December 2000

ASA Scientific Presentation Sessions Focus on Multiple Patient Safety Issues

December 10, 2000

Patient safety occupied its usual position of prominence in the Scientific Papers Sessions presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting in San Francisco in October when 76 presentations...

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Patient Safety Featured in ASA Meeting Exhibits

December 10, 2000

Patient safety issues and related equipment designed to address them again were found throughout the Exhibit Hall, among both the Scientific and Technical Exhibits at the 2000 ASA Annual Meeting...

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September 2000

Eye Injury Issue Leads to New Protective Helmet Device and Research on Face Pressures from Prone Positioning on OR Table

September 10, 2000

Letter to the Editor: To the Editor Malpractice claims for acute postoperative blindness following spine surgery in the prone position are rapidly and greatly increasing1. Sixty-five percent of the reported...

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IV Fluid Warmers Create Air Embolus Danger

September 10, 2000

To the Editor In recent years, it has been well established that fluid warming is an important adjunct to the prevention of intraoperative hypothermia. However, recent investigations I have performed...

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Stroke from Mistaken Carotid Puncture Promotes Interest in Neck Vein Finders

September 10, 2000

Small Ultrasounds Believed Affordable To the Editor Recently, after a patient developed a stroke following unintended carotid puncture during attempted internal jugular vein cannulation, I reviewed the (now extensive) literature...

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Anesthesiologist Executive Reports How Abbott Made Sevoflurane Safer

September 10, 2000

Water Stops Formation of Highly Toxic Acid To the Editor As reported in previous APSF Newsletter articles, in 1996 and 1997 Abbott recalled specific lots of sevoflurane in the U.S....

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Drug Label Similarity Poses Patient DangerTo the Editor

September 10, 2000

To the Editor It has recently been brought to my attention that two drugs commonly found on an anesthesia drug cart look remarkably alike in their packaging. These drugs are...

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Human Factors Consultant Rebuts PCA Pump Danger Charges

September 10, 2000

In My Opinion: In Response… While conducting human factors research across a variety of domains for the past 11 years, I have been involved over the past 7 years in...

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Abbott Addresses Medication Errors Through Advanced PCA Technology

September 10, 2000

Medication errors continue to represent one of the leading inadvertent causes of complications in patient management. According to the Institute of Medicine, more than 7,000 people die each year in...

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Point-Counterpoint on PCA Pump Safety

September 10, 2000

In My Opinion Human Factors Researcher Alarmed by Deaths During PCA For approximately 17 years, I have been conducting research in human factors engineering mainly in the process control industries....

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Broken Epidural Catheter Provokes Investigation, Algorithm Application

September 10, 2000

To the Editor A healthy 19-year-old delivered a healthy infant vaginally with the benefit of epidural analgesia. During removal of the epidural catheter by the RN, the nurse noted that...

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New International Patient Safety Group Takes Shape

September 10, 2000

The International Anesthesia Patient Safety Federation (IAPSF) was officially formed as the successor group to the International Committee for the Prevention of Anesthetic Morbidity and Mortality (ICPAMM) at a meeting...

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ASA Annual Meeting Features Many, Varied Patient Safety Topics

September 10, 2000

Patient safety continues its prominent position as a presentation topic that has grown to a become a permanent fixture of the American Society of Anesthesiology Annual Meeting. This year’s assembly...

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“Disposables” Re-Use Now Regulated by FDA

September 10, 2000

In what may be an apparent contradiction in terms with significant patient safety implications, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially addressed the apparently common practice of medical...

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Safety Topics Permeate WFSA World Congress: June Montreal Meeting Adds 2 New Perspectives

September 10, 2000

Patient safety issues and concerns permeated the multitude of presentations at the 12th World Congress of Anesthesiologists of the World Federated Societies of Anesthesiologists held in Montréal, Canada in June...

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June 2000

Full Text of APSF Response to IOM Medical Error Report

June 10, 2000

The recent report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), “To Err Is Human,” recognizes the domain of anesthesia care as one of the only disciplines in health care that has...

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Breaking News: Office Surgery Suspended by Florida Board

June 10, 2000

Office surgery under general or spinal anesthesia was ordered stopped for a 90-day moratorium period in Florida by an 8-5 vote in the Florida Board of Medicine on August 5,...

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International Anesthesia Safety Group Hears Worldwide Perspective at World Congress

June 10, 2000

The new International Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation was officially launched at the 12th World Congress of the World Federated Societies of Anesthesiologists in Montreal, Canada, in early June with a...

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Federal Agencies Convene Medical Error Summit

June 10, 2000

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and its partners on the Quality Interagency Coordination (QuIC) Task Force, will sponsor a national summit on medical errors and patient safety...

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Patients Often Get GA, Not “A Little Sedation”

June 10, 2000

To the Editor I would like to raise a question in the terms of the language that we use with patients when we describe sedation to them. In many instances,...

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