An exploratory analysis of pediatric anesthesia activity on Twitter using the #pedsanes hashtag.

BACKGROUND: The use of social media within the medical field has rapidly evolved over the past two decades, with Twitter being one of the most common platforms of engagement. The use of hashtags such as #pedsanes has been reported as a community builder around the subject of pediatric anesthesia. Understanding the use of #pedsanes can inform dissemination of pediatric anesthesia content and discourse. We aimed to describe the distribution and patterns of tweets and contributors using #pedsanes across the globe. METHODS: Using Tweetbinder (https://www.tweetbinder.com) and the R package "academictwitteR," we extracted tweets that included the hashtag "#pedsanes" from March 14, 2016 to March 10, 2022. Tweets were analyzed for frequency, type, unique users, impact and reach, language, content, and the most common themes. RESULTS: A total of 58 724 tweets were retrieved; 22 071 (38.8%) were original tweets including 3247 replies, while 35 971 (61.2%) were retweets all generated by over 5946 contributors located in at least 122 countries. The frequency distribution of tweets gradually increased over time with peaks in activity corresponding to major pediatric anesthesia societal meetings and during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most retweeted and most liked posts included images. DISCUSSION: We report the widespread and increasing use of social media and the "#pedsanes" hashtag within the pediatric anesthesia and medical community over time. It remains unknown the extent to which Twitter hashtag activity translates to changes in clinical practice. However, the #pedsanes hashtag appears to play a key role in disseminating pediatric anesthesia information globally.

A Comparative Utility Score for Digital Health Tools.

Digital health tools (DHT) are increasingly poised to change healthcare delivery given the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the drive to telehealth. Establishing the potential utility of a given DHT could aid in identifying how it could be best used and further opportunities for healthcare improvement. We propose a metric, a Utility Factor Score, which quantifies the benefits of a DHT by explicitly defining adherence and linking it directly to satisfaction and health goals met. To provide data for how the comparative utility score can or should work, we illustrate in detail the application of our metrics across four DHTs with two simulated users. The Utility Factor Score can potentially facilitate integration of DHTs into various healthcare settings and should be evaluated within a clinical study.

The #ASRASpring20 conference was canceled due to COVID-19 but the science survives and thrives

Correspondence to Dr Edward R Mariano, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care Service, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 37232, USA;emariano@stanford.edu To the Editor The 2020 American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) annual regional anesthesiology meeting was an unfortunate casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since #ASRASpring20 was registered with Symplur (Pasadena, CA), free Twitter analytics were available. Upgrading a social media strategy to increase Twitter engagement during the spring annual meeting of the American Society of regional anesthesia and pain medicine.

We Asked the Experts: The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommendations for Content and Implementation Adaptations.

BACKGROUND: As surgical systems are forced to adapt and respond to new challenges, so should the patient safety tools within those systems. We sought to determine how the WHO SSC might best be adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: 18 Panelists from five continents and multiple clinical specialties participated in a three-round modified Delphi technique to identify potential recommendations, assess agreement with proposed recommendations and address items not meeting consensus. RESULTS: From an initial 29 recommendations identified in the first round, 12 were identified for inclusion in the second round. After discussion of recommendations without consensus for inclusion or exclusion, four additional recommendations were added for an eventual 16 recommendations. Nine of these recommendations were related to checklist content, while seven recommendations were related to implementation. CONCLUSIONS: This multinational panel has identified 16 recommendations for sites looking to use the surgical safety checklist during the COVID-19 pandemic. These recommendations provide an example of how the SSC can adapt to meet urgent and emerging needs of surgical systems by targeting important processes and encouraging critical discussions.

Regional anesthesia educational material utilization varies by World Bank income category: A mobile health application data study.

INTRODUCTION: Regional anesthesia offers an alternative to general anesthesia and may be advantageous in low resource environments. There is a paucity of data regarding the practice of regional anesthesia in low- and middle-income countries. Using access data from a free Android app with curated regional anesthesia learning modules, we aimed to estimate global interest in regional anesthesia and potential applications to clinical practice stratified by World Bank income level. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data collected from the free Android app "Anesthesiologist" from December 2015 to April 2020. The app performs basic anesthetic calculations and provides links to videos on performing 12 different nerve blocks. Users of the app were classified on the basis of whether or not they had accessed the links. Nerve blocks were also classified according to major use (surgical block, postoperative pain adjunct, rescue block). RESULTS: Practitioners in low- and middle-income countries accessed the app more frequently than in high-income countries as measured by clicks. Users from low- and middle-income countries focused mainly on surgical blocks: ankle, axillary, infraclavicular, interscalene, and supraclavicular blocks. In high-income countries, more users viewed postoperative pain blocks: adductor canal, popliteal, femoral, and transverse abdominis plane blocks. Utilization of the app was constant over time with a general decline with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: The use of an in app survey and analytics can help identify gaps and opportunities for regional anesthesia techniques and practices. This is especially impactful in limited-resource areas, such as lower-income environments and can lead to targeted educational initiatives.