The ANESTHESIOLOGY Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists was held from Oct. 22 to 26 in Chicago and attracted approximately 15,000 participants from around the world, including anesthesiologists and other health care professionals. The conference featured presentations focusing on the latest advances in the relief of pain and the care of surgical patients prior to, during, and after surgery.
In one study, Caitlin Sutton, M.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and colleagues evaluated how many women who used nitrous oxide during labor ultimately decided to get an epidural, and whether there were any factors that might help to predict that decision.
“Only a small proportion of women at our hospital chose to use nitrous oxide. The median length of time that they used it was about 80 minutes, and it provided limited pain relief (the median change in their pain score [from 0 to 10] after they started using nitrous oxide was 0),” Sutton said. “Ultimately, 60 percent of women who used nitrous oxide converted to an epidural; however, this was significantly less than our institutional labor epidural rate of over 82 percent during the same time period.”
When the investigators looked for factors that might predict which women will convert to an epidural, they found that labor induction and augmentation with oxytocin were both associated with epidural use.
In another study, Andrew Grant, M.B., Ch.B., of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, U.K., and colleagues examined patient adherence to a hospital protocol regarding which of their regular medications to continue and which to omit on the morning of surgery. The investigators only looked at patients who were admitted on the day of surgery and who had been seen in the pre-assessment clinic. Following initial evaluation, the investigators developed and refined a simple, color-coded advice sheet which the pre-assessment nurses completed with the patient. They then reevaluated to assess the effectiveness of the tool.
“Patient error rate was 46 percent before our intervention, and was reduced to 26 percent after. This was significant at the 5 percent level using the chi-square test. We surveyed all five pre-assessment staff members to obtain their opinion of the forms, with all agreeing they were useful, easy to use, and they would like to continue using them,” Grant said. “Introducing this form should aid patient comfort and ensure they are optimally prepared for surgery. It may potentially reduce the chance of on-the-day cancellations due to medication errors, although we did not specifically look at this outcome.”
ASA: Easing Labor Pain May Help Mitigate Postpartum Depression
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 26, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Women who obtain good pain relief during labor may have a lower risk of postpartum depression, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held from Oct. 22 to 26 in Chicago.
ASA: Low Unplanned Admission for Dental Procedure + Other Sx
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 26, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Few pediatric patients having a dental procedure combined with another surgical procedure require unplanned admission for perioperative concerns, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held from Oct. 22 to 26 in Chicago.
ASA: Tranexamic Acid Doesn’t Up Death, Thrombotic Complications
TUESDAY, Oct. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Tranexamic acid is associated with a lower risk of bleeding than placebo for patients undergoing coronary artery surgery without increased risk of death or thrombotic complications, according to a study published online Oct. 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research was published to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held from Oct. 22 to 26 in Chicago.
ASA: Study Describes Non-Operating Room Anesthesia Care
MONDAY, Oct. 24, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Patient and case characteristics differ for non-operating room anesthesia (NORA) and operating room (OR) anesthesia, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held from Oct. 22 to 26 in Chicago.
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