Evaluation of practice change following SAFE obstetric courses in Tanzania: : a prospective cohort study

Funding Information: The study was funded by the Laerdal Foundation. ML and AZ are joint first authors. We would like to thank the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists and the Association of Anaesthetists, UK for operational and administrative support. We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to the faculty and research assistants: B. Asnake, A. Chamwanzi, A. Cheng, T. Kasole, K. Khalid, L. Frostan Komba, C. L. S. Kwan, A. F. Lwiza, P. Massawe, B. McKenna, S. S. Mohamed, C. Msadabwe, P. Murambi, A. Musgrave, M. C. Mutagwaba, G. Mwakisambwe, A. S. Ndebeya, S. G. Ndezi, H. Phiri, P. Ponsian, R. Samwel, E. Shang'a and R. Swai. This paper is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and colleague, Soloman Gerald Ndezi (1984–2022), who was a dedicated teacher and compassionate doctor. No competing interests declared. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Anaesthesia published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association of Anaesthetists.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Comparison of Continuous Wound Infiltration Plus Patient Controlled Analgesia Versus Epidural Analgesia after Open Renal Surgery

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Impact of capnography on patient safety in high- and low-income settings: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND:Capnography is universally accepted as an essential patient safety monitor in high-income countries (HICs) yet is often unavailable in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Increasing capnography availability has been proposed as one of many potential approaches to improving perioperative outcomes in LMICs. This scoping review summarises the existing literature on the effect of capnography on patient outcomes to help prioritise interventions and guide expansion of capnography in LMICs. METHODS:We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for articles published between 1980 and March 2019. Studies that assessed the impact of capnography on morbidity, mortality, or the use of airway interventions both inside and outside the operating room were included. RESULTS:The search resulted in 7445 unique papers, and 31 were included for analysis. Retrospective and non-randomised data suggest capnography use may improve outcomes in the operating room, ICU, and emergency department, and during resuscitation. Prospective data on capnography use for procedural sedation suggest earlier detection of hypoventilation and a reduction in haemoglobin desaturation events. No randomised studies exist that assess the impact of capnography on patient outcomes. CONCLUSION:Despite widespread endorsement of capnography as a mandatory perioperative monitor, rigorous data demonstrating its impact on patient outcomes are limited, especially in LMICs. The association between capnography use and a reduction in serious airway complications suggests that closing the capnography gap in LMICs may represent a significant opportunity to improve patient safety. Additional data are needed to quantify the global capnography gap and better understand the barriers to capnography scale-up in LMICs

Development of obstetric anesthesia core competencies for USA residency programs through a Delphi process.

PURPOSE: The standard for anesthesia residency training in the USA mainly relies on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project, a framework that lacks specific directives for subspecialties including obstetric anesthesia. We aimed to identify core competencies in obstetric anesthesiology that can be adapted to different residency training programs to help improve the quality of training and accountability of the institutions within the USA. METHODS: We identified a preliminary list of competencies from review of existing competency-based obstetric anesthesia training curricula and practice guidelines. We used a modified Delphi methodology to achieve expert consensus among members of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology education committee. The panellists were asked to evaluate the importance of each competency using a five-point Likert scale, with consensus after two rounds defined at 80% agreement. The responders were also asked at which level of training each competency should be attained. RESULTS: The Delphi rounds had 75% response rate and derived 94 competencies that were categorized under the six ACGME domains: patient care (38), medical knowledge (45), system-based practice (two), practice-based learning and improvement (five), interpersonal communication skills (two), and professionalism (two). CONCLUSION: We generated a residency training competency list for obstetric anesthesiology through expert consensus. This list can be used by residency training programs to develop a structured competency-based curriculum with tangible milestones, thereby reducing heterogeneity in the standard of training

Anesthesia Provider Training and Practice Models: A Survey of Africa.

BACKGROUND:In Africa, most countries have fewer than 1 physician anesthesiologist (PA) per 100,000 population. Nonphysician anesthesia providers (NPAPs) play a large role in the workforce of many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but little information has been systematically collected to describe existing human resources for anesthesia care models. An understanding of existing PA and NPAP training pathways and roles is needed to inform anesthesia workforce planning, especially for critically underresourced countries. METHODS:Between 2016 and 2018, we conducted electronic, phone, and in-person surveys of anesthesia providers in Africa. The surveys focused on the presence of anesthesia training programs, training program characteristics, and clinical scope of practice after graduation. RESULTS:One hundred thirty-one respondents completed surveys representing data for 51 of 55 countries in Africa. Most countries had both PA and NPAP training programs (57%; mean, 1.6 pathways per country). Thirty distinct training pathways to become an anesthesia provider could be discriminated on the basis of entry qualification, duration, and qualification gained. Of these 30 distinct pathways, 22 (73%) were for NPAPs. Physician and NPAP program durations were a median of 48 and 24 months (ranges: 36-72, 9-48), respectively. Sixty percent of NPAP pathways required a nursing background for entry, and 60% conferred a technical (eg, diploma/license) qualification after training. Physicians and NPAPs were trained to perform most anesthesia tasks independently, though few had subspecialty training (such as regional or cardiac anesthesia). CONCLUSIONS:Despite profound anesthesia provider shortages throughout Africa, most countries have both NPAP and PA training programs. NPAP training pathways, in particular, show significant heterogeneity despite relatively similar scopes of clinical practice for NPAPs after graduation. Such heterogeneity may reflect the varied needs and resources for different settings, though may also suggest lack of consensus on how to train the anesthesia workforce. Lack of consistent terminology to describe the anesthesia workforce is a significant challenge that must be addressed to accelerate workforce research and planning efforts