BACKGROUND Hypertension occurs commonly during anaesthesia and is usually promptly and appropriately treated by anaesthetists. However, its recognition is dependent on correctly functioning and calibrated monitors. If it is not diagnosed and/or promptly corrected, it has the potential to cause significant morbidity and even mortality. OBJECTIVES To examine the role of a previously described c...

BACKGROUND Embolism with gas, thrombus, fat, amniotic fluid, or particulate matter may occur suddenly and unexpectedly during anaesthesia, posing a diagnostic and management problem for the anaesthetist. OBJECTIVES To examine the role of a previously described core algorithm "COVER ABCD-A SWIFT CHECK" supplemented by a specific sub-algorithm for embolism, in the management of embolism occurri...

BACKGROUND Bronchospasm in association with anaesthesia may appear as an entity in its own right or be a component of another problem such as anaphylaxis. It may present with expiratory wheeze, prolonged exhalation or, in severe cases, complete silence on auscultation. OBJECTIVES To examine the role of a previously described core algorithm "COVER ABCD-A SWIFT CHECK", supplemented by a specifi...

BACKGROUND Hypotension is commonly encountered in association with anaesthesia and surgery. Uncorrected and sustained it puts the brain, heart, kidneys, and the fetus in pregnancy at risk of permanent or even fatal damage. Its recognition and correction is time critical, especially in patients with pre-existing disease that compromises organ perfusion. OBJECTIVES To examine the role of a prev...

Preventing harm to the patient is the priority during a crisis. After a major incident, and especially when a patient has been harmed, there are a number of matters to be addressed: the ongoing care of the patient; documentation of the incident; investigation of the root causes; completion of reports; interviews with the patient and/or the next of kin, together with apologies and expression of ...

Seniority of authorship is shared equally. Prepared for the World Bank as a part of its food policy tool kit series. We thank Harold Alderman for guidance and comments without implicating him in any way.

BACKGROUND Tachycardia during anaesthesia is a common event. In most cases the cause is easily identified and the problem promptly resolved. However, in some the cause may be rare or obscure. Under such circumstances, attempting to initiate appropriate supportive therapy and to consider a large differential diagnosis in a comprehensive manner may lead to delays which can put a patient at risk. ...

Crises are frequent and varied, and may have profound effects on individuals and organizations. Effectively managing crises, regardless of their scope, requires the ability to quickly process potentially large amounts of information about a rapidly changing world. This paper presents a software architecture, the event web, that can be used to help effectively manage crises. An event web allows ...

Organizations prepare for crisis communication by designing, implementing, and evaluating procedures, scenarios, and emergency measures. In addition to crisis communication, risk communication is a concern for many organizations as well. Risk communication is viewed as an interactive, multi-actor democratic process. Traditionally, risk communication is seen as a linear, top-down, elitist, exper...