Together we’ll create the best environment for patient care
Pholcodine is an opioid drug found in some cough suppressants. It’s banned in several countries which as a result have much lower death rates from severe allergic reactions to anaesthetics. These countries supply alternative cough suppressants with similar efficacy which do not pose this risk. Pholcodine in cough suppressants puts […]
Mind the Gap & Why ‘Ruby’s Rule’ Won’t Work. Ruby Yen Chan, a 3 year old from Queensland, died from an air embolus. You can read the coroners report here. The process of disconnecting an intravenous fluid bag allowed air to enter it. When the bag was later re-connected (re-spiked) […]
Pholcodine is an opioid drug found in some cough suppressants. It’s banned in several countries which as a result have much lower death rates from severe allergic reactions to anaesthetics. These countries supply alternative cough suppressants with similar efficacy which do not pose this risk. Pholcodine in cough suppressants […]
Pre-oxygenation is a vital part of airway management immediately prior to intubation and any situation where airway control is taken away from a patient. We often overestimate our ability to predict airway difficulty – in one study of 3991 difficult intubations 93% were unanticipated (see here). Further the NAP4 study […]
Anaesthetists have been using gas analysers for years (see here). Access to this equipment in other resuscitation environments will improve patient safety. We support availability of gas analysers (oxygen analysers & capnography) in the following locations: – theatre recovery – emergency resus bays – all arrest trolleys – neonatal […]
Anaesthetists have been using gas analysers for years (see here). Access to this equipment in other resuscitation environments will improve patient safety. We support availability of gas analysers (oxygen analysers & capnography) in the following locations: – theatre recovery – emergency resus bays – all arrest trolleys – neonatal resuscitation […]
‘When faced with a human error problem you may be tempted to ask ‘Why didn’t they watch out better? How could they not have noticed?’ You think you can solve your human error problem by telling people to be more careful, by reprimanding the miscreants, by issuing a new rule […]
Electrical burns from the use of diathermy are not uncommon. There is much we can do to minimise their occurrence. You can help – please provide any other reports of electrical diathermy burns – support the implementation of safer standardised diathermy equipment – support the petition to have a check […]
Devices allowing simultaneous video & direct laryngoscopy represent a safety advantage over either direct laryngoscopes or video laryngoscopes. Intubation is more likely to be successful, with less airway trauma (see here). Devices which allow a video laryngoscopic view for others to see are particularly helpful (see here). In some […]
The Draeger anaesthetic machine has a poorly understood issue with its APL valve. When lifted it is actually open – even though it appears closed – creating an inability to pressurise the breathing circuit. There are numerous reports of adverse events related to this issue. A redesign of the valve […]