Safety Plays Key Role at 2002 ASA Meeting
Patient safety will again play a major role at the upcoming Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, which will be held in Orlando, Florida, October 12-16, 2002. The…
Articles
APSF Endorses New Patient Safety Legislation
The Executive Committee of the APSF announces its endorsement of Senate Bill S2590 introduced by Senators Jeffords, Frist, Breaux, and Gregg. This bill is titled “Patient Safety and Quality Improvement…
Portable Ultrasound Facilitates Central Vascular Access: A Case for Routine Use
Thomas A. Webster, MD; Casey D. Blitt, MDIn My Opinion During the 1999-2000 fiscal year, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report entitled “To Err is Human” which essentially told us that the healthcare system in…
ACC/AHA Updates Preoperative Cardiac Guidelines
David A. Zvara, MDIn 1996 the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) published the consensus opinion on guidelines for the perioperative evaluation of patients having noncardiac surgery.1 The…
IV Connection to Tracheostomy Cuff Inflation Port Reflects Larger Problem
Michael R. Cohen, RPh, DSc; Judy L. Smetzer, RN, BSNWe recently learned about the unfortunate death of a patient whose IV tubing had been connected to his tracheostomy tube cuff inflation port. The patient had both a Shiley low-pressure…
European Society Develops On-Line Help System
Azriel Perel, MDAnesthesiologists need and rely on a tremendous, and ever increasing amount of information to support informed, real-time decisions. Lack of sufficient knowledge about underlying medical conditions, drug dosages (a well…
FDA Encourages the Reporting of Medical Device Adverse Events: Free-Hosing Hazards
Julia Marders, RN, MSHealthcare professionals in the clinical setting are the link between warming blankets and desired patient outcomes. This article presents two events involving patient injury and the use of forced air…
ICU Corner: Total Body Drape Believed to Reduce Infection
Richard C. Prielipp, MDICU Corner AHRQ The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published the important evidence-based report “Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices.”1 This review summarizes…
Communication Systems Support Terrorism Response
Colin F. Mackenzie, MD; Yan Xiao, PhD; Peter Fu-Ming Hu, MS, CNEIn this article, we will present an overview of work in progress on applied informatics necessary for a coordinated emergency response to attacks resulting from weapons of mass destruction (WMD)….
Book Review: Errors, Medicine and the Law
Lori A. ZippererBook Review Errors, Medicine and the Law presents the knowledge and experience of its authors in an exploration of how mishaps occur and how people are held accountable for them….
Letters to the Editor
Creation of Observational Unit May Decrease Sleep Apnea Risk
Jonathan L. Benumof, MDTo the Editor Dr. Lofsky has done the anesthesia community a significant and positive service by writing about the difficulties associated with the anesthetic management of 8 patients with obstructive…
Value of Pulse Oximetry Monitoring On the Ward Is Questioned
Kyle S. Fisher, MDTo the Editor Thank you for the special article, Sleep Apnea and Narcotic Postoperative Pain Medication: A Morbidity and Mortality Risk, in the APSF Newsletter.1 We anesthesia providers, it is…
Current System May Miss the “Mark”
To the Editor At our surgery facility the preoperative nurses routinely have the patient mark “No” on the non-operative side for procedures such as carpal tunnel releases, shoulder cases, and…
Computerized Anesthesia Record: Value Recognized, Terminology Scrutinized
David W. Edsall, MDTo the Editor I am pleased to see the endorsement by the APSF of computerized records for anesthesia in the APSF Newsletter. As the second anesthesia organization to do so…
Announcements
APSF Grant Program Now Includes EC Pierce Research Award
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation is proud to announce that the APSF Scientific Evaluation Committee will designate one of the approved grant applications as the “Ellison C. Pierce Research Award.”…
E. C. Pierce Award Contributors
Kathryn Aberle, MD, Soquel, CA M.O. Alcantara, MD, Plainfield, IL John T. Algren, MD, Nashville, TN Anaesthesia Association of Boston, Westwood, MA Armand Scott, Inc,. Wayne, NJ Paul G. Barash,…
Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Donors
Corporate Donors Founding Patron ($400,000 and Up) American Society of Anesthesiologists (www.asahq.org) Foundation Patron ($100,000 to $399,999) AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP (www.astrazeneca.com) Benefactor Patron ($25,000 to $99,999) Abbott Laboratories (www.abbott.com) Aspect…
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Newsletter is the official publication of the nonprofit Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and is published quarterly at Wilmington, Delaware. Annual membership: Individual – $25.00, Corporate – $500.00. This and any additional contributions to the Foundation are tax deductible. © Copyright, Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, 2002.
The opinions expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation or its members or board of directors. Validity of opinions presented, drug dosages, accuracy, and completeness of content are not guaranteed by the APSF.
APSF Executive Committee
Robert K. Stoelting, MD, President; Burton A. Dole, Jr., Vice-President; David M. Gaba, MD, Secretary; Casey D. Blitt, MD, Treasurer; Ellison C. Pierce, Jr., MD, Executive Director; Robert A. Caplan, MD; Jeffrey B. Cooper, PhD; Lori Cross; John H. Eichhorn, MD.
Newsletter Editorial Board:
Robert C. Morell, MD, Editor; Sorin Brull, MD; Joan Christie, MD; Jan Ehrenwerth, MD; John H. Eichhorn, MD; Denise O’Brien, BSN, RN; Karen Posner, PhD; Keith Ruskin, MD; Wilson Somerville, PhD; Jeffery Vender, MD.