Unilateral hemiparesis with thoracic epidural in an adolescent.

Objective. Unilateral sensory and motor blockade is known to occur with epidural anesthesia but is rarely reported in children. The differential diagnosis should include the presence of a midline epidural septum. Case Report. We describe a case of a 16-year-old adolescent who developed repeated complete unilateral extensive epidural sensory and motor blockade with Horner's syndrome after thoracic epidural catheter placement. This unusual presentation of complete hemibody neural blockade has not been reported in the pediatric population. Maneuvers to improve contralateral uniform neural blockade were unsuccessful. An epidurogram was performed to ascertain the correct location of the catheter within the epidural space and presence of sagittal compartmentalization. Conclusion. This case report highlights a less frequently reported reason for unilateral sensory and motor blockade with epidural anesthesia in children. The presence of a midline epidural septum should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unilateral epidural blockade.

Attitudes, patterns of recommendation, and communication of pediatric providers about complementary and alternative medicine in a large metropolitan children's hospital.

The authors conducted an e-mail survey of their medical staff to explore the attitudes, patterns of recommendation, and communication of pediatric providers about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a large metropolitan children's hospital. Two thirds of the respondents reported awareness about their patients' CAM therapy use (65%) and recommended CAM therapy to their patients (67%). Providers who reported personal use of CAM (71%) were more likely to recommend CAM to their patients compared with those who do not (76% vs 45%; P < .05). One half of pediatric providers reported occasional consultation with their patient's CAM provider, but bidirectional communication was rare (4%). Specific changes in care based on a CAM provider's recommendations were also unusual (4%). Despite the positive attitudes about and willingness to recommend CAM by pediatric providers, communication between these clinicians and CAM providers may be less than ideal.

An assessment of an educational intervention on resident physician attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to adverse event reporting.

OBJECTIVE: Reporting and learning from events linked to patient harm and unsafe conditions is critical to improving patient safety. Programs that engage resident physicians in adverse event reporting can enhance patient safety and simultaneously address all 6 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies. Yet fewer than 60% of physicians know how to report adverse events and near misses, and fewer than 40% know what to report. Our study evaluated the effect of an educational intervention on anesthesiology residents' attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to adverse event reporting and the associated follow-up. METHODS: In a prospective study, anesthesiology residents participated in a training program focused on the importance of reporting methods and on reporting adverse events for patient safety. Quarterly adverse event reports were analyzed retrospectively for 2 years before the intervention and prospectively for 7 quarters after the intervention. Residents also completed a survey, before and 1 year after the intervention, that evaluated their attitudes, experience, and knowledge regarding adverse event reporting. RESULTS: After the intervention, the number of adverse event reports increased from 0 per quarter to almost 30 per quarter. We identified several categories of harm events, near misses, and unsafe conditions, including reports of disruptive providers. Of the harm events associated with invasive procedures, more than half were associated with lack of attending physician supervision. We also observed significant progress in the residents' ability to appropriately file a report, improved attitudes regarding the value of reporting and available emotional support, and a reduction in the perceived impediments to reporting. CONCLUSIONS: An educational intervention increased the number of adverse event reports submitted by anesthesiology residents, improved their attitudes about the importance of reporting, and produced a source for learning opportunities and process improvements in the delivery of anesthesia care.

Acupuncture management of pain and emergence agitation in children after bilateral myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion.

AIM: To further investigate the effect of acupuncture in postoperative pain and emergence agitation in children undergoing bilateral myringotomy and tympanostomy tube (BMT) placement. BACKGROUND: BMT insertion surgery in children is routinely performed under general anesthesia and is associated with a high incidence of postoperative pain and agitation upon emergence from anesthesia. Various medications have been investigated to alleviate the pain and agitation, which have been accompanied by high incidence of adverse effects. In children, anecdotal reports suggest that acupuncture may offer postoperative analgesia. METHODS/MATERIALS: This prospective randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture to control pain and agitation after initial bilateral myringotomy tube placement in 60 nonpremedicated children. Acupuncture was applied at points LI-4 (he gu) and HT-7 (shen men) immediately after induction of anesthesia. A single-blinded assessor evaluated postoperative pain and agitation using CHEOPS and emergence agitation scale. Pain and agitation scores were significantly lower in the acupuncture group compared to those in the control group at the time of arrival in the post anesthesia care unit and during the subsequent 30 min. RESULTS: Acupuncture treatment provided significant benefit in pain and agitation reduction. The median time to first postoperative analgesic (acetaminophen) administration was significantly shorter in the control group. The number of patients who required analgesia was considerably fewer in the acupuncture group than that in the control. No adverse effects related to acupuncture treatment were observed. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that acupuncture therapy may be effective in diminishing both pain and emergence agitation in children after BMT insertion without adverse effects.