Multiple searches were carried out in the PubMed database to identify articles with better methodological design, followed by critical evaluation of their contents and classification according to the strength of evidence. According to the recommendations of the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, literature systematic reviews and randomized clinical trials were preferred. Searches were c...

Complex Information for Anesthesiologists Presented Quickly and ClearlyLOS, length of stay; PACU, postanesthesia care unit.*Percentage cases with documentation quantitative train-of-four ≥ 0.90.Infographic created by Holly B. Ende, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; James P. Rathmell, Brigham Women’s Health Care/Harvard School; Jonathan Wanderer, Center. Illustration Annemarie Johnson, Vivo ...

T he modified Aldrete’s scoring system (1) is commonly used for determining when patients can be safely discharged from the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) to either the postsurgical ward or to the second stage (Phase II) recovery area. Recently, these discharge criteria have also been used in the operating room (OR) to determine the fast-track eligibility of outpatients undergoing ambulatory s...

BACKGROUND The need to control high costs of running operating rooms while providing for timely patient care led us to assess the time wasted in the operating room (OR). METHODS OR use by two general surgery and two orthopedic departments in a metropolitan public hospital were analyzed, and the time elapsed when a scheduled OR remained unused or the patient was still awaiting surgery was meas...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of an Acute Pain Service (APS) inception on postoperative pain management in a general teaching hospital using pain indicators as performance measures. DESIGN Open, prospective, nonrandomized, observational study. SETTING Postanesthesia Care Unit, surgical wards of University Hospital Center of Charleroi. PATIENTS 1304 patients in the pre-APS incepti...

AANA Journal  October 2016  Vol. 84, No. 5 329 Patient safety continues to be a major concern for healthcare providers and organizations. Handovers, also called handoffs, serve as the transfer of postoperative care from the anesthesia provider to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) provider. Ineffective handovers result in gaps in care and potential harm to the patient. We conducted a scoping...

BACKGROUND Few studies have looked at longer term functional outcomes of rapid rehabilitation (physical therapy in the postanesthesia care unit on the day of surgery) for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. PURPOSE The purpose of this interdisciplinary study (physical therapy and nursing) was to assess the effect of a rapid rehabilitation program on inpatient length of stay (LOS) and...

The introduction of a new generation of inhaled anesthetics into pediatric clinical practice has been associated with a greater incidence of ED, a short-lived, but troublesome clinical phenomenon of uncertain etiology. A variety of anesthesia-, surgery-, patient-, and adjunct medication-related factors have been suggested to play a potential role in the development of such an event. Restless be...