The Evolution of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Movement in America: Lessons Learned and Considerations to Promote Further Improvement in Patient Safety.

Ellison C. Pierce, Jr., M.D., and a small number of specialty leaders and scientists formed a remarkable, diverse team in the mid-1980s to address a dual crisis: a safety crisis for anesthetized patients and a medical malpractice insurance crisis for anesthesiologists. This cohesive team's efforts led to the formation of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, the American Society of Anesthesiologists's Committees on Standards of Care and on Patient Safety and Risk Management, and the society's Closed Claims Project. The commonality of leaders and members of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and American Society of Anesthesiologists initiatives provided the strong coordination needed for their efforts to effect change, introduce standards of care and practice parameters, obtain financial support needed to grow patient safety-oriented new knowledge, integrate industry and other relevant leaders outside of anesthesiology, and involve all anesthesia professions. By implementing successful patient safety initiatives, they promoted the recognition that anesthesiology and patient safety are inextricably linked.

Pulmonary Aspiration of Gastric Contents: A Closed Claims Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents has been associated with severe morbidity and death. The primary aim of this study was to identify outcomes and patient and process of care risk factors associated with gastric aspiration claims in the Anesthesia Closed Claims Project. The secondary aim was to assess these claims for appropriateness of care. The hypothesis was that these data could suggest opportunities to reduce either the risk or severity of perioperative pulmonary aspiration. METHODS: Inclusion criteria were anesthesia malpractice claims in the American Society of Anesthesiologists Closed Claims Project that were associated with surgical, procedural, or obstetric anesthesia care with the year of the aspiration event 2000 to 2014. Claims involving pulmonary aspiration were identified and assessed for patient and process factors that may have contributed to the aspiration event and outcome. The standard of care was assessed for each claim. RESULTS: Aspiration of gastric contents accounted for 115 of the 2,496 (5%) claims in the American Society of Anesthesiologists Closed Claims Project that met inclusion criteria. Death directly related to pulmonary aspiration occurred in 66 of the 115 (57%) aspiration claims. Another 16 of the 115 (14%) claims documented permanent severe injury. Seventy of the 115 (61%) patients who aspirated had either gastrointestinal obstruction or another acute intraabdominal process. Anesthetic management was judged to be substandard in 62 of the 115 (59%) claims. CONCLUSIONS: Death and permanent severe injury were common outcomes of perioperative pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents in this series of closed anesthesia malpractice claims. The majority of the patients who aspirated had either gastrointestinal obstruction or acute intraabdominal processes. Anesthesia care was frequently judged to be substandard. These findings suggest that clinical practice modifications to preoperative assessment and anesthetic management of patients at risk for pulmonary aspiration may lead to improvement of their perioperative outcomes.

Perioperative Ulnar Neuropathy: A Contemporary Estimate of Incidence and Risk Factors.

BACKGROUND: Retrospective and prospective studies 2 decades ago from the authors' institution reported the incidence of perioperative ulnar neuropathy persisting for at least several months in a noncardiac adult surgical population to be between 30 and 40 per 100,000 cases. The aim of this project was to assess the incidence and explore risk factors for perioperative ulnar neuropathy in a recent cohort of patients from the same institution using a similar definition for ulnar neuropathy. METHODS: We performed a retrospective incidence and case-control study of all adults (≥18 years) undergoing noncardiac procedures with anesthesia services between 2011 and 2015. Each incident case of persistent ulnar neuropathy within 6 months of surgery was matched by age, sex, procedure date, and procedure type to 5 surgical patient controls. For the case-control study, separate conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to assess specific risk factors including the patient's body position and arm position, as well as body mass index (BMI), surgical duration, and selected patient comorbidities. RESULTS: Persistent ulnar neuropathy of at least 2 months duration was found in 22 of 324,124 anesthetics for patients who underwent these procedures during the study period for an incidence rate of 6.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.3-10.3) per 100,000 anesthetics. The incidence of ulnar neuropathy was higher in men compared to women (10.7 vs 3.0 per 100,000; P = .016). From the matched case-control study, the odds of ulnar neuropathy increased with higher BMI (odds ratio [OR] = 1.67 [1.16-2.42] per 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI; P = .006), history of cancer (OR = 6.46 [1.64-25.49]; P = .008), longer procedures (OR = 1.53 [1.18-1.99] per hour; P = .001), and when 1 or both arms were tucked during surgery (OR = 6.16 [1.85-20.59]; P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of persistent perioperative ulnar neuropathy observed in this study was lower than the incidence reported 2 decades ago from the same institution and using a similar definition for ulnar neuropathy. Several of the previously reported risk factors continue to be associated with the development of persistent perioperative ulnar neuropathy, providing ongoing targets for practice changes that might further decrease the incidence of this problem.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting after bariatric surgery and dexmedetomidine anesthetic: a propensity-weighted analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery have high rates of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Dexmedetomidine based anesthetic could reduce PONV rates. OBJECTIVES: To determine if PONV rates differ in patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery with anesthesia primarily based on dexmedetomidine or standard anesthetic management with inhalational agents and opioids. SETTING: University hospital. METHODS: From January 2014 to April 2018, 487 patients underwent laparoscopic bariatric surgery and met inclusion criteria (dexmedetomidine, n = 174 and standard anesthetic, n = 313 patients). In both groups, patients received preoperative PONV prophylaxis. We analyzed rates of PONV and moderate-to-deep sedation. A propensity score was calculated and outcomes were assessed using generalized estimating equations with inverse probability of treatment weighting. RESULTS: Perioperative opioids and volatile anesthetics were reduced in dexmedetomidine patients. During anesthesia recovery the incidence of PONV was similar between dexmedetomidine and standard anesthetic patients (n = 37 [21.3%] versus n = 61 [19.5%], respectively; inverse probability of treatment weighting odds ratio = 1.35; 95% confidence interval .78-2.32, P = .281), and the incidence of sedation higher in dexmedetomidine patients (n = 86 [49.4%] versus n = 75 [24.0%]; inverse probability of treatment weighting odds ratio = 2.43; 95% confidence interval 1.47-4.03, P < 0.001). Rates of PONV and sedation were similar during the remainder of the hospital stay. A secondary sensitivity analysis was performed limited to dexmedetomidine patients who did not receive volatile and results were similar. CONCLUSIONS: While dexmedetomidine-based anesthesia was associated with reduced opioid and volatile agents use, it was not associated with a reduction of PONV. The higher rates of moderate-to-deep sedation during anesthesia recovery observed with dexmedetomidine may be undesirable in morbidly obese patients.

Black Seed Oil and Perioperative Serotonin Syndrome: A Case Report.

Perioperative serotonin syndrome has been associated with a number of medications and herbal supplements. We report a patient who developed serotonin syndrome immediately after an endoscopic procedure in which the preoperative use of black seed oil appears to have played a role in stimulating the syndrome. Black seed oil has not been previously reported in association with perioperative serotonin syndrome. Anesthesia professionals should be aware that patients taking black seed oil supplements may develop serotonin syndrome postoperatively.

Respiratory Depression Following Ambulatory Urogynecologic Procedures: A Retrospective Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the rate of postanesthesia respiratory depression (RD) and test for potential associations with clinical characteristics of patients undergoing urogynecologic procedures at ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). Postanesthesia RD is poorly characterized for patients undergoing urogynecologic procedures in ASCs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Health records of adult patients undergoing urogynecologic procedures at an ASC from July 1, 2010, through December 31, 2015, were abstracted. Cases complicated by RD were identified, and analyses of risk factors were performed with generalized estimating equations (GEE). RESULTS: During the study time frame, 9105 patients underwent 9141 procedures, of which RD complicated 221 cases (mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] complication rate per 100 cases, 2.4 [2.1-2.8]). Risk increased with advancing age, male sex, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), morbid obesity, and use of volatile anesthetics and airway secured. Patients with RD had longer anesthesia recovery (median [interquartile range], 135 [110-166] vs 105 [80-138] minutes; P<.001). Within 48 postprocedural hours, 290 ED visits or hospitalizations occurred, but this risk was not increased by RD (adjusted odds ratio [95% CI], 0.62 [0.30-1.26]; P=.12). CONCLUSION: Postanesthesia RD after ambulatory urogynecologic procedures delay anesthesia recovery but are not associated with later complications. Patients with OSA or having other conditions related to OSA, or both, are at higher risk for RD.

Anesthesia recovery after ophthalmologic surgery at an ambulatory surgical center.

PURPOSE: To examine anesthesia recovery duration after ophthalmologic procedures performed at an ambulatory surgical center (ASC) and provide information that could be used to increase postanesthesia recovery unit efficiency. SETTING: Ambulatory surgical center at tertiary medical center, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. METHODS: Health records of adult patients having ophthalmologic procedures at an ASC from July 1, 2010, through September 30, 2016 were reviewed, and anesthesia recovery duration was calculated. Potential associations were assessed between clinical factors and prolonged recovery (upper 10th percentile of recovery duration by anesthesia type [general, intravenous sedation, or topical]). RESULTS: Among 20 116 procedures, the median recovery was 36 minutes (interquartile range [IQR], 28 to 48); general anesthesia had the longest recovery (79 minutes; IQR, 52 to 104 minutes) (P < .001). Recovery was longest for orbitotomy and strabismus procedures and shortest for cataract procedures. Female sex, obstructive sleep apnea, greater disease burden, longer procedures, and intraoperative fentanyl administration were associated with prolonged recovery. Patients with prolonged recovery had more severe pain episodes (pain score ≥7 [scale 0 to 10]; 138 patients [6.9%] versus 140 [0.8%]; P < .001) and received opioid analgesics during recovery (278 patients [13.8%] versus 293 [1.6%]; P < .001). Prolonged recovery involved higher rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations in the first 48 postoperative hours and higher 30-day mortality rates. CONCLUSIONS: Anesthesia recovery after ophthalmologic procedures at an ASC was associated primarily with the procedure and anesthesia type. Prolonged recoveries were associated with intraoperative fentanyl use, severe postoperative pain, and postoperative opioid requirements.

Outpatient Dismissal With a Responsible Adult Compared With Structured Solo Dismissal: A Retrospective Case-Control Comparison of Safety Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that patients dismissed alone in a sedation dismissal process (SDP) have no greater risk of adverse outcome compared with those who were dismissed with a responsible adult. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We compared 2441 SDP patients undergoing 2703 procedures with 4923 unique control patients who underwent 5133 procedures between June 1, 2012, and March 31, 2017. RESULTS: The rate of unplanned readmission related to the procedure was 0.11% (n=9), and there was no difference between SDP (0.07%) and controls (0.14%). Similarly, there was no difference in complication rates between SDP patients and controls when restricting to "all causes" unplanned readmissions within 24 hours and unplanned readmissions related to procedure. CONCLUSION: With proper preparation, short-acting anesthetic/sedation medications, and sound clinical judgment, the presence of a responsible adult escort is not associated with reduced risk following discharge after ambulatory anesthesia. This practice may lessen the hardships reported by patients in needing to obtain an escort and the inconveniences and delays experienced by ambulatory procedural facilities when patients arrive without a designated escort.

Scheduling the nonoperating room anesthesia suite.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Nonoperating room anesthesia (NORA) and procedural services often are associated with dispersed geographic settings and small volumes of cases. These lead to scheduling challenges that, if not managed well, result in decreased patient and healthcare team satisfaction and reduced efficiency. This review describes recent studies and provides examples on how NORA scheduling issues have been addressed. RECENT FINDINGS: Increased use of blocked time for consolidated NORA services can lead to sufficiently large volumes of cases that allow improved scheduling and maintain patient and healthcare team satisfaction and better efficiency of care. In general, patients and proceduralists find that service blocks offered at least once every 2 weeks are acceptable. With the ability to perform the full scope of perioperative practices such as preoperative assessment and postoperative management, anesthesiologists are well positioned to lead NORA services. There is a rising expectation for both graduate medical education experiences and continuing education in quality improvement for NORA services. SUMMARY: Many factors play a role in successful scheduling of NORA services. Increasing consolidation of services, the use of block scheduling, and leadership by anesthesiologists can help improve patient and healthcare team satisfaction and practice efficiencies.

Same-Day Cancellation in Ambulatory Surgery: A Retrospective Review at a Large Academic Tertiary Referral Center.

Although ambulatory surgery offers patients convenience and reduced costs, same-day cancellation of ambulatory surgery negatively affects patient experiences and operational efficiency. We conducted a retrospective analysis to determine the frequency and reasons for same-day cancellations in an outpatient surgery center at a large academic tertiary referral center. Of 41 389 ambulatory surgical procedures performed, same-day cancellations occurred at a rate of 0.5% and were usually unforeseeable in nature. Focusing on foreseeable cancellations offers opportunities for enhanced patient satisfaction, improved quality of care, and systems-based practice improvements to mitigate cancellations related to areas such as scheduling or patient noncompliance.

Anesthesia for patients with mucopolysaccharidoses: Comprehensive review of the literature with emphasis on airway management.

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are rare, inherited, lysosomal storage diseases that cause accumulation of glycosaminoglycans, resulting in anatomic abnormalities and organ dysfunction that can increase the risk of anesthesia complications. We conducted a systematic review of the literature in order to describe the anesthetic management and perioperative outcomes in patients with MPS. We reviewed English-language literature search using an OVID-based search strategy of the following databases: 1) PubMed (1946-present), 2) Medline (1946-present), 3) EMBASE (1946-present), and 4) Web of Science (1946-present), using the following search terms: mucopolysaccharidosis, Hurler, Scheie, Sanfilippo, Morquio, Maroteaux, anesthesia, perioperative, intubation, respiratory insufficiency, and airway. The review of the literature revealed nine case series and 27 case reports. A substantial number of patients have facial and oral abnormalities posing various challenges for airway management, however, evolving new technologies that include videolaryngoscopy appears to substantially facilitate airway management in these patients. The only type of MPS that appears to have less difficulty with airway management are MPS III patients, as the primary site of glycosaminoglycan deposition is in the central nervous system. All other MPS types have facial and oral characteristics that increase the risk of airway management. To mitigate these risks, anesthesia should be conducted by experienced anesthesiologists with expertise in using of advanced airway intubating devices.

Patients with glycogen storage diseases undergoing anesthesia: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Glycogen storage diseases are rare genetic disorders of glycogen synthesis, degradation, or metabolism regulation. When these patients are subjected to anesthesia, perioperative complications can develop, including hypoglycemia, rhabdomyolysis, myoglobinuria, acute renal failure, and postoperative fatigue. The objective of this study was to describe the perioperative course of a cohort of patients with glycogen storage diseases. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of patients with glycogen storage diseases undergoing anesthetic care at our institution from January 1, 1990, through June 30, 2015 to assess perioperative management and outcomes. RESULTS: We identified 30 patients with a glycogen storage disease who underwent 41 procedures under anesthesia management. Intraoperative lactic acidosis developed during 4 major surgeries (3 liver transplants, 1 myectomy), and in all cases resolved within 24 postoperative hours. Lactated Ringer solution was used frequently. Preoperative and intraoperative hypoglycemia was noted in some patients with glycogen storage disease type I, all of which responded to administration of dextrose-containing solutions. No serious postoperative complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with glycogen storage disease, despite substantial comorbid conditions, tolerates the anesthetic management without major complications. Several patients who experienced self-limited metabolic acidosis were undergoing major surgical procedures, during which acidosis could be anticipated. Close monitoring and management of blood glucose levels of patients with glycogen storage disease type I is prudent.

Serotonergic medications, herbal supplements, and perioperative serotonin syndrome.

PURPOSE: Perioperative use of serotonergic agents increases the risk of serotonin syndrome. We describe the occurrence of serotonin syndrome after fentanyl use in two patients taking multiple serotonergic agents. CLINICAL FEATURES: Two patients who had been taking multiple serotonergic medications or herbal supplements (one patient taking fluoxetine, turmeric supplement, and acyclovir; the other taking fluoxetine and trazodone) developed serotonin syndrome perioperatively when undergoing outpatient procedures. Both experienced acute loss of consciousness and generalized myoclonus after receiving fentanyl. In one patient, the serotonin syndrome promptly resolved after naloxone administration. In the other patient, the onset of serotonin syndrome was delayed and manifested after discharge, most likely attributed to the intraoperative use of midazolam for sedation. CONCLUSION: Even small doses of fentanyl administered to patients taking multiple serotonergic medications and herbal supplements may trigger serotonin syndrome. Prompt reversal of serotonin toxicity in one patient by naloxone illustrates the likely opioid-mediated pathogenesis of serotonin syndrome in this case. It also highlights that taking serotonergic agents concomitantly can produce the compounding effect that causes serotonin syndrome. The delayed presentation of serotonin syndrome in the patient who received a large dose of midazolam suggests that outpatients taking multiple serotonergic drugs who receive benzodiazepines may require longer postprocedural monitoring.

Neuropathies after surgery: Anatomical considerations of pathologic mechanisms.

Positioning-related injuries caused during surgery under anesthesia are most likely multifactorial. Pathologic mechanical forces alone (overstretching and/or ischemia from direct compression) may not fully explain postsurgical neuropathy with recent evidence implicating patient-specific factors or perioperative inflammatory responses spatially and even temporally divorced from the anatomical region of injury. The aim of this introductory article is to provide an overview of anatomic considerations of these mechanical forces on soft and nervous tissues along with factors that may compound compression or stretch injury. Three subsequent articles will address specific positioning-related anatomic considerations of the (1) upper extremities, (2) lower extremities, and (3) central nervous system and soft tissues.

Effect of general anesthesia in patients with cerebral palsy at the turn of the new millennium: a population-based study evaluating perioperative outcome and brief overview of anesthetic implications of this coexisting disease.

The severity of preoperative cerebral palsy appears to correlate directly with postoperative complications. The primary aim of this study was to characterize the frequency of perioperative morbidity and mortality in cerebral palsy patients undergoing anesthesia. This was accomplished by undertaking a systematic review of the Mayo Database. The risk for perioperative adverse events was 63.1% (95% confidence interval 59.8%-66.5%). However, it deserves clarification that hypothermia and clinically significant yet non-life-threatening hypotension represented the majority (80%) of these complications. When these 2 events are excluded, the rate of adverse perioperative events was 13.1% (95% confidence interval 10.8%-15.5%). Risk factors associated with increased risk included American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status score exceeding 2, history of seizures, upper airway hypotonia, general surgery procedures, and adults. Our findings are useful to counsel patients with cerebral palsy, their caregivers, and their guardians regarding the risk of general anesthesia.

Post-surgical inflammatory neuropathy.

UNLABELLED: Post-surgical neuropathies are usually attributed to mechanical factors, such as compression, stretch, contusion or transection. The role of inflammatory mechanisms in neuropathies occurring after surgeries is poorly appreciated and not well characterized, and may provide a rationale for immunotherapy. A total of 23 selected patients with post-surgical neuropathies received nerve biopsies, of which 21 demonstrated increased inflammation. Here we report the clinical features in these 21 cases of biopsy-confirmed and 12 cases of clinically suspected post-surgical inflammatory neuropathies, in whom no trauma to the nerves was documented. All neuropathies developed within 30 days of a surgical procedure. Of 33 patients, 20 were male and the median age was 65 years (range 24-83). Surgical procedures were orthopaedic (n=14), abdominal/pelvic (n=12), thoracic (n=5) and dental (n=2). Patients developed focal (n=12), multifocal (n=14) or diffuse (n=7) neuropathies. Focal and multifocal neuropathies typically presented with acute pain and weakness, and focal neuropathies often mimicked mechanical aetiologies. Detailed analyses, including clinical characteristics, electrophysiology, imaging and peripheral nerve pathology, were performed. Electrophysiology showed axonal damage. Magnetic resonance imaging of roots, plexuses and peripheral nerves was performed in 22 patients, and all patients had abnormally increased T(2) nerve signal, with 20 exhibiting mild (n=7), moderate (n=12) or severe (n=1) enlargement. A total of 21 patients had abnormal nerve biopsies that showed increased epineurial perivascular lymphocytic inflammation (nine small, five moderate and seven large), with 15 diagnostic or suggestive of microvasculitis. Evidence of ischaemic nerve injury was seen in 19 biopsies. Seventeen biopsies had increased axonal degeneration suggesting active neuropathy. Seventeen biopsied patients were treated with immunotherapy. In 13 cases with longitudinal follow-up (median 9 months, range 3-71 months), the median neuropathy impairment score improved from 30 to 24 at the time of last evaluation (P=0.001). IN CONCLUSION: (i) not all post-surgical neuropathies are mechanical, and inflammatory mechanisms can be causative, presenting as pain and weakness in a focal, multifocal or diffuse pattern; (ii) these inflammatory neuropathies may be recognized by their spatio-temporal separation from the site and time of surgery and by the characteristic magnetic resonance imaging features; (iii) occasionally post-surgical inflammatory and mechanical neuropathies are difficult to distinguish and nerve biopsy may be required to demonstrate an inflammatory mechanism, which in our cohort often, but not exclusively, exhibited pathological features of microvasculitis and ischaemia; and (iv) recognizing the role of inflammation in these patients' neuropathy led to rational immunotherapy, which may have resulted in the subsequent improvement of neurological symptoms and impairments.