fibreoptic intubation setup.

BACKGROUND: Awake fibreoptic intubation is a complex advanced airway technique used by anaesthesiologists in the management of a difficult airway. The time to setup this important procedure can be significant which may dissuade its use by some providers. In our institution, the awake intubation setup process was highly variable and error prone. METHODS: We deployed Lean methods to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the awake fibreoptic intubation setup process. A 2-day improvement event with a multidisciplinary team addressed the setup process, tested solutions and created standard work documents. Twenty awake fibreoptic intubation simulations were conducted before and after the intervention to quantify gains in setup efficiency and error reduction. RESULTS: Variability in the setup process, including clinical locations visited, was reduced through creating a standardised process. The average time to for an awake fibreoptic intubation setup was reduced by approximately 50%, from 23 min to 11 min (p<0.001). In addition, awake fibreoptic intubation equipment set out without error increased in the postintervention simulations from 59% to 85% (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: Using Lean tools, we were able to make the setup of awake fibreoptic intubation not only more efficient, but also more accurate. A similar methodological approach may have value for other complex anaesthesia procedures.

Neuromuscular Blockade Monitoring.

Neuromuscular monitoring is essential for optimal management of neuromuscular blocking drugs. Postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade continues to occur with an unacceptably high incidence and is associated with adverse patient outcomes. Use of a peripheral nerve stimulator and subjective tactile or visual assessment is useful for intraoperative management of neuromuscular blockade, especially when the patient's hand is accessible. Quantitative monitoring is necessary for confirmation of adequate reversal and for identification of patients who have recovered spontaneously and therefore should not receive pharmacologic reversal agents. Guidelines, as well as more user-friendly monitoring equipment, have created momentum toward improving routine perioperative neuromuscular monitoring.

Redesigning an airway cart using lean methodology.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Use lean methodology to create a more efficient difficult airway management equipment transport and setup. DESIGN: The 5S steps of sort, set in order, sweep, standardize, and sustain were used to create a redesigned airway cart. The 5S steps provided the framework to separate the needed from unneeded equipment, logical equipment placement on the cart, and a plan to maintain improvements. Simulations were utilized to compare the revised airway cart to the previous airway equipment storage. SETTING: Hospital operating rooms and equipment storage rooms. PATIENTS: Simulated difficult airway scenarios without patient involvement. INTERVENTION: Difficult airway equipment 5S process. MEASUREMENTS: Total pieces and cost of airway equipment before and after intervention. Walking distance and time to retrieve equipment, setup equipment, and setup defect rate during a simulation. MAIN RESULTS: Previously, airway equipment was stored in 4 locations which was reduced a single difficult airway cart. The total pieces of equipment stored was reduced 89% and the cost of disposable equipment inventory was reduced 81%. Simulations looking at the acquisition and setup of equipment during a difficult airway scenario revealed a 39% reduction in equipment set up time, a 77% reduction in non-valued-added set up time, and a 74% reduction in walking distance. There was no difference in set up defect rates. CONCLUSION: Application of this lean method resulted in a revised single cart with equipment pared down to only what is needed, arranged according to frequency and order of use in a difficult airway. In a simulated difficult airway, there was a reduction in non-value-added time and walking distance to retrieve the equipment.

Detecting unidirectional valve incompetence by the modified pressure decline method.

The 1993 Food and Drug Administration anesthesia apparatus checkout recommendation provides guidance for a standardized circle system checkout but, we believe, inadequately tests unidirectional valve (UDV) function. We developed the modified pressure decline method (MPDM) for checking UDVs. The test involves pressurizing reservoir bags downstream of the UDVs to check for competency. Thirty-six UDVs in 18 anesthesia circle systems were evaluated using the MPDM. One Draeger (Draeger Medical Inc., Telford, PA) and one Ohmeda (Datex-Ohmeda Inc., Madison, WI) machine were then retested using incompetent valve discs. One incompetent UDV (3%) was identified of the 36 valves tested in 18 anesthesia machines. The MPDM detected the valve leak (Draeger 0.6 L/min flow leak; Ohmeda 0.9 L/min flow leak) when the incompetent valve discs were intentionally introduced into each type of machine. MPDM provides a quick and effective way of identifying incompetent UDVs.