Ten years of the Helsinki Declaration on patient safety in anaesthesiology: An expert opinion on peri-operative safety aspects

The way towards ethical anesthesia care: no aim - no game - no fame or blame?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review explores the intricacies of ethical anesthesia, exploring the necessity for precision anesthesia and its impact on patient-reported outcomes. The primary objective is to advocate for a defined aim, promoting the implementation of rules and feedback systems. The ultimate goal is to enhance precision anesthesia care, ensuring patient safety through the implementation of a teamwork and the integration of feedback mechanisms.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent strategies in the field of anesthesia have evolved from intraoperative monitorization to a wider perioperative patient-centered precision care. Nonetheless, implementing this approach encounters significant obstacles. The article explores the evidence supporting the need for a defined aim and applicable rules for precision anesthesia's effectiveness. The implementation of the safety culture is underlined. The review delves into the teamwork description with structured feedback systems.

SUMMARY

Anesthesia is a multifaceted discipline that involves various stakeholders. The primary focus is delivering personalized precision care. This review underscores the importance of establishing clear aims, defined rules, and fostering effective and well tolerated teamwork with accurate feedback for improving patient-reported outcomes. The Safe Brain Initiative approach, emphasizing algorithmic monitoring and systematic follow-up, is crucial in implementing a fundamental and standardized reporting approach within patient-centered anesthesia care practice.

A novel approach to calculate the required volume of air for bronchial blockers in young children

INTRODUCTION

Bronchial blocker balloons inflated with small volumes of air increase balloon pressure, involving a risk of airway injury especially in young children. However, there are no established guidelines regarding the appropriate volumes of air required to provide safe bronchial occlusion.

METHODS

This study aimed to introduce a novel method for calculating the amount of air required for safe bronchial blocker balloon occlusion for one lung anesthesia in young children. We included 79 pediatric patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery at our hospital. Preoperatively, the balloon pressure and corresponding diameter of 5F bronchial blockers inflated with different volumes of air were measured. Intraoperatively, bronchial diameters measured by computerized tomographic scans were matched to the ex vivo measured balloon diameters. The quality of lung isolation, incidence of balloon repositioning, and airway injury were documented. Postoperatively, airway injury was evaluated through fiberoptic bronchoscopy.

RESULTS

Balloon pressure and balloon diameter showed linear and nonlinear correlations with volume, respectively. The median lengths of the right and left mainstem bronchi were median (interquartile range) range: 5.3 mm (4.5-6.3) 2.7-8.15 and 21.8 (19.6-23.4) 14-29, respectively. Occluding the left mainstem bronchus required <1 mL of air, with a balloon pressure of 27 cm H2O. The isolation quality was high with no case of mucosal injury or displacement. Occluding the right mainstem bronchus required a median air volume of 1.3 mL, with a median balloon pressure of 44 cm H2O. One patient had poor lung isolation due to a tracheal bronchus and another developed mild and transient airway injury.

CONCLUSION

The bronchial blocker cuff should be regarded as a high-pressure balloon. We introduced a new concept for safe bronchial blocker balloon occlusion for one-lung ventilation in small children.

Broadening the scope and rising to the occasion, an opportunity for anaesthesiologists to take the lead in healthcare quality & patient safety (again)

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The landscape of healthcare is characterized by high demands and scarce human and financial resources. This calls for action in improving healthcare quality. This review shows how anaesthesiologists are the designated medical specialist to share their affinity and knowledge in quality and safety, throughout the hospital and across the care continuum.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies show excellent frameworks and examples of anaesthesiologist leading the way in patient safety and quality of care.

SUMMARY

Anaesthesiologist are early adapters of patient safety. In the last decades anaesthesia has become linked with patient safety and the quality of care. With the recent transition from peroperative to perioperative care; new opportunities are emerging, expanding our professional scope. Unfortunately, the anaesthesiologist is not often positioned in a leading role in quality of care and patient safety. After a brief rise during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which anaesthesiologists were visible in the frontline in many countries, we have unfortunately disappeared from the spotlight. This review shows numerous ideas, examples, and a framework how a leading position can be realized.

The 2024 revision of the Norwegian standard for the safe practice of anaesthesia

The Norwegian standard for the safe practice of anaesthesia was first published in 1991, and revised in 1994, 1998, 2005, 2010 and 2016 respectively. The 1998 version was published in English for the first time in Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica in 2002. It must be noted that this is a national standard, reflecting the specific opportunities and challenges in a Norwegian setting, which may be different from other countries in some respects. A feature of the Norwegian healthcare system is the availability, on a national basis, of specifically highly trained and qualified nurse anaesthetists. Another feature is the geography, with parts of the population living in remote areas. These may be served by small, local emergency hospitals. Emergency transport of patients to larger hospitals is not always achievable when weather conditions are rough. These features and challenges were considered important when designing a balanced and consensus-based national standard for the safe practice of anaesthesia, across Norwegian clinical settings. In this article, we present the 2024 revision of the document. This article presents a direct translation of the complete document from the Norwegian original.

[Understanding complex processes better-A case study on increasing patient safety and efficiency in a central operating room]

BACKGROUND

Various professional groups are involved in the daily work of the central operating room with the aim of providing the best possible treatment for each individual using modern medical technology (sociotechnical system) in a cost-effective manner. Ensuring perioperative patient safety is of particular importance. At the same time, the efficient use of the central operating room is essential for the economic success of a hospital. Preoperative preparation is a complex process with many substeps that are often difficult to manage. Historically, the focus has been on retrospective learning from errors and incidents. More recent approaches take a systemic view. A central idea is to consider the mostly positive course of treatment and the adjustments to daily work that are currently required by the people involved (Safety-II). By taking greater account of how the many components of the system interact, processes can be better understood and specific measures derived. This strengthens the system's ability to adapt to changes and disturbances, thus ensuring that goals are achieved. The functional resonance analysis method (FRAM) is an internationally recognized method for modelling work as done compared to work as imagined. This paper presents the application of FRAM to preoperative preparation in a major regional hospital.

OBJECTIVE

Is FRAM suitable for improving process understanding in preoperative preparation?

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An interdisciplinary project team identified relevant functions of preoperative preparation through document analysis and walkthroughs. Based on this, more than 30 guided interviews were conducted with functionaries. The results were presented graphically and specific information, such as safety-related statements or reasons for the variability of functions, were also presented textually. In the next phase, statements were evaluated and compared with the target model and the job descriptions.

RESULTS

The FRAM revealed the process as a complex network of relationships. During the modelling process, a varying degree of centrality and variability of certain functions became apparent. From the observations, the project team selected those with high relevance for patient safety and for the efficiency of the overall process in order to prioritize starting points for deriving measures to increase resilience. These starting points relate either to single functions, such as surgical site marking or to multiple functions that are variable in their execution, such as delays due to nonsynchronized duty times.

CONCLUSION

The FRAM conducted provides valuable new insights into the functioning of complex sociotechnical systems that go far beyond classical linear methods. The awareness of operational processes gained and the resulting dynamic view of interactions within the system enable specific measures to be derived that promote resilient behavior and reduce critical variability, thus contributing to increased patient safety and efficiency.

Anesthesia Patient Monitoring 2050

The monitoring of vital signs in patients undergoing anesthesia began with the very first case of anesthesia and has evolved alongside the development of anesthesiology ever since. Patient monitoring started out as a manually performed, intermittent, and qualitative assessment of the patient's general well-being in the operating room. In its evolution, patient monitoring development has responded to the clinical need, for example, when critical incident studies in the 1980s found that many anesthesia adverse events could be prevented by improved monitoring, especially respiratory monitoring. It also facilitated and perhaps even enabled increasingly complex surgeries in increasingly higher-risk patients. For example, it would be very challenging to perform and provide anesthesia care during some of the very complex cardiovascular surgeries that are almost routine today without being able to simultaneously and reliably monitor multiple pressures in a variety of places in the circulatory system. Of course, anesthesia patient monitoring itself is enabled by technological developments in the world outside of the operating room. Throughout its history, anesthesia patient monitoring has taken advantage of advancements in material science (when nonthrombogenic polymers allowed the design of intravascular catheters, for example), in electronics and transducers, in computers, in displays, in information technology, and so forth. Slower product life cycles in medical devices mean that by carefully observing technologies such as consumer electronics, including user interfaces, it is possible to peek ahead and estimate with confidence the foundational technologies that will be used by patient monitors in the near future. Just as the discipline of anesthesiology has, the patient monitoring that accompanies it has come a long way from its beginnings in the mid-19th century. Extrapolating from careful observations of the prevailing trends that have shaped anesthesia patient monitoring historically, patient monitoring in the future will use noncontact technologies, will predict the trajectory of a patient's vital signs, will add regional vital signs to the current systemic ones, and will facilitate directed and supervised anesthesia care over the broader scope that anesthesia will be responsible for.

Effectiveness of current perioperative telemonitoring on postoperative outcome in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery: A systematic review of controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Perioperative telemonitoring of patients undergoing major surgery might lead to improved postoperative outcomes. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of current perioperative telemonitoring interventions on postoperative clinical, patient-reported, and financial outcome measures in patients undergoing major surgery.

METHODS

For this systematic review, PubMed, CINAHL, and Embase databases were searched for eligible articles published between January 1, 2009 and March 15, 2021. Studies were eligible as they described: (P) patients aged 18 years or older who underwent major abdominal surgery, (I) perioperative telemonitoring as intervention, (C) a control group receiving usual care, (O) any type of postoperative clinical, patient-reported, or financial outcome measures, and (S) an interventional study design.

RESULTS

The search identified 2958 articles of which 10 were eligible for analysis, describing nine controlled trials of 2438 patients. Perioperative telemonitoring comprised wearable biosensors (n = 3), websites (n = 3), e-mail (n = 1), and mobile applications (n = 2). Outcome measures were clinical (n = 8), patient-reported (n = 5), and financial (n = 2). Results show significant improvement of recovery time, stoma self-efficacy and pain in the early postoperative phase in patients receiving telemonitoring. Other outcome measures were not significantly different between the groups.

CONCLUSION

Evidence for the effectiveness of perioperative telemonitoring in major surgery is scarce. There is a need for good quality studies with sufficient patients while ensuring that the quality and usability of the technology and the adoption in care processes are optimal.

Discrepancy in Reporting of Perioperative Complications: A Retrospective Observational Study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the discrepancy between perioperative complications, prospectively recorded during a cohort study versus retrospectively from health records.

BACKGROUND

Perioperative adverse events are relevant for patient outcome, but incomplete reporting is common.

METHODS

Two physicians independently recorded all intraoperative adverse events according to ClassIntra and all postoperative complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification based on all available health records. These retrospective assessments were compared with the number and severity of those prospectively assessed in the same patients during their inclusion in 1 center of a prospective multicenter cohort study.

RESULTS

Interrater agreement between both physicians for retrospective recording was high [intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.89 (95% CI, 0.86, 0.91) for intraoperative and 0.88 (95% CI, 0.85, 0.90) for postoperative complications]. In 320 patients, the incidence rate was higher retrospectively than prospectively for any intraoperative complication (incidence rate ratio: 1.79; 95% CI, 1.50, 2.13) and for any postoperative complication (incidence rate ratio: 2.21; 95% CI, 1.90, 2.56). In 71 patients, the severity of the most severe intraoperative complication was higher in the retrospective than in the prospective data collection, whereas in 69 the grading was lower. In 106 patients, the severity of the most severe postoperative complication was higher in the retrospective than in the prospective data collection, whereas in 19 the grading was lower.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a noticeable discrepancy in the number and severity of reported perioperative complications between these 2 data collection methods. On the basis of the double-blinded assessment of 2 independent raters, our study renders prospective underreporting more likely than retrospective overreporting.

[Processed EEG for personalized dosing of anesthetics during general anesthesia]

Electroencephalogram (EEG)-guided anesthesia is indispensable in modern operating rooms and has become established as the standard form of monitoring. Many anesthesiologists rely on processed EEG indices in the hope of averting anesthesia-related complications, such as intraoperative awareness, postoperative delirium and other cognitive complications in their patients. This educational review aims to provide information on the five most prevalent monitors used to guide depth of sedation during general anesthesia. This article elucidates the principles underpinning the application of these monitors where known, which are generally based on power in various EEG frequency bands and on the burst suppression pattern. Convinced that EEG-guided anesthesia has the potential of benefitting many surgical patients, it is felt that many basic principles and shortcomings of processed EEG indices need to be better understood in the clinical practice. After discussing the different monitors and clinically relevant data from the literature, the article gives a short practical guidance on how to critically interpret processed EEG information and troubleshooting of confounded indices in the context of clinical situations.

Learning from errors and resilience

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Learning from errors has been the main objective of patient safety initiatives for the last decades. The different tools have played a role in the evolution of the safety culture to a nonpunitive system-centered one. The model has shown its limits, and resilience and learning from success have been advocated as the key strategies to deal with healthcare complexity. We intend to review the recent experiences in applying these to learn about patient safety.

RECENT FINDINGS

Since the publication of the theoretical basis for resilient healthcare and Safety-II, there is a growing experience applying these concepts into reporting systems, safety huddles, and simulation training, as well as applying tools to detect discrepancies between the intended work as imagined when designing the procedures and the work as done when front-line healthcare providers face the real-life conditions.

SUMMARY

As part of the evolution in patient safety science, learning from errors has its function to open the mindset for the next step: implementing learning strategies beyond the error. The tools for it are ready to be adopted.

Errors in medicine: punishment versus learning medical adverse events revisited - expanding the frame

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Despite healthcare workers' best intentions, some patients will suffer harm and even death during their journey through the healthcare system. This represents a major challenge, and many solutions have been proposed during the last decades. How to reduce risk and use adverse events for improvement?

RECENT FINDINGS

The concept of safety culture must be acknowledged and understood for moving from blame to learning. Procedural protocols and reports are only parts of the solution, and this overview paints a broader picture, referring to recent research on the nature of adverse events. The potential harm from advice based on faulty evidence represents a serious risk.

SUMMARY

Focus must shift from an individual perspective to the system, promoting learning rather than punishment and disciplinary sanctions, and the recent opioid epidemic is an example of bad guidelines.

A Brief Assessment of Patient Safety Culture in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Departments

Due to the nature of their activity, anesthesia and critical care have generally well-developed patient safety cultures, which are linked to a greater level of incident awareness and reporting during clinical activity. In order to determine the status quo and identify and adopt, where appropriate, techniques and instruments for further improving patient safety, it is necessary to evaluate the culture and barriers in these departments. The main objective of our study was to assess patient safety culture in Romanian anesthesia and intensive care departments (AICDs), to pinpoint the areas that may need improvement, and to examine the correlation between the prevalence of adverse event reporting, as well as the level of self-reported patient safety culture. To determine how anesthesia and intensive care department staff perceived patient safety, the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) was used in a translated Romanian version. In total, 1200 employees from 36 anesthesiology and intensive care departments across 32 hospitals in Romania received the questionnaire, representing 42.66% of all anesthesia and intensive care departments in the country. In 7 of the 12 examined dimensions, significant differences between tertiary and secondary hospitals were observed. Among all dimensions, the highest positive score was for "organizational learning and continuous development". In general, our study revealed a positive view on patient safety in anesthesia and intensive care departments. Further studies are required to determine a threshold of the level of culture development.

Patient safety practices in European anaesthesiology: Expert evaluation and ranking

BACKGROUND

Patient safety is a key concern of anaesthesiology practice. However, good practices are often not widely shared between departments and hospitals, whether within or between countries.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to collect and analyse safety practices and tips from anaesthesiology departments around Europe in order to facilitate successful transfer of safety knowledge.

DESIGN

Review of previously collected safety practices; allocation of numerical scores in order to rank them on 0-5 scales in terms of anticipated impact, and speed, cost, and ease of implementation; free text comment on any possible difficulties or unintended harms which might arise from adopting any of the collected practices.

SETTING

Collaborative remote working of expert group.

PARTICIPANTS

Nineteen experts in patient safety in anaesthesiology from nine European countries.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Rankings of safety practices for anticipated practice impact, cost, speed, and ease of implementation.

RESULTS

We collected 117 practices. The highest-ranked items for potential beneficial impact were: standardising the layout of drug trolleys (4.82); involving all staff in new safety initiatives in the operating theatre (4.73); ensuring patients' medical records are available at the time of surgery (4.71); running regular simulation training sessions in departments of anaesthesia (4.67); and creating a difficult airway management trolley (4.65). A major theme to emerge from the qualitative analysis of the experts' free text comments was the risk that practices aimed at enhancing patient safety might not achieve the effect intended, as introducing new safety activities can cause more mistakes during the implementation phase.

CONCLUSION

Many useful practices to promote patient safety were identified, but as some practices appear to be context-dependent, we recommend that a proper, prospective risk assessment is carried out before they are introduced in a new setting. The full list of items is available online as Supplementary Digital Content, http://links.lww.com/EJA/A785 .

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Not applicable.

Construction of nursing care quality evaluation indicators for post-anaesthesia care unit in China

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To establish a set of scientific and practical nursing care quality evaluation indicators for PACU in China.

BACKGROUND

No unified nursing care quality evaluation indicators for post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) were found in China.

DESIGN

An international literature review, domestic cross-sectional survey and two-round e-Delphi study.

METHODS

The international literature review and domestic cross-sectional survey were conducted to identify the potential nursing care quality evaluation indicators for PACU. A total of 38 and 32 indicators were extracted from 24 articles and the cross-sectional survey respectively. Two rounds of e-Delphi study were conducted to collect opinions from a panel of 20 independent experts and establish the final version of the nursing care quality evaluation indicators for PACU. A GRRAS checklist was used to guide the reporting of this study.

RESULTS

Of 20 experts, 19 completed the first round of e-Delphi study and 18 completed the second round, with a response rate of 95% and 90% respectively. The experts' authority coefficient in the two rounds of e-Delphi study was 0.91 and 0.90 respectively. The Kendall W value of the two rounds ranged between 0.108 and 0.385 (p < .01). Four structure indicators, 12 process indicators and seven outcome indicators were included in the nursing care quality evaluation indicators for PACU.

CONCLUSIONS

With the methods of literature review, cross-sectional survey and e-Delphi study, we established a set of scientific and practical nursing care quality evaluation indicators for PACU, to improve the nursing care quality, reduce incidence of complications and ensure patient safety.

RELEVANT TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The findings from this study enable nurses and managers in PACU settings to evaluate clinical nursing care quality using a robust framework.

Extension of patient safety initiatives to perioperative care

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Patient safety has significantly improved during the intraoperative period thanks to the anesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses. Nowadays, it is within the perioperative period where most of the preventable harm happened to the surgical patient. We aim to highlight the main issues and efforts to improve perioperative patient safety focusing and the relation to intraoperative safety strategies.

RECENT FINDINGS

There is ongoing research on perioperative safety strategies aiming to initiate multidisciplinary interventions on early stages of the perioperative period as well as an increasing focus on preventing harm from postoperative complications.

SUMMARY

Any patient safety strategy to be implemented needs to be framed beyond the operating room and include in the intervention the whole perioperative period.

Speaking up as an extension of socio-cultural dynamics in hospital settings: a study of staff experiences of speaking up across seven hospitals

PURPOSE

The study aimed to understand the significance of how employee personhood and the act of speaking up is shaped by factors such as employees' professional status, length of employment within their hospital sites, age, gender and their ongoing exposure to unprofessional behaviours.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Responses to a survey by 4,851 staff across seven sites within a hospital network in Australia were analysed to interrogate whether speaking up by hospital employees is influenced by employees' symbolic capital and situated subjecthood (SS). The authors utilised a Bourdieusian lens to interrogate the relationship between the symbolic capital afforded to employees as a function of their professional, personal and psycho-social resources and their self-reported capacity to speak up.

FINDINGS

The findings indicate that employee speaking up behaviours appear to be influenced profoundly by whether they feel empowered or disempowered by ongoing and pre-existing personal and interpersonal factors such as their functional roles, work-based peer and supervisory support and ongoing exposure to discriminatory behaviours.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

The findings from this interdisciplinary study provide empirical insights around why culture change interventions within healthcare organisations may be successful in certain contexts for certain staff groups and fail within others.

Teaching Practical Skills in Anesthesia, Intensive Care, Emergency and Pain Medicine—What Is Really Relevant for Medical Students? Results of a German National Survey of Nearly 3000 Anesthesiologists

As a part of a major reform of the medical curriculum in Germany, the national catalogue of learning objectives is being revised with the focus shifting from theory-based learning to teaching practical skills. Therefore, we conducted an online survey to answer the question, which practical skills are essential in anesthesia. Participants were asked to rate the relevance of several skills, that medical students should be able to perform at the time of graduation. A total of 2898 questionnaires could be evaluated. The highest ratings were made for “bringing a patient into lateral recumbent position” and “diagnosing a cardiac arrest”. All learning objectives regarding regional anesthesia were rated as irrelevant. Furthermore, learning objectives like “performing a bronchoscopy” or “performing a rapid sequence induction” had low ratings. In the subgroup analysis, physicians with advanced training and those who were working at university hospitals rated most skills with higher relevance compared to others. Our survey provides a good prioritization of practical skills for the development of new curricula and assessment frameworks. The results can also help to establish our discipline as a cross-sectional subject in competency-based medical education, thus further increasing the attractiveness for medical students.

Anesthesia Patient Safety: Next Steps to Improve Worldwide Perioperative Safety by 2030

Patient safety is a core principle of anesthesia care worldwide. The specialty of anesthesiology has been a leader in medicine for the past half century in pursuing patient safety research and implementing standards of care and systematic improvements in processes of care. Together, these efforts have dramatically reduced patient harm associated with anesthesia. However, improved anesthesia patient safety has not been uniformly obtained worldwide. There are unique differences in patient safety outcomes between countries and regions in the world. These differences are often related to factors such as availability, support, and use of health care resources, trained personnel, patient safety outcome data collection efforts, standards of care, and cultures of safety and teamwork in health care facilities. This article provides insights from national anesthesia society leaders from 13 countries around the world. The countries they represent are diverse geographically and in health care resources. The authors share their countries' current and future initiatives in anesthesia patient safety. Ten major patient safety issues are common to these countries, with several of these focused on the importance of extending initiatives into the full perioperative as well as intraoperative environments. These issues may be used by anesthesia leaders around the globe to direct collaborative efforts to improve the safety of patients undergoing surgery and anesthesia in the coming decade.

Effect of pressure controlled volume guaranteed ventilation during pulmonary resection in children

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of pressure controlled volume guaranteed ventilation in children requiring one lung ventilation during pulmonary resection. Patients were randomly assigned to the lung protective ventilation combined with pressure controlled volume guaranteed group (PCV-VG group) or the lung protective ventilation combined with volume controlled ventilation group (VCV group). Both groups received tidal-volume ventilation of 8 ml kg⁻¹ body weight during two lung ventilation and 6 ml kg⁻¹ during OLV, with sustained 5 cmH₂O positive end-expiratory pressure. Data collections were mainly performed at 10 min after induction of anaesthesia during TLV (T1), 5 min after OLV initiation (T2) and 5 min after complete CO2 insufflations (T3). In total, 63 patients were randomly assigned to the VCV (n = 31) and PCV-VG (n = 32) groups. The PCV-VG group exhibited lower PIP than the VCV group at T1 (16.8 ± 2.3 vs. 18.7 ± 2.7 cmH₂O, P = 0.001), T2 (20.2 ± 2.7 vs. 22.4 ± 3.3 cmH₂O, P = 0.001), and T3 (23.8 ± 3.2 vs. 26.36 ± 3.7 cmH₂O, P = 0.01). Static compliance was higher in the PCV-VG group at T1, T2, and T3 (P = 0.01). After anaesthesia induction, lung aeration deteriorated, but with no immediate postoperative difference in both groups. Postoperative lung aeration improved and returned to normal from 2.5 h postextubation in both groups. PH was lower and PaCO₂ was higher in VCV group than PCV-VG group during one lung ventilation. No differences were observed in PaO₂-FiO₂-ratio at T2 and T3, the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications, intraoperative desaturation and the length of hospital stay. In paediatric patients, who underwent pulmonary resection requiring one lung ventilation, PCV-VG was superior to VCV in its ability to provide lower PIP, higher static compliance and lower PaCO₂ at one lung ventilation during pneumothorax. However, its beneficial effects on different pathological situations in pediatric patients need more investigation.

Continuous Monitoring of Vital Signs With Wearable Sensors During Daily Life Activities: Validation Study

Background

Continuous telemonitoring of vital signs in a clinical or home setting may lead to improved knowledge of patients’ baseline vital signs and earlier detection of patient deterioration, and it may also facilitate the migration of care toward home. Little is known about the performance of available wearable sensors, especially during daily life activities, although accurate technology is critical for clinical decision-making.

Objective

The aim of this study is to assess the data availability, accuracy, and concurrent validity of vital sign data measured with wearable sensors in volunteers during various daily life activities in a simulated free-living environment.

Methods

Volunteers were equipped with 4 wearable sensors (Everion placed on the left and right arms, VitalPatch, and Fitbit Charge 3) and 2 reference devices (Oxycon Mobile and iButton) to obtain continuous measurements of heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), oxygen saturation (SpO₂), and temperature. Participants performed standardized activities, including resting, walking, metronome breathing, chores, stationary cycling, and recovery afterward. Data availability was measured as the percentage of missing data. Accuracy was evaluated by the median absolute percentage error (MAPE) and concurrent validity using the Bland-Altman plot with mean difference and 95% limits of agreement (LoA).

Results

A total of 20 volunteers (median age 64 years, range 20-74 years) were included. Data availability was high for all vital signs measured by VitalPatch and for HR and temperature measured by Everion. Data availability for HR was the lowest for Fitbit (4807/13,680, 35.14% missing data points). For SpO₂ measured by Everion, median percentages of missing data of up to 100% were noted. The overall accuracy of HR was high for all wearable sensors, except during walking. For RR, an overall MAPE of 8.6% was noted for VitalPatch and that of 18.9% for Everion, with a higher MAPE noted during physical activity (up to 27.1%) for both sensors. The accuracy of temperature was high for VitalPatch (MAPE up to 1.7%), and it decreased for Everion (MAPE from 6.3% to 9%). Bland-Altman analyses showed small mean differences of VitalPatch for HR (0.1 beats/min [bpm]), RR (−0.1 breaths/min), and temperature (0.5 °C). Everion and Fitbit underestimated HR up to 5.3 (LoA of −39.0 to 28.3) bpm and 11.4 (LoA of −53.8 to 30.9) bpm, respectively. Everion had a small mean difference with large LoA (−10.8 to 10.4 breaths/min) for RR, underestimated SpO₂ (>1%), and overestimated temperature up to 2.9 °C.

Conclusions

Data availability, accuracy, and concurrent validity of the studied wearable sensors varied and differed according to activity. In this study, the accuracy of all sensors decreased with physical activity. Of the tested sensors, VitalPatch was found to be the most accurate and valid for vital signs monitoring.

Analysis of 30 anaesthesia-related deaths in Germany between 2006 and 2015: An analysis of a closed claims database

BACKGROUND

Anaesthesiology is one of the safest fields in medicine today in relation to mortality. Deaths directly because of anaesthesia have fortunately now become rare exceptions. Nevertheless, important findings can still be drawn from the rare deaths that still occur.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to identify and analyse the causes of deaths related to anaesthesia alone over a 10-year period.

DESIGN

Retrospective structured analysis of a database of medical liability claims.

SETTING

Hospitals at all levels of care in Germany.

PATIENTS

The database of a large insurance broker included data for 81 413 completed liability claims over the 10-year period from 2006 to 2015. Among 1914 cases associated with anaesthetic procedures, 56 deaths were identified. Of these, 30 clearly involved anaesthesia (Edwards category 1) and were included in the evaluation.

INTERVENTIONS

None (retrospective database analysis).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Causes of anaesthesia-related death identified from medical records, court records, expert opinions and autopsy reports.

RESULTS

The 30 deaths were analysed in detail at the case and document level. They included high proportions of 'potentially avoidable' deaths, at 86.6%, and what are termed 'never events', at 66.7%. Problems with the airway were the cause in 40% and problems with correct monitoring in 20%. In addition, communication problems were identified as a 'human factor' in 50% of the cases.

CONCLUSION

The majority of the anaesthesia-related deaths investigated could very probably have been avoided with simple anaesthesiological measures if routine guidelines had been followed and current standards observed. Actions to be taken are inferred from these results, and recommendations are made. In future, greater care must be taken to ensure that the level of safety already achieved in anaesthesiology can be maintained despite demographic developments and increasing economic pressures.

Simulation-based education and the effect of multiple simulation sessions - A randomised controlled study

BACKGROUND

Simulation-based education may improve clinical decision-making skills and supplement clinical placement of nursing students to prepare them for real healthcare settings. Exposing students to several simulation sessions could maximise learning, but longitudinal randomised studies are lacking regarding the effects of simulation-based education.

OBJECTIVE

In this randomised study, we followed a class of nursing students to assess the effect of multiple simulations on the students' self-reported clinical decision-making skills and self-confidence.

DESIGN

A randomised controlled trial, collecting data four times throughout a 3-year nursing program; at the beginning of the second semester as baseline and at the end of each of the following academic years. Students experienced either a single (control) or a double (intervention) set of simulation scenarios in four simulation days, including several simulation scenarios for each session.

SETTING

A university in Norway, 2018-2020.

PARTICIPANTS

The study included 146 baccalaureate nursing students who volunteered to participate.

METHODS

The participants completed two validated instruments, the 24-item Nurse Decision-Making Instrument and the Self-Confidence Scale, and demographic data were collected. Analysis of covariance and linear mixed-effect models were applied to analyse the effect of the double compared to the single scenario simulations.

RESULTS

Complete data were obtained for 71 participants. The results showed no significant differences between double vs single scenario sessions on clinical decision-making scores (B = -0.2; 95% confidence interval, -2.1 to 1.7; p = 0.806) or self-confidence score (B = -0.1; 95% confidence interval, -0.4 to 0.2; p = 0.467). However, the overall self-confidence scores increased significantly over time.

CONCLUSION

In this randomised study, we found no effects of double vs single scenario simulations on clinical decision-making or self-confidence scores among nursing students during their 3-year program.

Effects of positive end-expiratory pressure/recruitment manoeuvres compared with zero end-expiratory pressure on atelectasis in children: A randomised clinical trial

BACKGROUND

Atelectasis is a common postoperative complication. Peri-operative lung protection can reduce atelectasis; however, it is not clear whether this persists into the postoperative period.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate to what extent lung-protective ventilation reduces peri-operative atelectasis in children undergoing nonabdominal surgery.

DESIGN

Randomised, controlled, double-blind study.

SETTING

Single tertiary hospital, 25 July 2019 to 18 January 2020.

PATIENTS

A total of 60 patients aged 1 to 6 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1 or 2, planned for nonabdominal surgery under general anaesthesia (≤2 h) with mechanical ventilation.

INTERVENTIONS

The patients were assigned randomly into either the lung-protective or zero end-expiratory pressure with no recruitment manoeuvres (control) group. Lung protection entailed 5 cmH2O positive end-expiratory pressure and recruitment manoeuvres every 30 min. Both groups received volume-controlled ventilation with a tidal volume of 6 ml kg-1 body weight. Lung ultrasound was conducted before anaesthesia induction, immediately after induction, surgery and tracheal extubation, and 15 min, 3 h, 12 h and 24 h after extubation.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The difference in lung ultrasound score between groups at each interval. A higher score indicates worse lung aeration.

RESULTS

Patients in the lung-protective group exhibited lower median [IQR] ultrasound scores compared with the control group immediately after surgery, 4 [4 to 5] vs. 8 [4 to 6], (95% confidence interval for the difference between group values -4 to -4, Z = -6.324) and after extubation 3 [3 to 4] vs. 4 [4 to 4], 95% CI -1 to 0, Z = -3.161. This did not persist from 15 min after extubation onwards. Lung aeration returned to normal in both groups 3 h after extubation.

CONCLUSIONS

The reduced atelectasis provided by lung-protective ventilation does not persist from 15 min after extubation onwards. Further studies are needed to determine if it yields better results in other types of surgery.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR2000033469).

A correlation between anaesthesia-related cardiac arrest outcomes and country human development index: A narrative review

Studies have demonstrated gaps between developed and developing countries in the quality of surgical and anaesthesia care. The aim of this review was to provide a critical overview of documented outcomes from the 2010s of anaesthesia-related cardiac arrest events in countries with largely differing Human Development Indexes (HDIs). The HDI ranges from 0 to 1, representing the lowest and highest levels of development, respectively. Most related studies conducted between 2011 and 2020 showed low rates (from 0 to 215 per million anaesthetics) of anaesthesia-related mortality up to the 30th postoperative day in very high-HDI countries (HDI ≥ 0.800) and higher rates (from 0 to 915.4 per million anaesthetics) in high-HDI countries (HDI: 0.700-0.799). Low-HDI countries (HDI < 0.550) showed higher anaesthesia-related mortality rates, which were greater than 1500 per million anaesthetics. The anaesthesia-related mortality rates per quartile demonstrated a gap in the anaesthesia-related safety between very high- and high-HDI countries, and especially between very high- and low-HDI countries. Anaesthesia-related cardiac arrest showed similarly high survival proportions in very high-HDI countries (45.9% to 100%) and high-HDI countries (62.9% to 100%), while in a low-HDI country, the anaesthesia-related cardiac arrest survival was lower (22.2%). Our review demonstrates large gaps among countries with largely differing HDIs regarding anaesthesia-related cardiac arrest outcomes in the last decade. This finding highlights the need to improve patient safety care in low-HDI countries. Anaesthesia patient safety has improved in high-HDI countries, but there is still a persistent gap in the health care systems of these countries and those of very high-HDI countries. Our review also found a consistent improvement in anaesthesia patient safety in very high-HDI countries.

Association between intra-operative cardiac arrest and country Human Development Index status: a systematic review with meta-regression analysis and meta-analysis of observational studies. Anaesthesia 2021;76:1259-1273. [PMID: 33512708 DOI: 10.1111/anae.15374]

Intra-operative cardiac arrests differ from most in-hospital cardiac arrests because they reflect not only the patient's condition but also the quality of surgery and anaesthesia care provided. We assessed the relationship between intra-operative cardiac arrest rates and country Human Development Index (HDI), and the changes occurring in these rates over time. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, LILACS, Web of Science, CINAHL and SciELO from inception to 29 January 2020. For the global population, rates of intra-operative cardiac arrest and baseline ASA physical status were extracted. Intra-operative cardiac arrest rates were analysed by time, country HDI status and ASA physical status using meta-regression analysis. Proportional meta-analysis was performed to compare intra-operative cardiac arrest rates and ASA physical status in low- vs. high-HDI countries and in two time periods. Eighty-two studies from 25 countries with more than 29 million anaesthetic procedures were included. Intra-operative cardiac arrest rates were inversely correlated with country HDI (p = 0.0001); they decreased over time only in high-HDI countries (p = 0.040) and increased with increasing ASA physical status (p < 0.0001). Baseline ASA physical status did not change in high-HDI countries (p = 0.106), while it decreased over time in low-HDI countries (p = 0.040). In high-HDI countries, intra-operative cardiac arrest rates (per 10,000 anaesthetic procedures) decreased from 9.59 (95%CI 6.59-13.16) pre-1990 to 5.17 (95%CI 4.42-5.97) in 1990-2020 (p = 0.013). During the same time periods, no improvement was observed in the intra-operative cardiac arrest rates in low-HDI countries (p = 0.498). Odds ratios of intra-operative cardiac arrest rates in ASA 3-5 patients were 8.48 (95%CI 1.67-42.99) times higher in low-HDI countries than in high-HDI countries (p = 0.0098). Intra-operative cardiac arrest rates are related to country-HDI and decreased over time only in high-HDI countries. The widening gap in these rates between low- and high-HDI countries needs to be addressed globally.

Sex and gender differences in anesthesia: Relevant also for perioperative safety?

Sex (a biological determination) and gender (a social construct) are not interchangeable terms and both impact perioperative management and patient safety. Sex and gender differences in clinical phenotypes of chronic illnesses and risk factors for perioperative morbidity and mortality are relevant for preoperative evaluation and optimization. Sex-related differences in physiology, as well as in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of anesthetic drugs may influence the anesthesia plan, the management of pain, postoperative recovery, adverse effects, patient satisfaction, and outcomes. Further studies are needed to characterize outcome differences between men and women in non-cardiac, cardiac, and transplantation surgery in order to individualize perioperative management and improve patient safety. Transgender patients represent a vulnerable population who need special perioperative care. Gender balance increases team performance and may improve perioperative outcomes.

Measuring and monitoring perioperative patient safety: a basic approach for clinicians

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Recent research points to considerable rates of preventable perioperative patient harm and anaesthesiologists' concerns about eroding patient safety. Anaesthesia has always been at the forefront of patient safety improvement initiatives. However, factual local safety improvement requires local measurement, which may be afflicted by barriers to data collection and improvement activities. Because many of these barriers are related to mandatory reporting, the focus of this review is on measurement methods that can be used by practicing anaesthesiologists as self-improvement tools, even independently from mandatory reporting, and using basic techniques widely available in most institutions.

RECENT FINDINGS

Four mutually complementary measurement approaches may be suited for local patient safety learning: incident and rate-based measurements, staff surveys and patient surveys. Reportedly, individual methods have helped to tailor problem solutions and to reduce patient harm, morbidity, and mortality.

SUMMARY

Considering the potential for perioperative patient safety measurements to improve patient outcomes, the absence of a generally accepted measurement standard and manifold barriers to reporting, a pragmatic approach to locally measuring patient safety appears advisable.