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Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research: April 27, 2023.
Moorehead LD. Outpatient Surgery. April 5, 2023.
Although wrong-site surgeries are rare, they can be devastating to patients. One otolaryngology (ENT) clinic developed a surgical marking procedure deemed practicable and useful by both providers and patients.
Improving non-technical skills - such as teamwork and communication – is essential to safe delivery of healthcare but implementing successful training programs has been challenging.
A 48-year-old woman was placed under general anesthesia with a laryngeal mask. The anesthesiologist was distracted briefly to sign for opioid drugs in a register, and during this time, the end-tidal carbon dioxide alarm sounded. Attempts to manually ventilate the patient were unsuccessful. The anesthesiologist asked for suxamethonium (succinylcholine) but the drug refrigerator was broken and the medication had to be retrieved from another room.
This case focuses on immediate-use medication compounding in the operating room and how the process creates situations in which medication errors can occur. The commentary discusses strategies for safe perioperative compounding and the role of standardized processes, such as checklists, to ensure medication safety.