Browsing by Author "Hanss, R."

We investigated the influence of resident training on anaesthesia workflow of three standard procedures - laparoscopic cholecystectomy, diagnostic gynaecological laparoscopy and transurethral prostate gland resection (TURP) - comparing 259 non-emergency resident vs 341 consultant cases from 20 German hospitals. Each hospital provided 10 random cases for each procedure, yielding 600 cases for analysis. Standard time intervals as documented in the hospital information system were: 'Case Time' (the time from the start of anaesthesia induction to discharge of the patient to the recovery area) and 'Anaesthesia Control Time' (which was the Case Time minus the time from the start of surgery to the end of surgical closure). Case Time was significantly shorter for consultants in all three procedures (p < 0.05, analysis of variance) and Anaesthesia Control Time shorter for consultants only in gynaecological laparoscopy and TURP. Patient comorbidity, patient age and geographical location of the hospital were not influential factors in the analysis of variance. We conclude that resident training significantly increases duration of elective operative times.

Background. Arterial pressure (AP) monitoring should be accurate, easy to use, free of risks, and ideally continuous. The continuous non-invasive arterial pressure (CNAP) device is noninvasive and provides continuous pressure readings. This study was performed to compare the agreement of CNAP and invasive AP monitoring. Methods. Ninety patients undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia were enrolled. Invasive pressure monitoring was established at the radial artery. CNAP monitoring using a finger sensor recording was begun before induction of anaesthesia. Statistical analysis was conducted with the Bland-Altman method for comparisons of repeated measures. Results. We obtained 16 843 valid pressure readings from 85 patients. Mean (SD) bias during maintenance of anaesthesia was: systolic AP: 4.2 (16.5) mm Hg; mean AP (MAP): -4.3 (10.4) mm Hg; and diastolic AP: -5.8 (6) mm Hg. The results of a subgroup analysis of patients who had a mean intra-arterial pressure of <70 mm Hg were as follows: systolic pressure: -0.3 (9.7) mm Hg; mean pressure: -6.8 (7.6) mm Hg; and diastolic pressure: -7.9 (7.2) mm Hg. Bias and percentage error during the induction period were greater in both the main and subgroup analyses, probably due to recalibration being omitted after induction. Conclusions. The CNAP monitor showed an acceptable agreement and was interchangeable with invasive pressure monitoring for MAP during normotensive conditions. During induction of anaesthesia and when the AP was low, the agreement was less good and interchangeability was not achieved. These results suggest that CNAP is not statistically equivalent to invasive monitoring during all periods of anaesthesia but may be a useful additional AP monitor.