A retrospective analysis of the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) Public Use Data File was performed on anesthesia-related malpractice payments from 2004 to 2010. Anesthesia-related allegations, malpractice act or omission codes, severity of injury, and cost were assessed. The NPDB captured 369 anesthesia-related malpractice payments associated with Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists ...

A national survey to estimate vacancy rates of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers was conducted in 2007. Poisson regression methods were used to improve the precision of the estimates. A significant increase in the estimated vacancy rate was reported for hospitals relative to an earlier study from 2002, although it is important to note t...

One-lung anesthesia was performed first by Gale and Waters in 1932.' They devised a curved, singlelumen cuffed tube which could be passed blindly into either mainstem bronchus.2 This accomplishment spurred the evolution of a variety of endobronchial tubes for one-lung anesthesia over the following years. One-lung anesthesia has been utilized for thoracic surgery for several decades. The lateral...

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) provide high-quality patient care to ensure patient safety. Strict vigilance and prompt response is required of the CRNA to make critical decisions. Distractions during anesthesia delivery may threaten patient safety. Personal electronic devices (PEDs) have become an integral tool used by 90% of adults. Adaptation of PEDs has permitted their integ...

Historically, closed malpractice claims have been used to identify and examine potential causes for adverse anesthesia outcomes. In the United States, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the American Society of Anesthesiologists have compiled and analyzed such data. In all claims filed, respiratory events were most common, and the most common outcome class was brain damage or dea...

Although estimates of anesthesia-related deaths today are as low as 1 in 200,000 to 300,000 cases, questions remain about surgical patients' safety related to types of anesthesia providers. We studied the effect of type of anesthesia provider on mortality rates of Medicare patients undergoing 8 different surgical procedures. Risk-adjusted mortality rates were analyzed for 404,194 inpatients und...

Anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists provide high-quality, efficacious anesthesia care to the U.S. population. This research and analyses indicate that CRNAs are less costly to train than anesthesiologists and have the potential for providing anesthesia care efficiently. Anesthesiologists and CRNAs can perform the same set of anesthesia services, including relatively ra...

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between socioeconomic factors related to geography and insurance type and the distribution of anesthesia provider type. Using the 2012 Area Resource File, the correlation analyses illustrates county median income is a key factor in distinguishing anesthesia provider distribution. Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs...

The technological complexity of implantable arrhythmia management devices, specifically pacemakers and defibrillators, has increased dramatically since their introduction only a few decades ago. Patients with such devices are encountered much more frequently in hospitals and surgery centers, yet anesthesia provider knowledge of safe and proper management is often incomplete. Anesthesia textbook...