Massive deep vein thrombosis in pregnant women: The importance of individualizing the action plan.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a potentially lethal condition to be taken into account in pregnant women, where the situation is favored by the characteristic physiological changes of the pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium. The management of this pathology in this type of patient is based on anticoagulation, with the benefits and drawbacks that this implies. We present the case of a pregnant woman with massive DVT and the issues are discussed, such as the method of delivery (vaginal vs. cesarean section) or the management of treatment (LMWH vs. UFH) in order to obtain the safest situation for the patient.

[Incident reporting systems and patient safety in anesthesia]. / Sistemas de comunicación de incidentes y seguridad del paciente en anestesia.

Incident reporting schemes collect information on adverse events, errors, complications, or problems with the aim of analyzing their causes and suggesting changes to prevent recurrence. Such schemes are currently part of clinical safety programs in various countries. Although the ideal form for a reporting system is debated, an essential part of its success will be the establishment of a culture of safety within an organization. The underlying assumption is that even though errors are an inherent part of a process that relies on human beings, they are nearly always favored by a chain of system failures. Therefore, reporting is intended to stimulate a culture of learning rather than assigning blame. The main limitations of such schemes are under reporting, the use of different terms and concepts, the lack of resources for research and development, and the scarcity or lack of legislation to guarantee the proper use of information without legal consequences.

Sistemas de comunicación de incidentes y seguridad del paciente en anestesia / Incident reporting systems and patient safety in anesthesia

Los sistemas de comunicación de incidentes recogeninformación sobre sucesos adversos, errores, complicacioneso problemas con el objetivo de analizar sus causasy sugerir cambios para evitar su repetición. Actualmenteson parte de los programas de seguridad clínica en diversospaíses. Aunque existe controversia acerca de cuálesserían las características del sistema de comunicaciónideal, para que éste tenga éxito se necesita una cultura deseguridad asentada en la organización. El planteamientode base asume que aunque los errores son inherentes alproceso humano casi siempre los propicia una cadena defallos en el sistema, por lo que los sistemas de comunicaciónse diseñan para estimular una cultura de aprendizajey no de culpabilización. Sus principales limitacionesson la posibilidad de infracomunicación, las diferentesterminologías y conceptos utilizados, la falta de recursospara su investigación y desarrollo, y la escasa o nulalegislación que permita su buen uso sin implicacioneslegales

Incident reporting schemes collect information onadverse events, errors, complications, or problems withthe aim of analyzing their causes and suggesting changesto prevent recurrence. Such schemes are currently partof clinical safety programs in various countries. Althoughthe ideal form for a reporting system is debated,an essential part of its success will be the establishmentof a culture of safety within an organization. The underlyingassumption is that even though errors are aninherent part of a process that relies on human beings, theyare nearly always favored by a chain of system failures.Therefore, reporting is intended to stimulate a culture oflearning rather than assigning blame. The main limitationsof such schemes are under reporting, the use of differentterms and concepts, the lack of resources for researchand development, and the scarcity or lack oflegislation to guarantee the proper use of informationwithout legal consequences

Utilización de un sistema de comunicación y análisis de incidentes críticos en un servicio de anestesia / Application of a critical incident reporting and analysis system in an anesthesiology department

OBJETIVOS: Conocer los cambios en la morbi-mortalidad anestésica con la utilización de un sistema de comunicación de incidentes críticos y valorar los efectos de la resolución de los factores de error detectados. PACIENTES Y MÉTODOS: Consideramos incidente crítico toda situación en la que se redujo o pudo haberse reducido el margen de seguridad del paciente. Analizamos el periodo entre enero de 1999 y diciembre de 2004. RESULTADOS: Se realizaron 68.627 procedimientos anestésicos y se comunicaron 547 incidentes críticos (0,79%). En 279 incidentes (51%) se identificó un error activo. Los factores latentes asociados con mayor frecuencia fueron el error de diagnóstico de la situación, los problemas de comunicación y la falta de comprobación del equipamiento y de los fármacos. El 81,8% de los incidentes no tuvieron ningún efecto sobre el paciente. En el 78,9% el incidente se consideró evitable. La introducción de una lista de comprobación del equipamiento antes de la anestesia redujo los incidentes de 90 por 21809 casos en 31 meses a 34 por 22.064 casos en 29 meses; χ, p<0,05; odds ratio [OR]= 2,68; intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%= 1,80-3,9811. El etiquetado de jeringas redujo los errores en la administración de medicación de 45 por 21.809 casos en 31 meses a 27 por 22.064 casos en 29 meses; χ, p<0,05; OR= 1,68; IC del 95%= 1,04-2,72. CONCLUSIONES: Como consecuencia del análisis sistemático de los incidentes se adoptaron distintas medidas correctoras, algunas de las cuales demostraron una reducción estadísticamente significativa en los incidentes de equipamiento y los incidentes farmacológicos

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the changes in anesthesiarelated morbidity and mortality after application of a scheme for reporting critical incidents and to assess the effect of implementing preventive measures against the detected errors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We defined a critical incident to be any situation in which the margin of safety for the patient was reduced or might have been reduced. We analyzed data from the period between January 1999 and December 2004. RESULTS: The number of critical incidents was 547 (0.79% of 68627 anesthetic procedures). Human error was identified in 279 incidents (51%). The most frequent factors underlying errors were wrong diagnosis of the situation, communication problems, and failure to check equipment and drugs. The patient suffered no adverse effect in 81.8% of the incidents; 78.9% were considered preventable. Introducing an equipment checklist before anesthesia reduced the number of incidents from 90 events in 21809 cases in 31 months to 34 events out of 22064 cases in 29 months; χ2 test, P<0.05; odds ratio (OR), 2.68; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.80-3.98). Labeling syringes reduced errors in the administration of medications from 45 errors in 21 809 cases in 31 months to 27 in 22064 cases in 29 months; χ2, P<0.05; OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.04-2.72. CONCLUSIONS: Corrective measures were adopted as a result of the incident reporting scheme. Some of the measures led to a statistically significant reduction in equipment and drug administration errors

[Evaluation of the UpsherScope laryngoscope in routine intubation with no expected difficulties]. / Evaluación del laringoscopio UpsherScope en intubación rutinaria sin dificultad prevista.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the new rigid, fiberoptic laryngoscope (UpsherScope) in cases with no expectation of intubation difficulty. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 130 ASA I-II patients for whom no difficulty with tracheal intubation was predicted. Intubation attempts were undertaken by three staff anesthesiologists, with up to three tries permitted per patient. Causes of difficulty were recorded. A regression study of the number of tries per patient over the course of the study was used to identify a possible learning effect. Causes related to inexperience were identified by comparing their frequency of appearance between the first and second halves of the study using a chi-squared test. RESULTS: Ninety-nine patients (76%) were intubated, 70 of them (54%) on the first try. A total of 223 attempts at laryngoscopy (1.71 +/- 0.85) per patient) were made. The best relation in the regression analysis was linear, with a significant slope (-0.0193, p < 0.05) and R2 = 0.103 demonstrating a learning effect. The reasons for difficulty were hitting the endotracheal tube (ETT) against the right arytenoids (18), esophageal progression of the ETT (12), blood or secretions (8), vision obstructed by the epiglottis (7), clouding (7), lateral sliding of the stylet (6), hitting the ETT against the epiglottis (4). Only ETT impingement of the right arytenoids was related to inexperience (p < 0.001). We discuss the relation of these factors to the design of the laryngoscope. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience suggests that the UpsheScope does not offer advantages in routine intubations. The low success rate and the need for repeated attempts at intubation may be related to suboptimal design of the laryngoscope.

Evaluación del laringoscopio UpsherScopeTM en intubación rutinaria sin dificultad prevista / Evaluation of the UpsherScopeTM in routine intubation with no expectation of difficulty

Objetivos: Evaluación del nuevo laringoscopio rígido de fibra óptica UpsherScopeTM en casos sin dificultad prevista de intubación. Material y Métodos: Se estudiaron 130 pacientes ASA I-II sin dificultad previsible de intubación traqueal. Los intentos de intubación fueron realizados por tres adjuntos de anestesiología. Se permitió un máximo de tres intentos por paciente. Se registraron las causas de dificultad. Se trató de identificar un posible efecto aprendizaje realizando un estudio de regresión del número de intentos por paciente a lo largo del estudio. Se identificaron las causas asociadas a la inexperiencia, comparando su frecuencia de aparición entre la primera y segunda mitad del estudio con una prueba 2. Resultados: Se consiguió intubar 99 pacientes (76 por ciento), de ellos 70 (54 por ciento) al primer intento. Se realizaron un total de 223 intentos laringoscópicos (1,71 ñ 0,85/paciente). La mejor relación en el estudio de regresión fue la lineal con una pendiente significativa (p<0,05)= -0,0193 y R2= 0,103, demostrando efecto aprendizaje. Las causas de dificultad fueron: choque del tubo endotraqueal (TET) contra el aritenoides derecho (18), dirección esofágica del TET (12), sangre o secreciones (8), visión obstaculizada por epiglotis (7), empañamiento (7), deslizamiento lateral de la pala (6), choque del TET contra la epiglotis (4). Sólo el choque del TET contra el aritenoides derecho tuvo relación con la inexperiencia (p<0,001). Se discute la asociación de estos factores con el diseño del laringoscopio. Conclusiones: En nuestra experiencia el laringoscopio UpsherScope no aporta ventajas en las intubaciones rutinarias. Un diseño subóptimo del laringoscopio puede estar relacionado con la baja tasa de éxito y la necesidad de intentos repetidos de intubación. (AU)