A cross-sectional survey study of nurses' self-assessed competencies in obstetric and surgical postanesthesia care units.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify priorities to guide development of an obstetric PACU continuing education curriculum. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, survey design was used. METHODS: A total of 54 obstetric nurses and 68 perianesthesia Phase I nurses at an academic, tertiary care center completed online surveys for self-assessment of recent education, competency, and encounters with 14 topics related to postanesthesia nursing (eg, basic life support [BLS], advanced cardiac life support [ACLS], neonatal resuscitation, and the American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses' standards). FINDINGS: Obstetric nurses reported low encounters, competency, and recent training in all study topics except oxygen administration, phlebotomy, BLS, and neonatal resuscitation. Perianesthesia Phase I nurses indicated high encounters, competency, and recent training for all topics except for ACLS and malignant hyperthermia. All nurses indicated the need for arranging debriefing sessions after life-threatening situations. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that obstetric-postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nursing should focus on continuing education curriculum development, whereas main surgical-PACU emphasis should be on skills assessment. Future research should be directed to knowledge- (didactics) and skills- (simulation) educational programs, including maintenance and assessment of skills unique to obstetric-PACU care.

The median local analgesic dose of intrathecal bupivacaine with hydromorphone for labour: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Neuraxial hydromorphone has been reported to provide rapid onset of labour analgesia, effective segmental pain relief, and a longer duration of action than commonly used lipophilic opioids. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that intrathecal hydromorphone reduces the dose requirement for intrathecal bupivacaine to induce rapid analgesia for women in the first stage of labour. METHODS: In this double-blind randomized controlled sequential allocation trial, 88 labouring parturients received combined spinal-epidural analgesia at 2-6 cm cervical dilation. Participants received intrathecal bupivacaine alone or bupivacaine plus hydromorphone 100 µg with the bupivacaine dose determined using up-down sequential allocation. An effective dose was defined as a visual analogue pain score of ≤10 mm (on a 100-mm pain scale) reported within 20 min of injection. The median effective doses were calculated using the formula of Dixon and Massey and verified using isotonic regression. RESULTS: A decrease was observed in the median local analgesic doses (effective dose [ED50]) estimated according to the formulas of Dixon and Massey, with a between-group difference of -0.45 mg. The precision of the estimate was wide-ranging (95% confidence interval -1.23 to 0.33), so no definitive conclusion can be drawn. CONCLUSION: Further research is needed to determine whether or not intrathecal hydromorphone 100 µg changes the dose of intrathecal bupivacaine required to induce labour analgesia within 20 min. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was conducted in 2007 prior to widespread acceptance of the standard for clinical trial registration.

Comfort, satisfaction, and anxiolysis in surgical patients using a patient-adjustable comfort warming system: a prospective randomized clinical trial.

Comfort warming systems aim to produce a comfortable local environment over which the individual patient has control. We studied a patient-adjustable comfort warming system using the Bair PAWS (Patient Adjustable Warming System) (Arizant Healthcare, Inc, Eden Prairie, MN), specifically to study comfort warming rather than therapeutic warming. One-hundred thirty patients were enrolled in this prospective randomized clinical trial, with 58 patients randomized to the patient warming gown, and 72 randomized to the warm blanket group. Groups were similar for gender, age, height, weight, surgical time, body surface area, and body mass index. The patient-adjustable warming system group had perceived greater control and satisfaction at 30 minutes after treatment was initiated compared with the warmed blanket control group. However, there were no differences in satisfaction levels with thermal comfort among those patients contacted one day postoperatively. Additional research is needed to improve external validity of study findings. Further refinement of a nursing definition of thermal comfort should be explored.

A systematic review of randomized controlled trials that evaluate strategies to avoid epidural vein cannulation during obstetric epidural catheter placement.

BACKGROUND: In this systematic review, we evaluated the evidence for seven strategies which have been proposed to minimize the incidence of epidural vein cannulation during lumbar epidural catheter placement in pregnant women. METHODS: Multiple databases were searched to identify prospective, randomized, controlled trials between December 1966 and October 2007 that evaluated methods to avoid epidural vein cannulation after lumbar epidural catheter placement in pregnant women. Published trials were evaluated using a quality assessment tool, and results were combined to evaluate efficacy to prevent epidural vein cannulation. RESULTS: Of 90 trials screened, 30 trials were included (n = 12,738 subjects). Five strategies reduce the risk of epidural vein cannulation: the lateral as opposed to sitting position (six trials, mean (sd) quality score = 35% [11%], odds ratio (OR) 0.53 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.32-0.86]), fluid administered through the epidural needle before catheter insertion (8 trials, quality score 48% [18%], OR 0.49 [95% CI 0.25-0.97]), single rather than multiorifice catheter (5 trials, quality score 30% [6%], OR 0.64 [95% CI 0.45-0.91]), a wire-embedded polyurethane compared with polyamide epidural catheter (1 trial, 31%, plus 4 unscored abstracts, OR 0.14 [95% CI 0.06-0.30]) and catheter insertion depth < or =6 cm (2 trials, 47% [11%], OR 0.27 [95% CI 0.10-0.74]). The paramedian as opposed to midline needle approach and smaller epidural needle or catheter gauges do not reduce the risk of epidural vein cannulation. CONCLUSION: The risk of intravascular placement of a lumbar epidural catheter in pregnancy may be reduced with the lateral patient position, fluid predistension, a single orifice catheter, a wire-embedded polyurethane epidural catheter and limiting the depth of catheter insertion to 6 cm or less. In general, low manuscript quality weakens the strength of these conclusions.

A survey of obstetric perianesthesia care unit standards.

BACKGROUND: Although obstetric patients are generally healthy, population risk is increasing because of increases in maternal age, obesity, and rates of multifetal pregnancies, and complications may occur in the immediate postoperative period. In this study, we sought to identify the current level of recovery care for obstetric patients in North American academic institutions after either general or major neuraxial anesthesia for cesarean delivery. METHODS: A survey of obstetric anesthesia recovery practices was delivered electronically to 135 obstetric anesthesiology directors of North American academic institutions from June to October, 2007. Surveys were completed electronically and anonymously. RESULTS: The response rate was 54.8% (74 of 135). Respondents reported a median of 2550 deliveries per year (interquartile range [IQR] 2000, 4000), with 30% delivered by cesarean delivery (IQR 25.5%, 32.5%) and 5% of cesarean deliveries performed under general anesthesia (IQR 4%, 8%). Most institutions recovered postcesarean patients in either an obstetric perianesthesia care unit or a labor, delivery, and recovery room. Recovery care was staffed solely by perinatal nurses, rather than dedicated perianesthesia care unit nurses in most institutions. Forty-five percent (28 of 62) of institutions had no specific postanesthesia recovery training for nursing staff providing postcesarean care for patients recovering from neuraxial or general anesthesia. Forty-three percent (29 of 67) of respondents rated the recovery care provided to cesarean delivery patients as lower quality than care given to general surgical patients. Respondents who relied solely on perinatal nurses to provide postanesthesia care were most likely to perceive that postanesthetic care for cesarean delivery was of lower quality than that given to general surgery patients (P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Guidelines put forth by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Postanesthetic Care and the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses apply to all postoperative patients regardless of their recovery locations. Results from this survey suggest that the level of care provided for postanesthesia recovery from cesarean delivery in North American academic institutions may not meet these guidelines.

Improvement in the quality of randomized controlled trials among general anesthesiology journals 2000 to 2006: a 6-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: We previously assessed all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from four anesthesiology journals from January 2000 to December 2000. We identified key areas for improvement in the study protocol design and implementation and in data analyses. This study was repeated for the year 2006 to determine if improvements have occurred during the 6-yr interval. METHODS: All RCTs published in 2006 in four anesthesiology journals (Anesthesiology, Anesthesia & Analgesia, Anaesthesia, and Canadian Journal of Anesthesia) were retrieved using a MEDLINE search. Of 2164 articles published in 2006, 200 papers met these search criteria and were considered valid for analysis. We completed a 14-item, validated assessment tool used in our previous study to determine a quality score for each article. Four clinical reviewers each assessed 50 articles, and one reviewer assessed all 200 articles. Points were assigned by consensus. Scores were weighted and compared with the results from the year 2000. RESULTS: Quality scores improved from the year 2000 to 2006, from a mean overall quality score of 44% (95% CI = 42, 46) to a mean score of 58% (95% CI = 55, 60). Specific areas of study, quality assessment demonstrating improvement, included sample size estimates (52% vs 86%, P < 0.0001), major end-points (44% vs 99%, P < 0.0001), and discussion of side effects (68% vs 82%, P = 0.0019). Low quality scores remained for randomization blinding (4% vs 19% P < 0.0001), observer blinding to continuing studies (1% vs 5% P = 0.116), and post-beta estimates in trials with negative outcomes (16% vs 18%, P < 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: There appears to have been a general improvement in the overall quality of RCT reporting among the major anesthesiology journals from the year 2000 to 2006. However, many articles could be improved with respect to randomization blinding, observer blinding to continuing study results (i.e., no unplanned interim data analysis), and a full discussion of Type II error in negative trials. Responsibility to improve the quality of the anesthesiology literature rests with investigators to design, implement and report high quality RCTs, and with peer reviewers and journal editors to set the standard for manuscript reporting. Periodic reassessments of the literature can serve to improve and maintain the quality of clinical trials reporting.

Comparison of spinal vs general anesthesia via laryngeal mask airway in inguinal hernia repair.

HYPOTHESIS: The use of laryngeal mask airway and propofol in inguinal hernia repair results in shorter operative and recovery room times. DESIGN: Randomized control trial. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENTS: From May 2000 to March 2002, a convenience sample of 79 patients was invited to participate; 34 entered the study. Fifteen patients were randomized to subarachnoid block, and 18 patients were randomized to laryngeal mask airway. No patients withdrew from the study because of adverse effects. All study subjects were followed up for 6 months. INTERVENTION: General anesthesia via laryngeal mask airway or lidocaine subarachnoid block anesthesia for inguinal hernia repair. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Operative and recovery room times; surgeon evaluation of the adequacy of the anesthetic technique; 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey scores before and after operation. RESULTS: Total time from entry into the operating room to discharge home was slightly longer in the subarachnoid block group (285 vs 262 minutes; 95% confidence interval, 251-317 minutes) but this difference was not statistically or clinically significant. Patient satisfaction was high with both techniques; patient-reported outcomes were the same. Surgeons rated muscle relaxation and exposure better with the subarachnoid block. CONCLUSIONS: We found no differences between short-acting spinal anesthesia and general anesthesia via laryngeal mask airway with intravenous propofol in efficiency or in early or late outcomes after elective inguinal hernia repair. Surgeon and patient preferences appear to be the most important reasons for selecting an anesthetic technique for individual patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair.

Are plastic surgery advertisements conforming to the ethical codes of the american society of plastic surgeons?

Cosmetic surgeons have increasingly come under fire for using advertisements that may be deceptive or intended for the solicitation of vulnerable consumers. However, aesthetic surgery is a growing business that relies heavily on advertising to survive. To prevent the use of deceptive advertisements, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has developed a code of ethics for its physician members. We conducted a study to determine the prevalence of cosmetic surgery advertisements considered objectionable by the lay public. These advertisements were published in the Yellow Pages of the 10 largest U.S. cities. Because all of the advertisements in this study contained the American Society of Plastic Surgeons logo, we also determined whether its members are upholding the ethical code of advertising. We asked a convenience sample of 50 participants to rate 104 advertisements using four yes/no questions derived from the code of ethics and one overall yes/no question regarding whether the advertisement was objectionable. We obtained the mean percentage of "yes" responses for each advertisement, from the total sample, for each question. We found that the study participants felt that 25 percent of the advertisements used images of persons or facsimiles that falsely and deceptively created unjustified expectations of favorable results. The participants responded that 22 percent of the advertisements appealed primarily to the layperson's fears, anxieties, or emotional vulnerabilities. In addition, 18 percent of the advertisements were considered to be objectionable. Discretion is currently left up to physicians as to the ethical nature of their advertisements. Although the majority of American Society of Plastic Surgeons members uphold the ethical code of advertising, there are still a substantial number of published advertisements that the average consumer considers to be in violation of this code.

Patient Internet use in a community outpatient orthopaedic practice.

This study evaluated Internet use among orthopaedic patients in a private practice general orthopaedic setting. Of 154 respondents, twenty percent had used the Internet to research their orthopaedic diagnosis. Search rates were lowest for patients with arthritis and highest for patients with disorders of the spine or back. Seventy percent of these patients who had searched had found their searches helpful, and over 50% of patients who had searched had questions raised that they planned to address with their physicians. Of those patients who did search the Internet, none reported concern regarding the credibility of Internet retrieved material.

Accreditation and standardization of neuroanesthesia fellowship programs: results of a specialty-wide survey.

The question of accreditation and standardization of neuroanesthesia fellowship training programs in the U.S. has been discussed extensively within the field. Although numerous opinion pieces have been published, there are no data indicating the level of support or opposition for accreditation of subspecialty training among specialists in the field of neuroanesthesia. To address this gap in knowledge, a web-based survey was designed and electronically distributed to members of the Society of Neurosurgical Anesthesia and Critical Care (SNACC) that were practicing in the United States (n=339). The primary question assessed support for subspecialty accreditation. In addition, the participants were asked to rate the importance of various curricular elements for a neuroanesthesia fellowship training program. Over a 1-month period, there were 134 responses in total (40% of the sample). Ninety percent of the respondents identified themselves as having a university affiliation. Of the respondents, 64% indicated support for accreditation, 20% indicated opposition, and the remainder was equivocal. Career development, neurocritical care, and intraoperative neuromonitoring were the top 3 subjects thought to be essential to a neuroanesthesia fellowship. The majority supported a 1-year fellowship training program. These data indicate measurable support among members of SNACC for a process toward the accreditation of neuroanesthesia fellowship training programs.

Propofol decreases early postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing thyroid and parathyroid operations.

BACKGROUND: As the practice of parathyroid and thyroid surgery shifts toward short stay and outpatient treatment, the occurrence and management of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) increases in importance due to its potential to delay discharge. PONV also may contribute negatively to the patient's experience and thus their level of satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to determine whether anesthetic technique based on propofol decreases the incidence of PONV and, consequently, improves patient satisfaction with their care. METHODS: A prospective, randomized trial included patients undergoing thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy under general anesthetic with (75 patients) or without (73 patients) propofol. Occurrences of nausea, vomiting, and the resultant treatment were tracked during the perioperative period. Repeated questionnaires at multiple time points determined patient expectations and experiences related to PONV after their operation. Statistical analyses compared differences between the propofol and non-propofol groups. RESULTS: PONV was significantly less likely in the propofol group at the early time points (in the operating room and postanesthesia care unit) but not at later time points (postoperative day 1 or 2). Patients were largely satisfied with different aspects of their management despite the specifics of their anesthetic regimen. CONCLUSIONS: A propofol-based anesthetic decreases PONV immediately after the operation but this influence does not persist throughout the episode of care or significantly contribute to patient perceptions of satisfaction.

The quality of randomized controlled trials in major anesthesiology journals.

Increased attention has been directed at the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and how they are being reported. We examined leading anesthesiology journals to identify if there were specific areas for improvement in the design and analysis of published clinical studies. All RCTs that appeared between January 2000 and December 2000 in leading anesthesiology journals (Anesthesiology,Anesthesia & Analgesia,Anaesthesia, and Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia) were retrieved by a MEDLINE search. We used a previously validated assessment tool, including 14 items associated with study quality, to determine a quality score for each article. The overall mean weighted quality score was 44% +/- 16%. Overall average scores were relatively high for appropriate controls (77% +/- 7%) and discussions of side effects (67% +/- 6%). Scores were very low for randomization blinding (5% +/- 2%), blinding observers to results (1% +/- 1%), and post-beta estimates (16% +/- 13%). Important pretreatment clinical predictors were absent in 32% of all studies. Significant improvement in the reporting and conduct of RCTs is required and should focus on randomization methodology, the blinding of investigators, and sample size estimates. Repeat assessments of the literature may improve the adoption of guidelines for the improvement of the quality of randomized controlled trials.

Reducing unnecessary cross-matching: a patient-specific blood ordering system is more accurate in predicting who will receive a blood transfusion than the maximum blood ordering system.

UNLABELLED: Most blood transfusions are given in the operating room. Adoption of the Maximum Surgical Blood Ordering Schedule in the 1970s reduced the amount of blood unnecessarily cross-matched, but the national cross-match-to-transfusion ratio remains at approximately two-to-one. We tested the ability of a patient-specific blood ordering system (PSBOS) to more accurately predict potential operative transfusion. All adult patients who had blood cross-matched before surgery (February through June 1999) for elective operative procedures at the University of Michigan Hospital were identified. Complex surgeries were excluded. Surgeons estimated the expected blood loss for their surgeries, and the expected postoperative hematocrit was calculated using the patient's blood volume, the surgeon-defined expected blood loss, and preoperative hematocrit. Lowest tolerated hematocrit was set at 21% except in patients with coronary artery disease or who were ASA physical status III or more (28%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the PSBOS were calculated. Our analysis included 178 cases in which blood was cross-matched before surgery, representing 69 different surgeries and 42 surgeons. Only 16% of patients received an intraoperative transfusion. Of the 156 patients that PSBOS predicted would not require an operating room transfusion, 139 were not transfused. Of the 21 patients PSBOS predicted would be transfused, 11 were. The sensitivity of the algorithm as tested was 41%, the specificity 93%, the positive predictive value was 55%, and the negative predictive value was 89%. We conclude that PSBOS, which includes patient and surgeon variables in transfusion prediction, is more accurate than the Maximum Surgical Blood Ordering Schedule, which uses only surgical procedure. IMPLICATIONS: Currently, many units of blood set aside for surgery are never required, resulting in extra work and expense for blood banks. A formula that included patient weight and hematocrit and typical surgery blood loss was used to predict who would require transfusions. We reduced the predicted number of patients who had blood set aside from 178 to 21.

Use of the Internet by pediatric orthopaedic outpatients.

The Internet is a rich source of medical information, but little is known about orthopaedic patients' use of the Internet for medical information. Adults accompanying children to the clinic of a pediatric orthopaedist were surveyed regarding their rates of access to and use of the Internet for orthopaedic information and their opinions about the success of their searches and the utility of the Internet as a source of medical information. The response rate was 84% (212/253). Search rates were lowest for patients with fractures (18.2%) and highest for patients with scoliosis (53.5%). Slightly more than three quarters found their search helpful, and slightly less than half planned to discuss their search with the physician. Use of the Internet by patients and family members can create additional time demands on the orthopaedist with questions resulting from their search. Physicians can minimize time demands and educate their patients by guiding them to reputable, patient-oriented Internet sites and taking part in the creation of such sites.

A demographic, service, and financial survey of anesthesia training programs in the United States.

UNLABELLED: In February 2000, a demographic, service, and finance survey was sent to the directors of anesthesiology training programs in the United States under the auspices of the Society of Academic Anesthesia Chairs/Association of Academic Program Directors. In August of 2000, 2001, and 2002, shorter follow-up surveys were sent to the same program directors requesting the numbers of vacancies in faculty positions and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) positions. The August 2001 survey also inquired if departments had positive or negative financial margins for the fiscal year ending June 2001. The August 2002 survey included the questions of the 2001 survey and additionally asked if the departments had had an increase or decrease in institutional support and the amount of that current support. The survey results revealed that the average program had 36 anesthetizing locations and 36 faculty. Those faculty spent 69% of their time providing clinical service. Approximately one-half of the departments paid for some of their residents, whereas the other 50% paid for none. Eighty-five percent of the departments employed CRNAs who were funded by the hospital in one third of the departments. In 2000, departments received $34,319/yr in support per faculty full-time equivalent (FTE) from their institutions and had a mean revenue of $407,000/yr/faculty FTE. In 2002, the department's institutional support per FTE increased to $59,680 (a 74% increase since 2000). The departments in academic medical centers paid 20% in overhead expenses, whereas departments in nonacademic medical centers paid 10%. In 2000, 2001, and 2002, the percentage of departments with positive margins was 53%, 53%, and 65%, respectively, whereas the departments with a negative margin decreased from 44% in the year 2000 to 38% in 2001 and 33% in 2002. For the departments with a positive margin, the amount of margin per FTE over this 3-yr period was approximately $50,000, $15,000, and $30,000, respectively. Although the percentage of departments with a negative margin has been decreasing, the negative margin per FTE seems to be increasing from approximately $24,000 to $43,000. The number of departments with open faculty positions has decreased from 91.5% in the year 2000 to 83.5% in 2001 and 78.4% in 2002; in these departments, the number of open faculty positions has also decreased from 3.8 in 2000 to 3.9 in 2001 to 3.4 in 2002. The number of open CRNA positions seems to have been relatively constant with approximately two thirds of the departments requiring an average of approximately four CRNAs each. Overall, academic anesthesiology departments fiscal security seems to have eroded with an increased dependence on institutional support. Departments pay larger overhead rates relative to private practice, and there seems to be a continued, but possibly decreasing, shortage of faculty. IMPLICATIONS: A survey was conducted of anesthesia training program directors that demonstrated that their departments' financial conditions have been eroding over the years 2000 to 2002. During this same period of time, departments were receiving an increase in institutional support from $34,319/full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty in the year 2000 to $59,680/FTE in the year 2002. Although there seems to be an approximate 10% shortage in academic faculty, the number of departments with open positions has progressively decreased from 91% to 73% over the past 3 yr. On average, the financial condition of the training departments has deteriorated over the past 3 yr despite a significant increase in institutional support to enable departments to recruit and retain faculty in an era of an apparent national shortage of anesthesiologists.