Prilocaine for Bier's block: how safe is safe?

Prilocaine for Bier's block: how safe is safe?

Prilocaine has become the agent of choice for Bier's block (or intravenous regional anaesthesia--IVRA), since 1983 when the product licence of bupivacaine was withdrawn for this purpose owing to fatal or serious complications. No serious complications have been documented in the literature relating to prilocaine in IVRA and we have conducted a survey within the U.K. which indicates that about 4...

How safe is safe enough?

Hospitals are rather strange places to work. The rationale, after all, of purposely concentrating into close quarters the sick, the frail, and the contagious is elusive at times. Further compounding the situation is the introduction of healthcare workers into the mix, usually at the ratio of approximately five or six full-time employees for every hospital bed. In no other circumstance, except p...

Is Daycare Tonsillectomy Safe?

Introduction: Tonsillectomy is one of the most common procedures performed by Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon.  Usually, the procedure is carried out as an inpatient surgery. With the increasing need to reduce healthcare costs, spare precious hospital beds, and shorten elective surgery lists, there is currently a trend towards performing tonsillectomy on a daycare basis.  Materials and Methods: A...

Syncope while driving: how safe is safe?

As healthcare providers, our primary role is the diagnosis and management of the medical conditions of our patients. These medical conditions have an important impact on their personal lives as well as social situations. One of the most critical such interactions between a patient’s medical condition and society is syncope as it relates to driving. In our society, there is a constant conflict b...

Are we really in safe hands? How safe is safe?