INTRODUCTION: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) may require a panniculectomy in preparation for renal transplantation. ESRD is associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors, electrolyte imbalances, and chronic anemia. These factors may increase the risk of adverse outcomes in patients undergoing panniculectomy. Purpose of this study was to evaluate safety and perioperative co...

Anaesthesia, the single largest hospital medical speciality, has expanded to include anaesthesia, acute and chronic pain relief and intensive care. Over 60 per cent of hospital patients are in contact with anaesthetists. Developments over the past decades have increased its safety and its mechanisms have become clearer. Many anaesthetists are becoming perioperative physicians and take an increa...

Methods The Amphia hospital is a large teaching hospital. In the third quarter of 2009 a BUN, defined by the national patient safety initiative, was introduced consisting of 4 components. 1) preoperative hair removal, 2) perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis, 3) normothermia and 4) limit the number of door openings. BUN compliance was measured every quarter by visual observations by dedicated in...

A nurse in an office-based surgery unit has responsibility not only for providing direct patient care but also for ensuring the safety and functioning of the operating room suite. The author describes the activities of the office-based surgery nurse throughout the perioperative process.

The primary outcome measure is safety, including mortality and morbidity (intraoperative outcomes: operative duration, cross-clamp time, conversion rates; perioperative outcomes: myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, neurological adverse events, bleeding, transfusion, re-exploration, septic complications, pain, hospital stay, and discharge disposition). Secondary outcome measures include ...

Transitions from one care provider to another put patients at increased risk of injuries and errors. A standardized approach to hand-off communication helps minimize these risks. One recognized approach to addressing this concern is the SBAR (ie, situation, background, assessment, recommendation) communication technique. Reference cards with the SBAR communication approach can be used by all st...

For over a decade, the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has been recognised as an essential perioperative safety tool. The first landmark multi-national study demonstrated remarkable 47 per cent reduction in mortality and 36 surgical complications, which was confirmed subsequent studies. Although effective research environment, checklist challenging to implement. Today,...

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are the leading cause of a drug-induced angioedema. This occurrence is frequently underdiagnosed, but its relapse can be life-threatening. The authors' intention in reporting this clinical case is to sound a warning about reviewing attitudes and surveillance to try to improve patient perioperative safety.

OBJECTIVES To compare the safety and efficacy of bipolar transurethral plasma vaporisation (B-TUVP) as an alternative to the 'gold standard' monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate (M-TURP) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in a prospective randomised controlled study. PATIENTS AND METHODS In all, 82 patients indicated for prostatectomy were assigned to two gro...

Background: Postoperative complications are frequent causes of postoperative mortality. Such complications may also lead to a prolonged period with decreased functional and cognitive status. Perioperative care is a factor in postoperative morbidity and mortality. Until now no common international definitions and classifications of postoperative complications have been established. The group of ...