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Section I Introduction
1 History of Anesthetic Practice
Merlin D. Larson
Key Points
1.
Methods to safely alleviate severe pain are relatively recent discoveries, as viewed within the time span of
human history.
2.
The public demonstration of ether anesthesia on October 16, 1846, ranks as one of the most significant events in
the history of medicine.
3.
No single individual can be said to have discovered anesthesia.
4.
The specialty of anesthesia rests on discoveries made from several scientific disciplines.
5.
Major discoveries were often made by small groups of curious individuals with diverse backgrounds.
6.
Techniques in common use at any one time often seem dangerous to subsequent generations of
anesthesiologists.
7.
Major innovations were sometimes ignored until their rediscovery several decades later.
8.
Developments in anesthesia often arose to meet the needs of patients with severe comorbid conditions that
required complex surgical procedures. Consequently, advances within the specialties of surgery and anesthesia
are closely integrated.
The first anesthetics were given to ameliorate the pain associated with dental extractions and minor surgery. As the
complementary fields of surgery and anesthesiology matured together, new skills were required of the anesthesiologist,
including expertise in resuscitation, fluid replacement, airway management, oxygen transport, operative stress reduction,
and postoperative pain control. Today, personnel from the anesthesiology department are located throughout the hospital,
ranging from the ambulatory care center to the intensive care unit. Organizing a coherent historical document is therefore
complicated by the diverse roles of anesthesiologists, in the modern hospital, especially in perioperative medicine.
One approach to the history of anesthesiology is to relate in detail the events surrounding the 1846 public demonstration
of ether anesthesia by William T. G. Morton (1819-1868). [1] [2] This event represents the starting point from which
anesthesiology emerged as a specialty. Although the ether demonstration was dramatic and enacted by interesting
personalities, it was just the opening act of the pain control story. Since 1846, there has been enormous progress and
change in the specialty of medicine that has become known as anesthesiology, and these changes have often occurred in
small, incremental steps that are hardly noteworthy on their own. Most operations in the modern operating room could
not have been performed before the great progress in anesthetic practice that took place in the years between 1925 and
1960, but historians often overlook these advances because they were introduced without the drama and spectacle of
previous developments.
In addition to examining the advancements of the 20th century, the mid-19th century provided the groundwork laid by
inquisitive individuals who sought scientific understanding of cardiopulmonary physiology and pain. These fundamental
discoveries provide the physiologic foundation for safe anesthetic practice. A brief survey of these early developments is
provided in the opening sections of this chapter. Dentists, priests, musicians, pediatricians, engineers, ophthalmologists,
neurophysiologists, pharmacologists, urologists, otolaryngologists, surgeons, ministers, dilettantes, philosophers,
physiologists, missionaries, chemists, South American Indians, and anesthesiologists all had a role in shaping the practice
of contemporary anesthesiology, one of the most fascinating stories in the history of medicine.
I have attempted to describe and reference the origins of ideas related to modern anesthetic practice, but the issue of
priority is vague on some topics and may be open to question by other historians of specific subjects.
Cardiopulmonary Physiology
Respiration
Although volatile anesthetics have changed over the past 150 years, there are two gases that will always be part of
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anesthetic practice. How oxygen and carbon dioxide are consumed and produced and how they interact with the body
have been the subject of intense research over the past 400 years. The ability to manipulate the pressure of these gases in
tissues has contributed a great deal to the success of intensive care medicine. Because of the importance that carbon
dioxide and oxygen have in the practice of anesthesiology, it is worthwhile to consider how our understanding of
respiration came about.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) and Galen (120-200 AD) both thought that the air moving in and out of the lungs served merely to
cool the heart, which otherwise became overheated in working to sustain life. [3] In 1678, Robert Hook (1635-1703)
attached a bellows to the trachea of a dog with an open chest and demonstrated that the animal could be kept alive by
rhythmic and sustained contraction of the bellows. Hook proved that movement of the chest wall was not the essential
feature of respiration but instead it was exposure of fresh air to blood circulating through the lungs. [4] Richard Lower
(1631-1691), who was the first to transfuse blood from one animal to another, demonstrated in 1669 that blood absorbed
a definite chemical substance necessary for life that changed venous blood from dark blue to red and that the process was
the chief function of the pulmonary circulation. [5]
Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) ( Fig. 1-1A ), a complex individual who was a dissenting minister in Leeds, England, and
later the resident intellectual to the Earl of Shelburne, observed that respiration and combustion had many similarities
[6] in that a candle flame would go out and an animal would die if left within a closed space. He thought this effect
occurred because the air was putrefied with phlogiston. Priestley discovered photosynthesis by showing that placing
plants that imbibed the phlogistic matter within the contained space could restore this bad air. By heating mercuric
oxide, he generated a gas that would make flames brighter and keep mice alive longer in a closed space. Priestley called it
dephlogisicated air, and Carl Scheele [7] (1742-1786) in Sweden, who detected it earlier but failed to publish, called it
feuer luft (fire air). Priestley thought that this process absorbed phlogiston and informed the French chemist AntoineLaurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) ( Fig. 1-1B ) of his discovery. Lavoisier then outlined the great facts of respiration:
absorption of oxygen through the lungs with liberation of carbon dioxide.
Figure 1-1 A, Joseph Priestley was born in Fieldhead, England, and educated as a minister. His early career was spent as a schoolmaster in Leeds, England. In 1780 he
accepted an appointment in Birmingham as minister, where he joined Erasmus Darwin and James Watt in forming the Lunar Society, which met to discuss the new ideas in
chemistry and physics emerging at that time. Because of his political views, his chapel and home were vandalized in 1789. Five years later, he joined his sons in
Pennsylvania in the United States, where he died in 1804 at the age of 70. B, This portrait of Lavoisier and his wife Marie Anne Pierrette Paulz was painted in 1788 by the
famous French artist Jacques Louis David. Marie Paulz, who married Lavoisier when she was only 14 years old, was taught to draw by David, and she drew many of the
illustrations in Lavoisier's magnum opus Traite Elementaire de Chimie. Several experimental devices and gasometers are shown on and below the table. C, Humphry Davy
was born in Cornwall, England, and became apprenticed to a surgeon, J. B. Borlase of Penzance, at age 17. At 20 years of age he was appointed superintendent of the
Beddoe's Pneumatic Institute, where he studied the effects of nitrous oxide inhalation. His later career in chemistry gained him fame and honors. He directed the Royal
Institute and was made a baronet in 1818 at the age of 40. (Courtesy of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, IL.)
Lavoisier thought that the change from oxygen to carbon dioxide was accomplished in the lungs, but Humphry Davy
(1778-1829) ( Fig. 1-1C ), an English teenager who dropped out of school at the age of 16 years, read the works of
Lavoisier and designed his own experiments to study the site of metabolism. Davy heated blood and collected the gases
that were produced. By showing that these gases were oxygen and carbon dioxide, he surmised that metabolism takes
place in tissues. [8] Davy also estimated rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production and measured the
total and residual volumes of the lungs. John S. Haldane (1860-1936) was a pioneer investigator in the study of
respiration a century ago. His apparatus for measurement of blood gases was described in 1892. [9] He was the first to
promote oxygen therapy for respiratory disease, [10] and in 1905 he discovered that the carbon dioxide tension of blood
was the normal stimulus for the respiratory drive. [11] Haldane experimented with self-administration of hypoxic mixtures
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and coined the ominous phrase that lurks within the inner recesses of the anesthesiologist's mind: Anoxemia not only
stops the machine but wrecks the machinery. He believed until his death, despite experimental evidence, that the lung
actively secreted oxygen into the blood from the air. His landmark monograph Respiration, published in 1922, [12]
summarized his studies on the respiratory system.
At the end of the 19th century it was known that hemoglobin had a vital role in the transport of oxygen to tissues. In
1896, Carl Gustav von Hufner (1840-1908) showed that the presence of hemoglobin in blood greatly enhanced its
oxygen-carrying capacity and quantified that 1 g of hemoglobin carried 1.34 mL of oxygen. [13] It was soon observed that
delivery of high concentrations of oxygen to patients with advanced pulmonary disease was often inadequate to fully
maintain tissue respiration and saturate hemoglobin completely. Gradients for inspired, alveolar, and arterial oxygen
partial pressures became apparent after development of the oxygen electrode by Leland C. Clark [14] (1918-) ( Fig. 1-2 )
in 1953. The Clark electrode consisted of a platinum cathode and a silver anode separated from blood by a polyethylene
membrane. The platinum was negatively charged to react with any oxygen reaching it through the membrane and was
sensitive to the oxygen pressure outside the membrane (i.e., the oxygen tension in blood).
Figure 1-2 This photograph of Leland Clark and John Severinghaus, whose contributions led to modern techniques of blood gas analysis, was taken in Clark's laboratory
at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital in 1982. (From Severinghaus JW, Astrup PB: History of blood gas analysis. Int Anesthesiol Clin 25:1-224, 1987.)
Further understanding of respiratory physiology arose because of the worldwide polio epidemic that occurred roughly
between the years of 1930 and 1960. Thousands of afflicted patients were kept alive with mechanical respirators, but the
adequacy of ventilation could not be assessed without some measure of carbon dioxide tension (PCO2) in the blood.
Several methods to measure PCO2 indirectly were made by Donald D. Van Slyke [15] (1883-1971) and Paul B. Astrup
(1915-2000), but the modern solution rested on development of the carbon dioxide electrode. This problem was solved in
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1958, when John W. Severinghaus (1922-) (see Fig. 1-2 ) improved the accuracy of a prototype carbon dioxide electrode
produced by Richard Stow (1916-) that measured the pH of a thin film of electrolyte separated from blood by a Teflon
membrane through which carbon dioxide could diffuse and equilibrate. Severinghaus and A. F. Bradley [16] (1932-)
constructed the first blood gas apparatus by mounting the carbon dioxide electrode and Clark's oxygen electrode in
cuvettes in a bath heated to 37C. To measure blood PO2 accurately, Severinghaus found it necessary to rapidly stir the
blood in contact with Clark's electrode because of its high oxygen consumption rate. A pH electrode was added in 1959.
Blood gas analysis made possible rapid assessment of respiratory exchange and acid-base balance. The use of blood gas
analysis was rapidly adopted by the anesthesia community and has become one of the most common laboratory tests
performed in the modern hospital. The impact of a more in-depth understanding of gas exchange on the practice of
anesthesia is summarized by John Nunn in his book Applied Respiratory Physiology. [17]
Until the mid-20th century, hemoglobin saturation could be determined only by directly measuring a sample of arterial
blood, a technique that required arterial puncture. Oximetry achieves the same measure noninvasively through a finger or
ear probe by using optical measures of transmitted light. Glenn Millikan (1906-1947), working in the Johnson Foundation
for Medical Physics at the University of Pennsylvania, devised the first ear oximeter in 1942, and it was used to detect
hypoxia in pilots, who flew in open cockpits during World War II. Its introduction into anesthesia practice was delayed
until the discovery of pulse oximetry by a Japanese engineer, Takuo Aoyagi (1936-). [18] Pulse oximetry added the
additional measure of heart rate, and it provided assurance that the signal was actually measuring a biologic parameter. A
highly successful commercial product, the Nellcor pulse oximeter was introduced in 1983 and had the unique feature of
lowering the pitch of the pulse tone as saturation dropped.
Intravascular Pressures
The first measurement of blood pressure was made by Stephen Hales (1677-1761) ( Fig. 1-3A ), the curate of Middlesex,
England, who occupied himself between sermons with experiments on mechanics of the circulation. He described one of
his experiments [19] performed (1733) on an old mare who was to be killed, as being unfit for service:
I fixed a brass pipe to the carotid artery of a mare the blood rose in the tube till it reached to nine feet six inches in
height. I then took away the tube from the artery and let out sixty cubic inches of blood, and then replaced the tube to
see how high the blood would rise after each evacuation; this was repeated several times until the mare expired. In the
three horses, death occurred when the height of the blood in the tube was about two feet.
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Figure 1-3 Two scientists of the Enlightenment era. A, Stephen Hales (1677-1761): detail of an oil painting by T. Hudson, 1759, in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Hales was educated at Cambridge University, England, and ordained as a minister in 1703. He spent his career as minister to the parish of Teddington, England. His
rudimentary studies on the gas produced by mixing Walton pyrites (i.e., ferric disulfide) and spirit of nitre (i.e., nitric acid) was the spark that prompted Priestley to pursue
his studies on nitric oxide, which led to the discovery of nitrous oxide in 1773. Hales was the first to measure blood pressure and cardiac output. He also developed
ventilators that brought fresh air into prisons and granaries. B, Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777): detail of an engraving by Ambroise Tardieu. Haller was born in Bern,
Switzerland. He served as professor of medicine and surgery at the University of Gttingen, Germany, where he began his encyclopedic work, Physiological Elements of
the Human Body, published in eight volumes between 1757 and 1766. His demonstration that irritability was a property of muscle and sensitivity was a property of
nerves was derived from nearly 600 experiments on live animals. He returned to Bern in 1753, and while there he published a catalog of the scientific literature containing
52,000 references. (Portraits courtesy of the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.)
Hales also discovered that the resistance of a vascular bed could change by mixing alcohol in the blood, which he
observed could account for changes in blood pressure brought about by diverse ingested agents. In 1828, Jean L.
Poiseuille [20] (1799-1869) repeated these experiments and devised a hemomanometer that used mercury instead of the
long blood-filled tubes used by Hales. Poiseuille also showed that blood pressure varied with respiration.
In 1854, Karl Vierordt [21] (1818-1884) invented a sphygmograph that acted on the principle that indirect estimation of
blood pressure could be accomplished by measuring the counterpressure necessary to obliterate the arterial pulsation.
Scipione Riva-Rocci's (1863-1937) sphygmomanometer, described in 1896, [22] involved the same principle but used a
rubber cuff that occluded a major arterial vessel and then slowly deflated. In 1905, Nikolai Korotkov [23] (1874-1920)
described the sounds produced during auscultation over a distal portion of the artery as the cuff was deflated. These
Korotkoff sounds resulted in more accurate determination of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Oscillometric blood
pressure measurement relied on a cuff that sensed changes in arterial pulsations and was described by H. von
Recklinghausen in 1931. [24] Automatic blood pressure devices based on the oscillometric method were developed in the
1970s and have become the standard noninvasive measure of arterial pressure in most hospitals.
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Venous pressure was of less interest to anesthesiologists until convenient methods for placing cannulas into central
vascular structures were described more than 50 years ago by Sven Seldinger. [25] Werner Forssman (1904-1979), a
urologist, described methods for central venous access and right heart catheterization in humans in 1929 [26] ; he
originally experimented on himself and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his work on venous
pressure in 1956. The introduction of plastic catheters [27] gradually made it possible to measure central pressure in the
clinical setting. Although arm and femoral veins were used initially, subclavian and internal jugular vein cannulation
eventually replaced the peripheral sites. Pulmonary artery catheterization with a balloon-tipped, flow-directed catheter
was described in 1970 [28] and has been used extensively since then by anesthesiologists to measure pulmonary artery
pressure and cardiac output via the Fick [29] (Adolf E. Fick1829-1901) principle. The pulmonary artery catheter also
allowed clinicians to use the well-known pressure-volume relationships of the heart described by Ernest H. Starling
(1866-1927) in 1918 to maximize cardiac output and oxygen delivery to tissues.
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was described in 1976 [30] and used in anesthesia practice a few years later.
One of the original probes used during anesthesia was fashioned from an esophageal stethoscope combined with an Mmode echocardiographic probe and was used to calculate cardiac output and ejection fraction in a 65-year-old woman
undergoing mitral valve repair. [31] An improved electronic phased-array transducer was initially applied at the
University of California, San Francisco, for monitoring regional myocardial function in high-risk surgical patients. [32]
Biplane TEE and color flow mapping were introduced in the 1980s and resulted in an explosive growth in TEE
applications. [33] With experience and training in TEE, the anesthesiologist can quickly evaluate filling pressures of the
heart, as well as obtain measures of myocardial contractility and valvular function. TEE has become a routine monitor for
certain surgical procedures.
Autonomic Nervous System and Neurohumoral Transmission
The first hint of involuntary control of glandular and vascular function occurred in the 18th century. In a classic paper
written in 1751, Robert Whytt (1714-1766) described the reflex nature of many involuntary activities. [34] Thomas Willis
[35] (1621-1675) had described the sympathetic chain as early as 1657. He called it the intercostal nerve because it
received segmental branches from the spinal cord at each level.
Pourfour du Petit (1664-1741) observed that there was a corresponding miosis and retraction of the nictitating membrane
when this intercostal nerve was unilaterally cut in the neck of a cat. [36] Jacob B. Winslow (1669-1760) gave the
intercostal nerve the name grand sympathique to stress that this nerve brought the various organs of the body into
sympathy, [37] a term that was originally coined by the Greek physician Soranus of Ephesus (98-138) in the first century
AD (sym, together, and pathos, feeling). Claude Bernard (1813-1878) observed vasoconstriction and pupillary
dilation after stimulation of the same intercostal (now called the sympathetic) nerve and then described the vasomotor
nerves arising between the cervical and lumbar enlargements of the spinal cord. [38]
In 1889, John N. Langley (1852-1925) began his work on sympathetic transmission in autonomic ganglia. He blocked
synaptic transmission in the ganglia by painting them with nicotine and then mapped the distribution of the presynaptic
and postsynaptic autonomic nerves. [39] He observed a similarity between the effects of injection of adrenal gland
extracts and stimulation of the sympathetic nerves. [40] The active principle of adrenal medullary extracts was called
epinephrine by John J. Abel [41] (1837-1938) in 1897. Abel was one of the first pharmacologists in the United States, and
with his discovery of the hormone epinephrine, he uncovered one of the most commonly used lifesaving agents in the
anesthesiologist's pharmacopoeia.
Thomas R. Elliott (1877-1961) postulated that sympathetic nerve impulses release a substance similar to epinephrine and
considered this substance to be a chemical step in the process of neurotransmission. [42] George Barger (1878-1939) and
Henry H. Dale (1875-1968) then studied the pharmacologic activity of a large series of synthetic amines related to
epinephrine and called these drugs sympathomimetic. [43] The different effects on end organs produced by adrenal
extracts and sympathetic stimulation were analyzed by Walter B. Cannon (1871-1945) and by Ulf Svante von Euler
(1905-1983). In a series of papers, these authors demonstrated that the sympathetic nerves released norepinephrine,
whereas the adrenal gland released both epinephrine and norepinephrine.
In 1907, Walter E. Dixon [44] (1871-1931) observed that the alkaloid muscarine had the same effect as stimulation of the
vagus nerves on various end organs. He proposed that the nerve liberated a muscarine-like chemical that acted as a
chemical mediator. In 1914, Henry H. Dale [45] investigated the pharmacologic properties of acetylcholine and was
impressed that its effects reproduced the same effects as stimulation of the craniosacral fine myelinated fibers that Walter
H. Gaskell [46] (1847-1914) had called the bulbosacral involuntary nerves and had by then been called parasympathetic
by Langley.
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The final proof of neurotransmission by acetylcholine was provided through the elegant experiments of Otto Loewi
(1873-1961). He stimulated the neural innervation of the frog heart and then allowed the perfusion fluid to come in
contact with a second isolated heart preparation. [47] The resulting bradycardia provided evidence that some substance
was released from the donor nerves that slowed the heart rate of the second organ. [47] Loewi and Navrail presented
evidence that this substance was acetylcholine, as Dale had suggested. Loewi and Dale were jointly awarded the Nobel
Prize in 1936 for their work on chemical neurotransmission.
Theodore Tuffier (1857-1929) first demonstrated the relevance of the sympathetic nervous system to the practice of
anesthesia in 1900. In a series of experiments on dogs, he demonstrated the sympatholysis that occurs after spinal
anesthesia. [48] Further studies on the sympathectomy resulting from neuraxial blockade were performed by G. Smith and
W. Porter in 1915. [49] Working with cats, they concluded that the decrease in arterial blood pressure was secondary to
sympathetic paralysis of the vasomotor fibers in the splanchnic vessels. Gaston L. Labat [50] (1877-1934) encouraged the
use of sympathetic stimulants such as ephedrine to counter the hypotensive effects of spinal anesthesia.
Reversal of neuromuscular blockade rests on a fundamental understanding of two types of cholinergic receptors,
muscarinic and nicotinic, originally described in 1914 by Dale. [45] Neostigmine, synthesized in 1931, [51] when given
alone during reversal of neuromuscular blockade had produced cardiac arrest in several instances before it was learned
that previous administration of an antimuscarinic drug would prevent this complication. [52] Atropine, isolated from the
plant Atropa belladonna by A. Mein [53] in 1831, blocked peripheral and central nervous system muscarinic receptors.
Glycopyrrolate was synthesized in 1960 as an antimuscarinic agent that did not pass the blood-brain barrier. [54]
Glycopyrrolate is more titratable, has fewer central nervous system side effects, and has gradually replaced atropine as
the preferred anticholinergic during reversal of neuromuscular blockade.
Crucial to the control of arterial blood pressure and heart rate in the perioperative period was the realization that there
was more than one type of adrenergic receptor. In 1948, Raymond P. Ahlquist (1914-1983) proposed the designations and -adrenergic receptors, [55] and various subtypes of these two main classes have been characterized since then.
Esmolol was introduced in 1985 as a short-acting -adrenergic antagonist that effectively controls the heart rate during
anesthesia. Labetalol, a unique agent introduced in 1976, antagonizes - and -adrenergic receptors. 2-Adrenergic
agonists such as clonidine and dexmedetomidine have been shown to be useful agents in certain clinical settings. The 2adrenergic agonist effects produce sedation and analgesia through a central effect and, because they do not induce
respiratory depression, they may have some advantages over opioids as sedatives in awake subjects. [56]
Manipulation of blood pressure can be achieved rapidly by intravenous nitrates such as nitroglycerin and nitroprusside.
These drugs act directly on smooth muscle to allow rapid and more precise control of hemodynamics. Nitroglycerin was
synthesized in 1846 by the Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero (1812-1888) by combining nitric acid and glycerol. The first
practical use of the drug was made by Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), who mixed the agent with silica to make dynamite, a
highly successful explosive used in building tunnels and canals. A portion of the vast wealth of Nobel was directed by his
will to be distributed annually in the form of Nobel Prizes beginning in 1901. [57] [58] William Murrell [59] (1853-1912)
reported the use of sublingual nitroglycerin in 1879 to treat angina. Intravenous use of the nitrovasodilators during
anesthesia was not feasible until the development of continuous arterial monitoring, but for the past 30 years these drugs
have been popular for rapid control of hypertensive crises in the operating room. [60] The mechanism of action of nitrates
on smooth muscle, through the release of nitric oxide, was demonstrated by Ferid Murad (1936-) in 1986. [61] Nitric
oxide, considered a toxic gas by Priestley who discovered it and by Humphry Davy who breathed it, has been shown to
be a useful inhaled agent when used in a very low dose of 5 to 10 ppm in cases of life-threatening pulmonary
hypertension. [62]
Historical Development of Theories of Pain
An understanding of the mechanism of pain production was not required by the physicians who developed the use of
general anesthesia in the second half of the 19th century. Although inhalation of vapors produced a lack of awareness
during surgery, anesthesiologists learned that control of perioperative nociception would require a more thorough
understanding of pain. Fortunately, by the beginning of the 20th century, there was already a large body of knowledge on
pain mechanisms dating from the earliest days of medical inquiry.
In antiquity, pain was thought to be an emotion rather than a sensory modality. Pain control was a function of religious
authorities and shamans in primitive cultures, and relief of pain was sought through incantations and prayers. Pain was
then often considered to be a punishment for committed sins or a form of religious suffering. The word pain is derived
from the Greek term poine (penalty). Aristotle thought that pain was an emotion emanating from the heart, but Galen
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correctly observed that the brain was required for pain to be manifested in animals. Galen also proposed that sensation
was a property of nervous tissue, but his physiologic system was altogether hampered by his idea that an invisible psychic
pneuma traveled within hollow nerves. [3]
The 18th and 19th centuries witnessed considerable progress in understanding the mechanisms of pain. Albrecht von
Haller [63] (1708-1777) (see Fig. 1-3B ) observed that some tissues in the body have a property that he called sensibility:
I call those parts sensible, if the irritation occasions evident signs of pain and disquiet in the animal. Other tissues were
insensible, which if touched occasioned no sign of pain nor convulsion. Some tissues were irritable. I call that part of
the human body irritable, if it becomes shorter upon being touched. von Haller's landmark contribution in 1752 [64]
concluded that only parts of the body supplied with nerves possess sensibility, whereas irritability is a property of
muscular fibers.
The idea of specific neural pathways for painful sensations began with Charles Bell [65] (1774-1842) and Franois
Magendie [66] (1783-1855), who both demonstrated that the dorsal roots transmitted sensory information and that the
ventral roots contained the motor nerves. Johannes Mller (1801-1858), in his 1826 paper titled Of the Peculiar
Properties of Individual Nerves, proposed that each sense organ gave rise to its own characteristic sensation and to no
other; electrical or mechanical stimulation of the optic nerve, for example, gives rise to only a sensation of light. [67] The
evidence that pain was a separate and distinct sense with separate end organs was formulated in 1858 by Moritz S. Schiff
(1823-1896).
By the end of the 19th century, the idea was firmly established that acute pain was a distinct sensory modality that was
susceptible to interruption through a conduction block initiated with local anesthetics. Pain as a separate sensation that
was transmitted through separate neural fiber tracts was supported by clinical observations after neural blockade. Several
investigators found, for example, that acute pain could be abolished with cocaine injections, which left some sensory
modalities unaffected. [68]
There is evidence that operations undertaken on the battlefield may be associated with less pain than occurs with similar
elective operations performed without anesthesia. The amputation of Lord Horatio Nelson's right arm in the battle at
Tenerife, Canary Islands, was performed aboard ship after he sustained a musket shot above the elbow that divided the
artery and shattered the humerus. Nelson complained only that the knife felt cold and thereafter ordered that all knives on
board be heated before entering into conflict because his personal experience had indicated that a warm knife would
produce almost no discomfort. [69] Henry Beecher [70] (1904-1976) confirmed during World War II that wounded
soldiers had surprisingly little pain.
To further explain some of these central influences on nociception, Ronald Melzack (1929-) and P. D. Wall proposed the
gate control theory of pain in 1965. [71] This theory suggested that the nociceptive afferent pain fibers were subjected to
the modulating influence of a gate at the first synaptic contact in the spinal cord. Whereas large-fiber input tends to
close the gate (i.e., inhibit nociceptive transmission), small-fiber input opens it, and descending influences from the
cortex and midbrain [72] also profoundly influence the gate. Endogenous opioids, first discovered in 1974 by A.
Goldstein [73] and later confirmed by J. Hughes [74] in 1975 and S. H. Snyder and coworkers [75] in 1977, are located at
diverse sites in the pain pathway, including the dorsal horn, and they can influence the rostral transmission of pain
sensations. Several modalities of pain therapy, such as acupuncture and biofeedback, attempt to activate these
endogenous systems to suppress chronic pain syndromes.
The gate theory of pain has had considerable influence on the anesthesiologist's management of pain by focusing
attention on the unique pharmacology of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. By using intrathecal and epidural injections,
[76] anesthesiologists have learned to suppress nociceptive transmission at the first synaptic relay in the spinal cord. The
technique has implications in acute and chronic pain therapy because neuraxially administered drugs can provide
analgesia without some of the systemic side effects of intravenously administered drugs. A typically modern view of
perioperative pain is to view it as an impediment to recovery. Aggressive methods are often used to minimize pain and
facilitate rapid return to normal functional activity. [77]
Surgical Procedures Before 1846
Greek and Roman surgeons used a variety of surgical instruments that we would recognize today. Drills, saws, syringes,
cannulas, probes, and scalpels can all be viewed in the excavations at Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Rheims. Hippocrates
(460-377 BC) wrote a treatise on surgery, but it provided little sympathy for the patient. His advice to the patient was to
accommodate the operator and maintain the figure and position of the part operated on and avoid sinking down,
and shrinking from or turning away. [78] The most famous Roman surgeon was Pedanius Dioscorides (40-90 AD), a
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Greek physician who served in the armies of Nero. His Materia Medica, written in 77 AD, was the authoritative work on
pharmacology for more than 15 centuries. In this book he described the effects of mandragora and wine to produce
anesthesia in a patient being cut or cauterized. He also described local anesthesia produced by the stone of Memphis,
which being cut small, and smeared upon the places to be cut or cauterized, produces anesthesia without danger. [3]
During the Middle Ages, attempts were made to use alcohol fumes as an analgesic during surgery ( Fig. 1-4B ). Another
inhaled technique, the soporific sponge, is mentioned in numerous manuscripts written in the Middle Ages. One example
[3] from the 9th century comes from a Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino, near Salerno, Italy:
A hypnotic aid, that is a soporific suitable for those who are treated by surgery, so that asleep, they do not feel the
pain of cutting. Rx: opium one half ounce, mandragora the juice from the leaves, eight ounces, the juice of fresh
hemlock, hyposcyanus three ounces of the juice together with sufficient water so that it forms a liquor, and then
absorb in a fresh dry sponge and dry it carefully. And when thou wouldst employ this sponge, dip it in warm water,
place it over the nose and cause the patient to breathe deep until he sleeps. And when thou wouldst wake him up,
apply to his nose another sponge well soaked with vinegar and thou willst end the sleep.
Figure 1-4 A, Operating on the Upper Arm is taken from the textbook titled Chirurgia by Theodoric of Cervia. It is noteworthy because it shows an intense focus by the
patient directly into the gaze of an assistant. Although hypnosis is a 19th century term and its use for pain relief during surgery was not widely promoted until then,
induction of trances and altered states of being was known to the ancients. Theodoric apparently realized the value of diverting the patient's attention away from the pain of
surgery. B, Inhalation of the vapor of alcohol was tried in the Middle Ages as a method for pain relief during surgery. The inhaler shown here is remarkably similar to that
used by William T. G. Morton on October 16, 1846, which used ether as the volatile agent (compare with Fig. 1-6 ).
The sponge used by Theodoric of Cervia (1205-1296), a member of the Dominican order who practiced in Bologna,
contained the same ingredients as the Salernitan sponge.
The effective agents in this sponge were very likely opium and scopolamine. [3] Theodoric was one of the first surgeons
to promote methods to ablate pain during surgery (see Fig. 1-4A ). One of the great physicians of the Renaissance,
Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, otherwise known as Paracelsus (1493-1541), was familiar with the soporific
action of sulfuric ether, a compound that had been synthesized from sulfuric acid and alcohol by the chemist Valerius
Cordus (1515-1544). Cordus called the flammable, volatile liquid sweet vitriol, and in 1740, Frobenius named it ether
(from the Greek word for ignite or blaze). Paracelsus described the effect of ether on chickens and stated that it
quiets all suffering without harm, and relieves all pain. Although he was appointed surgeon to the Danish army when
they besieged Stockholm in 1518, he had little interest in surgery, and these ideas were not developed clinically.
The suffering associated with surgery is found by examining accounts written by patients who survived major surgical
procedures before that time. One comes from Fanny Burney [79] (1752-1840), a novelist and celebrity of the early part of
the 19th century. Here is an abbreviated account of her mastectomy for breast cancer by the surgeon Dominique J. Larrey
(1766-1842), the celebrated military surgeon in Napoleon's army, on September 30, 1811:
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I mounted the bed and a cambric handkerchief was placed upon my face. The bed was then surrounded by 7 men and
my nurse. Through the cambric I saw the glitter of the polished steel knife. A silence ensued. Oh what a horrible
suspension! When the dreadful steel was plunged into the breast, I needed no injunctions not to restrain my cries. I
began a scream that lasted unintermittently during the whole time of the incision and I almost marvel that it rings not
in my ears still, so excruciating was the agony.
Although Fanny Burney lived for another 29 years after this operation, she observed that anything that would recall the
surgery to her mind would reactivate the terror of the horrible experience. Apparently, operations performed without
anesthesia produced long-lasting emotional and painful side effects. A modern interpretation of this phenomenon could
conclude that these patients lacked any form of preemptive analgesia [80] and that they therefore experienced lingering
side effects after their surgical wounds had healed.
Even though thousands of patients experienced the terror of an operation, countless others suffered with chronic ailments
because the risk associated with surgery was too high or because they feared death or severe pain during the operation.
For example, even after the introduction of anesthesia in 1846, textbooks on the treatment of hernia continued to have
extensive descriptions of hernia belts and trusses. [81]
Introduction of General Anesthesia
Background
Although surgical technique was in development, the patient presented a problem to the surgeon, chiefly because of
active physical resistance and because the cries and screams were distracting and often left the patient emotionally and
physically exhausted. These factors, combined with the inevitable sepsis, resulted in high mortality rates. No wonder that
by the middle of the 19th century there was greater determination by some surgeons to devise ways of improving
operating conditions so that these appalling surgical mortality figures could be decreased, which in some reports reached
nearly 50%. Bold approaches and risks were required, and these factors came together in Boston, Massachusetts, on
October 16, 1846, when William T. G. Morton demonstrated the use of ether inhalation for surgical anesthesia.
Gas Inhalation
As a result of the growing scientific interest in various types of airs, popular medical treatments involving gas
inhalation evolved. Health resorts were popular attractions and financially successful because of their use by prominent
members of society. One important pneumatic spa was located at Clifton, near Bristol, England, where Thomas
Beddoes [82] (1760-1808) furnished airs for therapeutic use and funded research on the manufacture and use of gases.
Nitrous oxide, a gas codiscovered by Priestley and Joseph Black, was by then considered to be a dangerous gas after a
pronouncement by the influential American physician and U.S. Senator Samuel Latham Mitchill (1764-1831) that the gas
was the principle of contagion and if breathed would spread plague. The young scientist Humphry Davy conducted
research on nitrous oxide at the Beddoes institute and, undaunted by these pronouncements, made several important
observations. He inhaled nitrous oxide and noticed that it provided relief from the pain caused by an erupting wisdom
tooth. In 1800 he wrote: As nitrous oxide in its extensive operation appears capable of destroying physical pain, it may
probably be used with advantage during surgical operations in which no great effusion of blood takes place. [83]
Davy was not a surgeon, and clinicians overlooked his suggestion at the time. He resigned his position at the Beddoes
Medical Pneumatic Institute in 1801 and moved to London to lecture at the newly founded Royal Institution of Great
Britain. Davy was just 20 years old when he performed his studies on nitrous oxide, and his subsequent, highly successful
career took him into other areas of scientific study that led to discovery of the elements potassium, sodium, calcium,
barium, magnesium, strontium, and chlorine. He was knighted in 1812, became President of the Royal Society in 1820,
and never returned to develop his promising early thoughts on nitrous oxide analgesia. Regrettably, he left no students to
continue these studies, although his successor at the Royal Institute, Michael Faraday (1791-1867), briefly experimented
with ether inhalation and observed that its effects were similar to those occasioned by nitrous oxide. [84]
The first research specifically directed toward an effective method of providing pain-free surgery was made by a
physician working in the village of Ludlow, Shropshire, in northern England. Henry Hill Hickman (1800-1830) was a
practicing surgeon who investigated the use of carbon dioxide to induce insensibility in animals. Because of the
widespread interest in inhalation therapy at the beginning of the 19th century, it is not surprising that Hickman used an
inhaled gas. Unfortunately for him, he used the wrong gas; if he had selected nitrous oxide, which was known to produce
analgesia, his results might have achieved further attention. Although he published his work in 1824 in a private letter to
T. A. Knight, [85] Hickman failed to find any support from his colleagues in England or France, and he died at an early
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age without recognition.

Beginning of Inhaled Anesthesia
The story of anesthesia continues with another amateur and itinerant chemist, Gardner Quincy Colton (1814-1898) ( Fig.
1-5A ). Colton had attended 2 years of medical school at the Crosby Street College of Physicians and Surgeons in New
York. While in school, he perfected the manufacture of nitrous oxide by heating ammonium nitrate, and after 2 years of
study, he proclaimed himself to be a Professor of Chemistry and went on the road to lecture on chemistry and present
scientific exhibitions.
Figure 1-5 A, Gardner Q. Colton was born in Georgia, Vermont, and studied medicine briefly at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. His
demonstrations of nitrous oxide inhalation were the spark that prompted Horace Wells and William T. G. Morton to use gas inhalation for relief of surgical pain. After a
long and adventurous career, he died at age 84 in Rotterdam, Holland. B, William T. G. Morton was born in 1819 on a farm near Charlton, Massachusetts. After several
business failures, he studied at the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery and, in 1842, entered into a partnership in Boston with another dentist, Horace Wells. This
partnership was dissolved within a year on amicable terms. During this association, the two dentists had devised a new method for fitting dentures that required removal of
all the diseased teeth, a prohibitively painful procedure for most patients. Morton experimented with laudanum and opium without success, and in proceeding with his
investigations, he realized that greater knowledge of medicine was essential for further success. He briefly entered Harvard Medical School while continuing a part-time
dental practice. During the summer of 1844, Morton, on the advice of Charles T. Jackson, used sulfuric ether for painless tooth extractions, and study of this agent
eventually led to his successful demonstration of ether anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846. The remainder of Morton's life was spent in
efforts to patent and receive monetary recognition for the discovery of ether anesthesia. Broken and despondent, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in New York City in July
1868. (Images courtesy of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, IL.)
On the night of December 10, 1844, Professor Colton presented his exhibit featuring inhalation of nitrous oxide at Union
Hall in Hartford, Connecticut. It was at the Colton exhibit that the dentist Horace Wells (1815-1848) originated an idea
that culminated in the first successful demonstration of inhalation anesthesia 22 months later. Wells had experimented
with mesmerism to relieve the pain of dental extractions and was aware of the work of Humphry Davy. He attended the
Colton demonstration and observed a young man, Samuel A. Cooley, sustain a significant leg injury without pain after
nitrous oxide inhalation. Here was the answer to the problem of painful tooth extractions that had occupied his mind. He
arranged for Colton to administer nitrous oxide to him on the following day for extraction of one of Wells own teeth by
fellow dentist John M. Riggs. Only a slight tinge of pain was felt, and Wells proceeded to manufacture nitrous oxide
according to Colton's instructions and use it for extractions of teeth. He recognized the enormous potential of his
discovery and used his connections in Boston to arrange a date at the Harvard Medical School to demonstrate the
technique of painless surgery.
Wells appointment was to administer the gas for a leg amputation. The patient scheduled for this procedure refused to
proceed with the anesthesia, and a young male student agreed to breathe nitrous oxide for extraction of a wisdom tooth.
During the extraction the subject moved and groaned, only later to proclaim that little pain was actually felt.
Nevertheless, Wells was discredited and became despondent, eventually withdrawing from further public promotions of
his methods.
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William T. G. Morton (see Fig. 1-5B ), a young dentist from Boston, was acquainted with Wells, having been a former
student and colleague of his, and had attended the failed demonstration at Harvard. Morton had lingering thoughts about a
more suitable agent, in part arising from his interest in promoting his business of selling dentures. He had invented a new
method for fitting dentures, but the process was prohibitively painful, and few patients would submit to the procedure. An
adequate analgesic could accelerate his business.
Morton was initially trained as a dentist but had enrolled briefly at Harvard Medical School. Because of financial
difficulties, he abandoned these studies and returned to dentistry. In the course of his education he became acquainted
with Charles A. Jackson, a professor of chemistry at Harvard Medical School. On Morton's queries, Jackson advised a
trial of sulfuric ether as an alternative to nitrous oxide. Later, Jackson was to claim priority in the discovery of anesthesia
based on these consultations, but Morton countered that Jackson's role was negligible. Morton obtained the ether and,
after performing experiments on himself and his pet animals, administered the agent successfully on September 30, 1846,
to Eben Frost for extraction of an upper bicuspid tooth. Prompted by this success, he promoted use of the agent in his
dental practice, thereby gaining the attention of another key figure, Henry J. Bigelow (1818-1890), in the unfolding
drama. Bigelow, a prominent young surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, privately witnessed Morton's success
with ether and arranged the time and date for its public demonstration.
The events of October 16, 1846, a complete triumph for Morton, have been recounted several times by others, but certain
points are of special interest. The patient, Edward Gilbert Abbott, whom Morton apparently had never met, was to have a
vascular tumor of the neck with large tortuous veins excised in the sitting position by 68-year-old Chief Surgeon John
Collins Warren (1778-1856). Fearing a difficult airway or air embolism, a modern anesthesiologist might seek special
equipment for this case, perhaps a special laryngoscope and central venous catheters. Morton, however, had only a poorly
designed inhaler and no intravenous access. Close examination of the circumstances surrounding administration of this
anesthetic indicates how dangerous this bold endeavor by Morton actually was and how likely it was to fail miserably.
With the inhaler that he used, it seems unlikely that the vapor could be administered during the surgical procedure.
Fortunately for Morton, the kinetic properties of ether result in prolonged emergence, and Mr. Abbott responded only
briefly at the end of the procedure ( Fig. 1-6 ).
Figure 1-6 Drawing by H. H. Hall in Rice's Trials of a Public Benefactor illustrates the first public demonstration of ether anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital on
October 16, 1846. From the left are Henry J. Bigelow (1818-1890), the earliest advocate and sponsor of William T. G. Morton at the hospital, who also wrote the classic
article describing the first experiences with ether anesthesia in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal; Augustus A. Gould, with whom Morton and his wife were
boarding and who suggested the design of the first inhaler (Gould also suggested the name Letheon); Jonathan Mason Warren (1811-1867), son of John Collins Warren,
who later devised new surgical procedures for nasal deformity and cleft lip (Hall erroneously places him at this event; others [not shown] who were present are George
Heywood, house officer, and Eben Frost, who had a tooth pulled by Morton after ether administration on September 30, 1846); John Collins Warren (1778-1856), 68-yearold Chief of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, who performed the operation that day; William T. G. Morton, to whom credit is given for introducing ether
anesthesia to the world; Gilbert Abbott, a 28-year-old house painter and printer with a congenital vascular tumor, visible in the drawing as a tumor below the left mandible;
and Samuel Parkman, Morton's anatomy instructor at Harvard Medical School; and George Hayward (1791-1863), 53-year-old senior surgeon at Massachusetts General
Hospital, who excised an arm mass under ether anesthesia the following day, October 17, 1846. His operation for vesicovaginal fistula is considered to be an original
procedure. Also present was Solomon D. Townsend, one of the prominent surgeons at Harvard Medical School. (Courtesy of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology,
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Park Ridge, IL.)
Morton, intending to profit from his discovery, withheld identification of the ether that he used and called it Letheon. He
masked the aroma and appearance of ether by adding a colored dye and additional scents. For a fee, he intended to
provide instruction on its safe use. The surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital then denied continued use of the
agent until its true nature was identified. After Morton disclosed its chemical nature, further operations were performed
with success. Bigelow read his manuscript describing the use of ether for operative surgery on November 3, 1846, before
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and published it ( Fig. 1-7 ) in the November 18, 1846, issue of the Boston
Medical and Surgical Journal. [86] The name anesthesia (Greek an, without, and esthesia, sensation) was suggested
by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) in a private letter to Morton dated November 21, 1846. Holmes also considered
the words antineurotic, aneuric, neuroleptic, neurolepsia, and neurostasis, but he rejected these as being too anatomical
because the change induced by ether was physiologic.
Figure 1-7 Title and opening paragraph of Henry J. Bigelow's description of the first ether anesthetics. (From Bigelow HJ: Insensibility during surgical operations
produced by inhalation. Boston Med Surg J 35:309-317, 379-382, 1846.)
Aftermath
It is remarkable that without more explicit instructions or actual demonstration by one of the Boston group, ether
anesthesia was adopted so rapidly around the world. Only 63 days after the Morton demonstration, ether was
administered in England by James Robinson (1813-1862), a prominent London dentist, for extraction of a deep-seated
molar in a 13-year-old girl. Robinson had learned of ether anesthesia through a letter shown to him by a neighboring
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friend, Francis Boott (1792-1863), who had received the letter from Jacob Bigelow (1786-1879), father of Henry
Bigelow, in which the effects of ether inhalation were described. Robinson devised a new inhaler and wrote the first
textbook on anesthesia, published in London on March 1, 1847. [87] Two days after Robinson's use of ether, Robert
Liston (1794-1847) performed the first operation in Englanda leg amputation at University College Hospital,
Londonwith ether as the anesthetic delivered by William Squire. Within a few months, ether anesthesia had spread to
the European continent. Nikolai Ivanovitch Pirogoff (1810-1881) used ether in St. Petersburg as early as February 1847,
and he wrote a treatise on the subject. Of significant importance for the widespread use of ether was the prestige of the
Boston surgeons, who firmly supported its legitimacy.
Many who tried to administer the anesthetic did so without proper preparation, and failures were common. Several
questions remained unanswered. Bigelow's article was vague about how it should be administered and simply described a
number of cases with the use of Morton's inhaler. How the ether was supposed to be administered after loss of
consciousness was not addressed. Nasal breathing or failure to purse the lips around the mouthpiece must have placed a
limit on the duration of effective vapor administration. It was another lucky circumstance for Morton that ether was
chosen as his agent. Subsequent studies with ether have revealed that it stimulates the sympathetic nervous system at deep
levels of anesthesia. [88] This unique property of the drug and its high blood solubility result in a remarkably safe agent
that requires only marginal skills to avoid overdose.
Priority for Discovery
Claims of priority for the discovery of ether anesthesia arose quickly. Wells, Morton, and Jackson all claimed to have
discovered anesthesia. The issue of priority was further complicated by a report that a surgeon in Jefferson, Georgia, had
used ether anesthesia as early as 1842. Crawford Long (1815-1878) published a manuscript in the Southern Medical and
Surgical Journal in December 1849 describing his use of ether on March 30, 1842, to excise a tumor from the neck of a
young man, James M. Venable. [89]
Numerous monuments have been erected to commemorate the man who discovered anesthesia. At least 15 have been
erected for the group of Morton, Wells, and Long. A chair that Charles Jackson sat in while experimenting with ether
inhalation is on display in the Pilgrim Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the label Seated in this chair, Dr.
Charles T. Jackson discovered etherization February, 1842. In the Public Gardens of Boston, a monument without a
name has been erected to those who discovered anesthesia, thus suggesting that the introduction of ether anesthesia was
the product of several individuals. Howard R. Raper, in his book Man Against Pain, analyzed the controversy about who
discovered anesthesia and suggested that Crawford Long was the discoverer if only the issue of priority is considered.
However, Long continued to use whiskey and other ineffective means after 1842, indicative of his apparent lack of
enthusiasm for ether. Wells was the discoverer if the idea of inhalation anesthesia is considered, and Morton was the
discoverer if the primary consideration is who introduced inhalation anesthesia to the world. Historians have generally
credited the personality who produces the actual change in medical practice, and that individual was William Thomas
Green Morton.
Neither honors nor monetary awards were forthcoming during the remaining lives of Wells or Morton. Wells committed
suicide in 1848, unaware that the French Academy of Sciences had just named him as the true discoverer of anesthesia.
Morton was unsuccessful in his effort to profit from a patent on his discovery or to secure a financial award from the U.S.
government and died, broken and despondent, at age 49. Jackson was committed to a hospital for the mentally ill at the
age of 68 years, where he died 7 years later. Morton was 27 years old when he demonstrated ether anesthesia. The ages of
the other participants at the time of their discoveries were as follows: Wells (1815-1848) was 29; Davy (1778-1829) was
22; Hickman (1800-1830) was 24; Jackson (1804-1880) was 41; Long (1815-1878) was 27; and Colton (1814-1898) was
30 years old.
Development of Inhaled Anesthetics
Chloroform
Within a year after the introduction of ether anesthesia, the search had already begun for other agents that could
anesthetize without some of the problems associated with ether. Although ether was a remarkably safe anesthetic, even
when administered by untrained hands, there were disadvantages, including flammability, prolonged induction, an
unpleasant odor that was persistent, and a high incidence of nausea and vomiting. James Young Simpson (1811-1870), an
obstetrician from Edinburgh, Scotland, used ether in 1846 but was determined to find a better anesthetic. As early as
January 1847, he began experimenting with a variety of different solvents and volatile liquids. [90]
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Marie Jean Flourens (1794-1867) had used chloroform in dogs while studying stages in depression of the central nervous
system by chloroform and ether. Simpson and a group of friends learned of the surprising potency of chloroform at a
dinner party hosted by Simpson on September 4, 1847. Dinner was followed by the experimental inhalation of volatile
drugs, and the use of chloroform was followed by stupor and coma in several participants, including Simpson. Simpson
promoted chloroform vigorously, and its use was widely accepted in England. As an obstetrician, he advocated its use
during labor and promoted, along with others, [91] the use of analgesics during parturition. Initially, his views conflicted
with those of medical authorities, who considered it unsafe during labor, and with those of religious authorities, who
opposed it on theologic grounds. Edinburgh had a black history on the issue of pain relief during childbirth. In 1591, a
young woman named Euphanie Macalyane was burned alive as punishment for seeking pain relief during labor. Her
sentence was on a direct order from the King of Scotland, James VI (1567-1625). Simpson was not a timid man and met
the religious controversy with direct quotations from the Bible that appeared to support his views (Genesis 2, 21: and the
Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead
thereof.).
Chloroform was used widely in England, but controversy developed about its safety, particularly in otherwise healthy
subjects, those in whom a physician would not anticipate any difficulties. Various commissions and committees were
formed, notably the two Hyderabad commissions (1888 and 1890), [92] to investigate the relative safety of chloroform. In
the late 19th century, Hyderabad, a city in the middle of the Indian subcontinent, was the capital of the independent state
of Hyderabad, ruled by the Nizam Mir Mehboob Ali Khan. The Nizam was persuaded to underwrite an animal
investigation into the safety of chloroform anesthesia by Major Edward Lawrie (1846-1915), principal of the Indian
Medical School in Hyderabad. Lawrie had a preconceived belief in the safety of chloroform, and the results of his studies
understandably concluded that chloroform was entirely safe if given according to his methods. The agent continued in use
for several decades, but its slow demise was initiated in 1894, when Leonard G. Guthrie [93] reported several cases of
delayed chloroform hepatotoxicity in children. The future use of chloroform anesthesia was doomed after the studies of
A. Goodman Levy [94] (1856-1954), who demonstrated that the combination of light chloroform anesthesia and adrenalin
produced fatal ventricular fibrillation in experimental animals, thereby explaining the perplexing sudden demise of
several healthy subjects who were administered chloroform anesthetics.
Nitrous Oxide
Because of the embarrassing public demonstration by Wells in 1863, revival of nitrous oxide as a surgical anesthetic was
delayed until its reintroduction by the same man, Gardner Q. Colton, whose lecture and demonstration Wells had
attended in 1844 and from whom he obtained the gas used in his first experiments with inhalation analgesia. Soon after
the Wells debacle in 1844, Colton abandoned nitrous oxide demonstrations and joined his brother in California, where he
unsuccessfully panned for gold and served briefly as Justice of the Peace for San Francisco. His stay in San Francisco
terminated when he was involved in controversial land sales, and he moved to Boston and took a job as a writer for the
Boston Transcript. [95] Colton also resumed his laughing gas exhibitions, and in 1863 he joined into a partnership with
Joseph H. Smith, a dentist in New Haven, Connecticut, for the painless extraction of teeth. The business thrived, and
between 1864 and 1897, the Colton Dental Association had treated nearly 200,000 patients without a fatality. Colton
demonstrated nitrous oxide inhalation in Paris at the First International Congress of Medicine in June 1867, and its wider
use in Europe originates from that time. Colton was a unique individual who promoted the continued use of a valuable
agent, but he remained ignorant of its true chemical nature. In his writings, [96] he states, for example, the following:
The gas is composed of half nitrogen and half oxygen and because oxygen is the life giving principle of the air, a
person lives a little faster while under its influence. It acts as an exhilarant, as by supplying an extra supply of oxygen
to the lungs, the pulse is increased 15 to 20 beats to the minute.
Until 1870, nitrous oxide was administered with air, and the livid appearance of many patients raised the question about
whether the analgesic properties of the gas were primarily caused by lack of oxygen. The idea of using nitrous oxide with
oxygen is usually credited to Edmund Andrews [97] (1824-1904), a Chicago surgeon who was able to provide analgesia
without cyanosis, thereby confirming the inherent analgesic properties of nitrous oxide. Andrews noticed that the nitrous
oxide provided to dentists in gaseous form was often impure and instead advocated the use of liquid nitrous oxide
contained in iron flasks. This pure nitrous oxide, when combined with oxygen, provided satisfactory anesthesia without
cyanosis for short procedures. Paul Bert (1833-1886), a French physiologist who contributed significantly to the
understanding of blood gas tensions at altered barometric pressures, demonstrated that nitrous oxide and oxygen mixtures
produced highly satisfactory surgical anesthesia without hypoxia when delivered at pressures greater than 1 atm.
Frederick Hewitt [98] (1857-1916) devised the first anesthesia machine to deliver variable portions of nitrous oxide and
oxygen. Johnson demonstrated that the pupillary dilation, lividity, jactitation, and clonic movements of the extremities
after the administration of nitrous oxide and air were caused by extreme hypoxia because they could be reproduced
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exactly by administering nitrogen with only 0.5% oxygen. [99]

These developments led to reintroduction of nitrous oxide into the operating room, where Horace Wells had predicted it
would be used with success. Nitrous oxide and oxygen anesthesia was promoted in the United States by Elmer I.
McKesson [100] (1881-1935), Paluel J. Flagg (1886-1970), and F. W. Clement (1892-1970). McKesson's method for
induction of anesthesia with 100% nitrous oxide did not survive into the latter part of the 20th century. A landmark
publication by C. B. Courville described the neuropathologic findings in patients who had sustained hypoxic insults
during anesthesia with high concentrations of nitrous oxide. [101] W. D. A. Smith recounts the revival of nitrous oxide
after Colton's reintroduction of the agent in an entertaining and informative book on the subject. [102]
Unsatisfactory Inhaled Anesthetics
During the first few decades of the 20th century, practitioners were searching for new and improved anesthetics. An
American anesthesia textbook written by James T. Gwathmey (1865-1944) (see Fig. 1-18D ) was published in 1914 and
briefly discussed more than 600 possible anesthetic agents for the reader to consider. By 1930, all successful anesthetic
agents except chloroform and nitrous oxide were explosive. Chloroform by then was thought to be dangerous, and the
popularity of nitrous oxide was curtailed by the need for a nearly hypoxic mixture to provide adequate anesthesia. Ethyl
chloride was the last agent to be introduced in the 19th century, and like ether, it was flammable. It was a unique agent
that was first used as a spray to induce local anesthesia, but if inhaled, it also produced general anesthesia.
In the early 20th century, several unsatisfactory volatile anesthetics were introduced. Ethylene was used clinically in
1923. This agent required high concentrations to achieve anesthesia, had an unpleasant smell, and was explosive. Divinyl
ether, developed by Chauncey Leake [103] (1896-1978), had some advantages over ether for induction of anesthesia, but it
was also flammable and never widely used. Cyclopropane was introduced in 1934 by Ralph Waters (1884-1979) and was
briefly popular, but it was violently explosive. The flammable anesthetics prevented the use of surgical cautery and
electronic monitoring. One attempt to produce a nonflammable alternative to ether and cyclopropane was made in 1935,
when trichloroethylene was introduced. It was promoted by Christopher L. Hewer [104] (1896-1986) as a nonexplosive
agent, but it was eventually withdrawn when it was shown to decompose to the toxic nerve poison dechloroacetylene in
the presence of soda lime and to produce phosgene, a severe respiratory irritant, when electrocautery was used. Clearly,
new directions were needed.
Fluorinated Anesthetics
In the early 1930s, progress was made in attempts to fluorinate hydrocarbons, and many fluorinated compounds became
available commercially, primarily as refrigerants. From a theoretical analysis of hydrocarbon chemistry, it was known
that halogenation of the parent hydrocarbon compound would decrease its flammability. One early approach to produce a
nonflammable anesthetic was to select a flammable agent and partially fluorinate it. With this in mind, John C. Krantz,
Jr., of the University of Maryland, took the flammable anesthetic vinamar, which is ethyl vinyl ether, and produced
trifluoroethyl vinyl ether, [105] or fluroxene.
The circumstances surrounding the first anesthesia with fluroxene illustrate the lure of self-experimentation in research
related to the advancement of anesthetic practice. Max S. Sadove (1914-1997), an anesthesiologist at the University of
Illinois, was a member of the Walter Reed Society, a group of scientists who, following the example of Walter Reed,
allowed themselves to be administered the first dose of investigational drugs. Sadove, a close acquaintance of Krantz,
insisted that he be given the first fluoride-containing anesthetic, fluroxene, in 1953. Krantz, who had synthesized the
drug, was a pharmacologist with no training in anesthesia. Krantz advised Sadove that there was danger that the agent
might be administered improperly or might be metabolized to a toxic by-product. Nevertheless, Sadove was insistent, and
on April 10, 1953, Krantz administered open-drop fluroxene to Sadove, and recovery was rapid and uneventful. [106]
Fluroxene had marginal success but was eventually withdrawn because of questions about toxicity and the frequent
occurrence of postanesthetic nausea and vomiting. Charles Suckling, a chemist at Imperial Chemical Industries,
synthesized halothane in 1954 after a theoretical analysis of possible anesthetic halogenated drugs. The pharmacologic
properties of halothane were studied by James Ravents [107] (1905-1983), and it was introduced clinically in 1956 by
Michael Johnstone. [108] Halothane had definite advantages over ether and cyclopropane because of its more pleasant
odor, higher potency, favorable kinetic characteristics, nonflammability, and low toxicity, and it gradually replaced the
older agents. Halothane was a highly successful drug that achieved worldwide acceptance, but its unblemished record
lasted only a few years before controversy appeared.
In 1958, a case report described a 39-year-old woman who died of fulminant hepatic necrosis 11 days after
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cholecystectomy with halothane anesthesia. [109] This was followed in 1963 by nine case reports of patients in whom
hepatic necrosis developed after halothane anesthesia (also see Chapter 24 ). [110] The cases were unique in that hepatic
failure often followed minor operations in which other causes of hepatic failure were not apparent. Eventually, the term
halothane hepatitis became a common clinical diagnosis for patients with postoperative liver failure, even when
halothane was not used as the anesthetic. A national study formally titled The National Halothane Study was
established in 1964 and reported that the incidence of liver failure after halothane anesthesia was no more frequent than
that reported with other anesthetics. [111] Nevertheless, halothane was extensively metabolized in the body, and in some
individuals it seemed that a toxic metabolite might produce liver necrosis. Other halogenated anesthetics were also
extensively metabolized, and in the case of methoxyflurane, such metabolism resulted in high levels of fluoride ions.
High-output renal failure was an infrequent but potentially morbid side effect of methoxyflurane [112] that was related to
increased blood fluoride ion concentrations.
Beginning in 1960, the pharmaceutical industry launched new efforts to synthesize the ideal anesthetic. Ross C. Terrell
at Ohio Medical Products synthesized more than 700 potential anesthetic compounds between 1960 and 1980. During the
same period, Edmund I. Eger II (1930-) began a series of studies that significantly enhanced the rational use of inhaled
anesthetics. Eger drew on the work of Seymore S. Kety [113] (1915-2000) and Severinghaus, [114] which had previously
demonstrated that the end-tidal partial pressure of anesthetic gases at steady state was the same as the brain cerebral
partial pressure of those gases. By correlating the end-tidal (alveolar) concentration with the movement response to
supramaximal nociceptive stimulation, the concept of minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) was born (also see
Chapter 19 ). By definition, MAC represents the end-tidal concentration of any anesthetic agent at which 50% of patients
move in response to a supramaximal stimulus. [115] With this standard measure of potency, new agents could easily be
introduced to the anesthesia community. Several further studies by Eger and others on the pharmacokinetics of inhaled
anesthetics and factors that alter MAC [116] accelerated an understanding of volatile anesthetic requirements and
significantly enhanced the safe use of these drugs.
Two of the anesthetics developed by Ohio Medical Products, enflurane and isoflurane, were introduced about 40 years
ago. [117] [118] Isofluorane has been highly successful and used extensively since that time. Desflurane was one of the
last volatile anesthetics to be synthesized and required a potentially dangerous explosive method of synthesis. Desflurane
had a high vapor pressure and the added limitation of requiring more than five times the quantity of vapor to produce
anesthesia than needed with isoflurane. Although desflurane was initially overlooked because of these problems, it was
studied thoroughly in animals [119] and first used in humans in 1990. [120] Because of its favorable kinetic properties,
recovery is more rapid with desflurane than with isoflurane or enflurane.
Sevoflurane was synthesized more than 40 years ago at Travenol Laboratories. Recovery is rapid with this agent, but
because the compound is unstable in soda lime, it was not introduced until the late 1980s, [121] first in Japan and then in
the United States. The decision to introduce the product was, as with desflurane, spurred by the emphasis on early
discharge after anesthesia. Anesthesia has been induced with sevoflurane several million times without apparent
complications resulting from the potential by-products arising from contact with carbon dioxide absorbents. Since the
introduction of sevoflurane, there have been no additional inhaled anesthetics introduced for clinical use. The inert gas
xenon has been under investigation as an anesthetic for several years, but it is expensive and, like nitrous oxide, requires
high concentrations to produce anesthesia.
Needles and Syringes
In an attempt to find another parenteral route of drug administration, some physicians raised blisters or excoriated the
skin and then deposited drugs on the exposed surface of the wound. Francis Rynd [122] (1801-1861) used a lancet to
pierce the skin and devised a syringe to insert medication into the wound by gravity. Alexander Wood [123] (1817-1884)
invented a hollow needle that would fit on the end of a piston-style syringe made for him by Daniel Ferguson, an
instrument maker from London. Wood used the syringe and needle combination to successfully treat painful neuralgias
by local injections of morphine. The syringe and needle combination became a popular item after these reports, and many
practitioners used the device to inject morphine subcutaneously for pain relief. The term hypodermic injection was coined
by Charles Hunter, who argued with Wood that morphine could be injected into the body at any place and achieve the
same analgesic effect as that obtained by injection at the site of pain.
The early syringes were inadequate for the work of the developing specialty of regional anesthesia ( Fig. 1-8 ). The
rubber or leather plunger cracked or deteriorated after repeated sterilization. During use, the drug contents accumulated
proximal to the plunger, or the plunger itself jammed inside the glass barrel. To achieve the fine control required for
identification of the epidural space, a more carefully tooled instrument was required. H. Wulfing Luer of Paris introduced
the first all-glass syringe in 1896. He sold the patent to partners Maxwell W. Becton and Fairleigh S. Dickinson (Becton,
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Dickinson and Company) in 1898. The Record syringe was made by Dewitt and Herz of Berlin, Germany, in 1906, and it
consisted of an all-metal plunger with a finely ground glass barrel. The fit between the barrel and plunger was precise and
sturdy, and Record syringes nearly 100 years old can still be used for identification of the epidural space.
Figure 1-8 Drawing by an unknown artist appearing in Clysmatica Nova, a book written by Johan S. Elsholtz (1623-1688) and dated 1667. The artist clearly shows that
syringes and rudimentary hollow intravenous tubes were used before the 19th century. Although this book was published in Cologne, Germany, most historians credit the
first intravenous injections of pharmaceuticals to Christopher Wren and Timothy Clarck in England. (Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.)
The first hypodermic needles were made of tempered steel, a metal that rusted easily when in contact with water. A small
rusted area might not be observed visually, and defective needles sometimes broke below the skin. Meticulous care was
taken to dry each needle after steam sterilization. Specially designed introducers, called rimmers, were used for storage of
the needles to prevent rust from developing inside the needle. To avoid the problem with needle breakage, platinum or
gold needles were used occasionally. These needles were highly flexible and expensive and never became popular.
Stainless steel was produced commercially in 1918 and essentially eliminated the problem with rust. Modern needles are
usually disposable stainless steel needles, which has minimized complications resulting from infection and breakage.
The bevel of the needle was a topic of great discussion in the early 20th century. A long bevel produced less trauma to
tissues, but it allowed a small portion of the needle to lie in the intrathecal space with the proximal portion of the bevel in
the epidural space. To increase the success of spinal anesthesia and minimize side effects, short-beveled needles and
pencil-point needles were developed by several regional anesthesia specialists, a process that continues to this day. Fine,
25-gauge spinal needles, designed to produce minimal trauma to the dura, have reduced the incidence of postdural
puncture headache.
Intravenous Fluid Therapy
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Awareness of fluid balance had its beginnings in the writings of Claude Bernard, who in his final published work
emphasized the importance of extracellular fluid in the support of vital functions. [124] In these writings he stressed that
blood and lymph bathe the cells of the body and that these fluids constitute the milieu interne, later called the fluid-matrix
by Walter B. Cannon. These researchers pointed out that an organism's freedom from external disturbances such as
hunger, thirst, and cold is brought about by mechanisms that maintain uniformity of body fluids. The concept of the
steady state maintained in this internal environment became known as homeostasis in the Cannon doctrine. During
anesthesia, many of the homeostatic mechanisms are abolished or severely blunted, and the anesthesiologist must assume
the role of maintaining a favorable milieu interne.
Crystalloids
In the late 19th century, the sodium content of serum was found to be roughly equivalent to an aqueous solution of 0.9%
sodium chloride, and this became known as physiologic salt solution. Hartog J. Hamburger (1856-1924) showed a change
in the volume of red blood cells at concentrations above and below 0.9% saline. [125] As a result of these experiments, the
value of sodium ions in maintenance of osmotic pressure in serum was realized. Ernest H. Starling [126] (1866-1927)
extended these observations to explain edema formation on the basis of hydrostatic and colloidal osmotic pressure.
Maintenance of fluid balance was not a priority or even a possibility for those who administered anesthetics during the
19th century. Without intravenous access, there was little that the anesthesia provider could do if the surgeon was
recklessly losing blood. The importance of intravenously administered salt to patients with dehydration from cholera was
observed in 1831 by William B. O'Shaughnessy [127] (1804-1889). Although there were isolated successful attempts to
treat the dehydration of cholera with saline infusions, such treatment did not flourish, and the victory over cholera was
finally won only through improved sanitary conditions.
The experimental introduction of saline infusions after surgery was based on work performed by Emil Schwarz [128]
(1852-1918), who observed that saline infusions could save the lives of bled rabbits. This work was recognized by Johann
J. Bischoff [129] (1841-1892), who reported that a salt infusion saved the life of a woman with severe postpartum
hemorrhage. Treatment with salt infusions was generally adopted after surgical hemorrhage, but sepsis and failed
attempts to revive the bleeding patient soon became apparent.
Alternative solutions to saline originated with Sydney Ringer [130] (1835-1910), Professor of Medicine at University
College, London. Ringer observed that saline prepared from distilled water was not as effective as saline made from pipe
water in maintaining contractility of the isolated frog heart. After careful analysis of the pipe water, he learned that it
contained calcium and potassium impurities. Adding these cations to the saline made from distilled water proved his
hypothesis that these ions played an important role in maintaining normal cardiac function.
In the first decades of the 20th century there were substantial barriers to the successful use of parenteral electrolyte
solutions during surgery. Closed sterile administration sets and intravenous cannulas were slow to develop, and
alternative methods were therefore used. Most patients received several liters of fluid, usually administered rectally;
however, salt was administered, if possible, orally or by subcutaneous injection. With these ineffectual methods, the use
of saline in the perioperative period fell into decline. In 1944, a syndrome described as postoperative salt intolerance was
caused ostensibly by failure of the kidney to excrete a salt load. [131] These ideas had the support of the influential
Francis D. Moore, Chief of Surgery at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. When intravenous therapy became more
widely available, patients were often administered dextrose and water or dilute sodium-containing solutions. Carl Moyer
[132] (1908-1970) presented evidence in 1950 that sodium was avidly retained postoperatively and argued against the use
of saline for perioperative fluid maintenance.
The reintroduction of perioperative saline therapy began in 1959, when G. Shires and associates [133] reported the
redistribution of extracellular fluid into third space compartments during extensive surgical procedures. These reports
encouraged preoperative administration of fluid to compensate for the lack of oral intake and intraoperative
administration of sodium-containing fluid to replace translocation of extracellular fluid into edematous spaces such as the
gut and peritoneum. The increased use of saline reduced the incidence of postoperative renal failure and decreased the
requirement for blood transfusions. As a result of these studies, fluid replacement today consists of saline-containing
fluids, with the addition of colloid and blood when excessive blood loss occurs. These concepts of fluid management
were vigorously promoted by M. T. Jenkins (1917-1994). [134]
Blood Transfusions
The first blood transfusions were not performed as treatment of blood loss. Jean Baptiste Denis (1625-1704) from
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Montpellier, France, administered lamb's blood [135] to a demented patient with the idea of transferring the attributes of
the donating animal to the recipient. Although the first patient survived, a subsequent transfusion resulted in death. Denis
was tried for murder, and although he was acquitted, the procedure was condemned and prohibited by the Faculty of
Medicine in Paris. Physicians in the 18th and 19th centuries were more prone to remove rather than administer blood.
Successful blood transfusions were performed by James Blundell [136] (1790-1877), who experimented with blood
transfusions in animals and rejected the idea of animal-to-human transfusions. Blundell recorded 10 human-to-human
transfusions between 1818 and 1828 and recognized that acute blood loss was the primary reason for transfusion. Five of
these 10 patients died after the transfusion, possibly as a result of incompatible blood.
In 1900, Karl Landsteiner [137] (1868-1943) described three blood groups: A, B, and O; the fourth blood group (AB) was
described by A. V. Decastello [138] 2 years later. George W. Crile (1865-1943) performed the first transfusion of human
blood after a preceding compatibility test in 1906. Discovery of the Rh antigens was delayed until 1939.
One hundred years ago, the accepted method of transfusing blood was to surgically anastomose the artery of the donor to
the vein of the patient. This method required a long and delicate operation, and there was no way to measure the amount
of blood transfused. Blood could not be removed from the body without defibrination, a process that often produced
serious reactions and air embolization. In 1914, Albert Hustin [139] (1882-1967) noticed that when sodium citrate was
added to blood, it prevented coagulation, and with the addition of dextrose by P. Rous and J. R. Turner in 1916, [140]
storage of blood products for up to 21 days became a reality. [141] The familiar drip chamber for estimating infusion rates
was devised by R. Laurie in 1909. The effect of these advancements in the use of blood products on the practice of
anesthesia is apparent by comparing the American textbook by Gwathmey, dated 1914, in which there is no mention of
blood administration, with that of John S. Lundy [142] (1894-1972), dated 1945, which contains an extensive chapter on
the subject. Lundy was an early proponent of blood transfusions and opened the first blood bank in the United States at
the Mayo Clinic in 1935. The effect of two world wars on the practice of anesthesia in the United States can be
appreciated by comparing these two books.
With the increased frequency of contamination of homologous blood by hepatitis virus and human immunodeficiency
virus, a new look at an old technique, [143] autologous transfusion, was begun in 1970 (also see Chapter 57 ). In that year,
G. Klebanoff described a disposable autologous transfusion system manufactured by Bentley Laboratories. Klebanoff
reported [144] on its use in 53 patients with no deaths if the total volume of blood replaced was less than 3500 mL.
Malcolm D. Orr first reported cell-washing techniques in 1975 with the Haemonetics cell-washing system. [145] This
system obviated some of the problems when blood was filtered, but not washed after retrieval from the surgical wound.
From these early reports it became apparent that washed and concentrated red cells obtained from the surgical site could
provide safe alternatives to homologous transfusion. The cell saver method of autologous blood transfusion has become
an integral part of intraoperative fluid management when large volumes of blood loss are anticipated.
Coagulopathies often develop during large-volume blood transfusions, and their diagnosis and prompt treatment
significantly contribute to survival during major surgery. Ronald D. Miller (1939-) and colleagues [146] recognized
thrombocytopenia as one of the earliest defects in coagulation after massive blood loss (also see Chapter 55 ). Advances
in specific blood component therapy [147] [148] have also contributed to maintenance of normal blood coagulability
during large-volume blood loss.
Introduction of Regional Anesthesia
Early Attempts at Local Anesthesia
The first written account of the coca plant being used as a local anesthetic was by the Spanish Jesuit Bernabe Cobo
(1582-1657), who chewed the plant to relieve a toothache and wrote about it in 1653. [149] Albert Niemann (1834-1861)
of Gttingen, Germany, who isolated the alkaloid from the dried leaves in 1856 ( Fig. 1-9B ), gave the name cocaine to
the active drug. Interest in cocaine in Europe and America was directed initially toward the central effects of the drug
when taken systemically. Vasili von Anrep [150] (1852-1918) was the first to remark on its local anesthetic properties, and
after animal experiments, he suggested its use as a local anesthetic during surgery. This suggestion went unnoticed, and
the drug remained a curiosity. A comprehensive pharmacology textbook from 1883 does not mention cocaine or the plant
E. coca.
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Figure 1-9 Botanical origins of adjuvants used in anesthesiology. A, Papaver somniferum, from which opium is obtained. The word opium is derived from the ancient
Greek word for juice because the active alkaloids, which include morphine and codeine, are obtained from juice squeezed from the unripe seed pods. The first undisputed
reference to poppy juice is from the writings of Theophrastus (372-287 BC) in the third century BC. B, Erythroxylon coca, a shrub native to Peru and Bolivia from which
cocaine was isolated in 1856. Although the native people of Peru have used the drug for centuries to increase endurance, they may have also used it as a local anesthetic. C,
Strychnos toxifera, a source of curare, as drawn by Robert Schomburgk in 1841. Schomburgk used maps drawn by Waterton to travel into Guiana and obtain several
species containing the active drug. Richard Gill's curare was obtained primarily from Ecuador, and the arrow poisons there were made from Chondodendron tomentosum.
Other botanical drugs that have been used in anesthesia include atropine (Atropa belladonna) , scopolamine (Atropa mandragora), physostigmine (Physostigma
venenosum), ether (Vitus vinifera), gramine (Hordeum vulgare, from which lidocaine was derived), strychnine (Strychnos toxifera), ephedrine (Ephedra sinica), picrotoxin
(Anamirta cocculus), theophylline (Camellia sinensus), and digitalis (Digitalis purpurea). (Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.)
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), a young house officer at the prestigious Allgemeines Krankenhaus in Vienna, had a unique
interest in cocaine and tested the drug as a substitute for opioids on a colleague who was addicted to morphine. Although
this research met with little success, he had also noticed its ability to produce numbness of the tongue and provided a
small sample to his junior colleague Carl Koller [151] (1858-1944), an intern who was interested in producing local
anesthesia for operations on the eye.
Koller had anticipated a career as a scientist in Vienna. He had taken up this question for his research project because the
anesthetic methods of the time were highly unsatisfactory for ophthalmic surgery. General anesthetics presented
numerous difficulties for the surgeon, and refrigeration anesthesia, although marginally successful for surgery on the
extremities, was clearly inappropriate for the eye. Koller observed that after topical application of cocaine he was able to
pinch and prick the cornea of dogs without discomfort to the animals. Self-experimentation confirmed complete analgesia
of the corneal surface, and he proceeded to use the agent for superficial surgery on the eye.
Koller arranged to demonstrate the use of topical cocaine analgesia at the Ophthalmologic Congress in Heidelberg,
Germany, on September 15, 1884. As the time for this presentation approached, he was unable to afford the travel
expenses from Vienna, and a colleague from Trieste, Josef Brettauer (1835-1905), presented the three-page manuscript in
his absence. [152] The presentation and demonstration were followed by an enthusiastically favorable response. Priority
for the discovery was briefly confounded by a report on topical cocaine analgesia at an ophthalmologic meeting in
October 1884 by Leopold Koenigstein, who did not mention Koller's previous paper, and by other comments that
Sigmund Freud had actually originated the idea of cocaine analgesia. Koenigstein later conceded full credit for the
discovery to Koller, and Freud eventually rejected all claims to the idea of topical analgesia with cocaine, although many
concede that with his earlier publication on the subject, [153] he was instrumental in reviving interest in a drug that before
1884 was of no interest to pharmacologists.
Koller's career in Vienna seemed secure, but a disagreement arose with another house officer in January 1885. The
altercation escalated into a duel with sabers, an activity that was banned in Austria at that time. Koller emerged unscathed
from the duel, but the offending party suffered two saber cuts to the face. After this episode, Koller became depressed and
ultimately decided to leave Austria. He first immigrated to Holland and then settled in New York City in 1886. There he
built a successful private practice while continuing to contribute occasional clinical articles to the ophthalmologic
literature. He died in New York City in 1944 after modestly receiving several awards for his seminal role in the
development of local and regional anesthesia. [151]
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Regional Blocks
It was not obvious that cocaine would produce blockade of sensation if injected directly into peripheral nerves. In 1880,
von Anrep had injected cocaine under the skin of his arm and discovered that it produced insensitivity, but this
information did not attract attention. At least one Viennese surgeon, Anton Wlfler, first assistant to Theodore Billroth,
had attempted hypodermic cocaine injections without producing analgesia and was convinced that it was effective only
on the mucous membranes. The idea of injecting cocaine into nerve trunks is credited to William Halsted (1852-1922)
and Alfred Hall, who began their injection experiments as early as 8 weeks after the Heidelberg announcement.
Halsted and Hall had studied in Vienna during 1879 and 1880, but it is unlikely that they met Koller during those years
because Koller did not finish his medical school training until 1882. During those years Koller was working on a paper
about development of the mesoderm and had not developed his interest in cocaine. In 1884, Halsted was occasionally
performing operations in the bedroom of his own house in New York City, and it was there that the two surgeons began
their work on regional anesthesia. The first report of their success with injection appeared on December 6, 1884, in the
New York Medical Journal in a letter written by Hall. [154] In this letter, Hall reported that they first injected 4% cocaine
(15 mg) into the forearm and concluded that it blocked transmission in the cutaneous nerves because it provided analgesia
below but not above the point of injection. They then injected 2 mL (80 mg) into the ulnar nerve at the elbow and
produced a block of the entire ulnar distribution distal to the point of injection. Additional blocks were then performed on
the brachial plexus and the infraorbital nerves, inferior dental nerves, and the sciatic nerve, all for operative surgery. [155]
With these large doses, it is not surprising that constitutional symptoms developed. Hall described dizziness and nausea.
Both Halsted and Hall became addicted to cocaine; Halsted lived with an occult cocaine or morphine addiction the rest of
his life. Hall took a position at Columbia University in New York City, but he later moved to Santa Barbara, California,
where he died in 1924.
Carl Schleich [156] (1859-1922) introduced infiltration local anesthesia in 1892 as an alternative to direct injection of
nerve trunks. His method was to infiltrate cocaine in dilute concentrations (0.01% to 0.2%) directly into subcutaneous
tissues. James Leonard Corning [157] (1855-1923), a neurologist from New York, observed that placing a tourniquet on
the limb could prolong the analgesic effect of infiltration analgesia, and he reasoned that the tourniquet prevented the
blood from removing cocaine from its active site. Heinrich F. Braun [158] (1862-1934) achieved the same prolonged
effect of cocaine by adding epinephrine to the solution and producing a chemical tourniquet. Braun became the pioneer
of the new drug procaine, introduced in 1905 as a less toxic drug than cocaine. Braun's textbook, [158] initially published
in 1907, was one of the first devoted to regional anesthesia and went through eight editions, with the last one published in
1933.
Although Halsted was the first to block the brachial plexus, he did not use a percutaneous technique. His method in
1884and that used by George Crile 13 years laterwas to surgically expose the roots and then inject each nerve
directly. G. Hirschel [159] produced the first percutaneous brachial plexus block in 1911 through an axillary approach
( Fig. 1-10A ). The axillary brachial plexus block has been modified by several surgeons, including George Pitkin and R.
H. de Jong, [160] and remains a popular technique today.
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Figure 1-10 A, Hirschel performed the first percutaneous axillary block with 20 mL of 2% procaine in 1911. He forced a rubber ball under the pectoral muscles and fixed
it with elastic bandages to prevent rapid absorption of anesthetic solution, a maneuver that he later abandoned as unnecessary. B, Kulenkampff approached the brachial
plexus above the clavicle, just lateral to the subclavian artery. The patients were positioned in the sitting position for the block. An injection of 10 mL of 2% procaine with
epinephrine was given only after paresthesia had been achieved. If the first rib was contacted, the injection was directed more medially. (A, From Hirschel G: Die
Anasthesierung de Plexus Brachialis fur die Operationen an der oberen Extremitat, Much Med Wochenschr 58:1555-1556, 1911; B, from Kulenkampff D: Anesthesia of
the brachial plexus. Zentrabl Chr 38:1337-1340, 1911.)
D. Kulenkampff introduced the supraclavicular brachial plexus block [161] a few months after Hirschel described the
axillary approach (see Fig. 1-10B ). Kulenkampff injected his own plexus with 10 mL of procaine at the midclavicular
position, lateral to the subclavian artery, and achieved complete anesthesia of the arm. Early reports indicated a frequent
incidence of success with this block, but other practitioners soon reported complications such as pneumothorax and
mediastinal emphysema. Several modifications of the supraclavicular block have emerged in an effort to avoid
pneumothorax. Infraclavicular approaches to the brachial plexus were described by L. Bazy and V. Pauchet in 1917 and
later popularized by P. Raj [162] in 1973 (see also Chapter 52 ).
In an attempt to approach the brachial plexus in the neck and thereby avoid pulmonary complications, M. Kappis [163] in
1912 attempted to perform the block through a posterior paravertebral approach. Because of a high incidence of failures
with the posterior approach, several investigators, including J. Etienne, V. Pauchet, and G. Pitkin, used various anterior
approaches to the brachial plexus in the neck. In 1970, Alon P. Winnie [164] introduced the interscalene brachial plexus
block and emphasized that the scalene muscles are more accurate landmarks to the nerves than the subclavian artery or
the midclavicular line is. The block has remained popular for operations on the shoulder and upper part of the arm; the
nerves are located by paresthesias or direct nerve stimulation. Continuous infusion into the roots of the brachial plexus
has been introduced and can provide long-lasting analgesia after operations on the arm and shoulder.
A novel method of producing regional analgesia for operations on the extremities was described by August Bier (1861-
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1949) ( Fig. 1-11A ) in 1908. [164] [165] Bier first exsanguinated the arm with an Esmarch wrap and, after placement of
two tourniquets, injected a dilute solution of procaine intravenously. Analgesia was found to develop within minutes and
persist until release of the tourniquet. The technique, known now as intravenous regional anesthesia, has been modified
with new agents and remains a useful anesthetic technique for surgery on the extremities when a tourniquet is used.
Figure 1-11 Pioneers of the neuraxial block. A, August K. G. Bier. B, Theodore Tuffier. C, Rudolph Matas. D, Achille M. Dogliotti. (Courtesy of the National Library of
Medicine, Bethesda, MD.)
The development of regional anesthesia in the United States was accelerated with the arrival of Gaston Labat at the Mayo
Clinic in 1924. Labat had learned regional anesthetic methods from the French authority on injection techniques, Victor
Pauchet (1869-1936), and expanded on his work while in Rochester, Minnesota. Labat founded the American Society of
Regional Anesthesia and was active during its formative years. John Lundy adopted many of the regional techniques
introduced by Labat at the Mayo Clinic and continued their use after Labat relocated to Bellevue Hospital in New York
City. Labat's 1922 textbook [50] was one of the first English texts on regional anesthesia and has been followed by several
authoritative works on the subject. Labat's influence was also evident in New York City, where Emery A. Rovenstine
(1895-1960), his successor as Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Bellevue Hospital, established the first
chronic pain clinic. The commitment of anesthesiologists to chronic pain therapy arose as a natural sequel to their
emerging expertise in neuraxial and peripheral nerve blocks. Chronic pain clinics today are often modeled after the
multidisciplinary clinic established by John J. Bonica (1917-1994) at the University of Washington in Seattle. [166]
The continued success of regional anesthetic techniques can be partially credited to ultrasound techniques for localization
of the nerves and also to improved local anesthetics with lower toxicity and longer duration of action. Cocaine was highly
toxic, addictive, and of short duration. Procaine was synthesized in 1905 by Alfred Einhorn [167] (1856-1917) and was
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the most commonly used agent until 1932, when tetracaine, a longer-acting agent, became available. Lidocaine,
introduced in 1948 by Torsten Gordh [168] (1907-), had several advantages, including lower toxicity and intermediate
duration of action, and it is still widely used. Other local anesthetics include chloroprocaine (introduced in 1952),
mepivacaine (1957), and bupivacaine (1963). Concern about therapy-resistant cardiovascular toxicity with bupivacaine
[169] led to introduction of the newer agents ropivacaine (1996) and levobupivacaine. [170] Bupivacaine, ropivacaine, and
levobupivacaine are popular agents in low concentration for control of postoperative pain and for obstetric anesthesia
because of their long duration of action.
Neuraxial Block and Acute Pain Service
The first neuraxial block was performed 8 months after the demonstration in Heidelberg of the local anesthetic properties
of cocaine (see Chapter 87 ). James Leonard Corning (1855-1923) was a neurologist who had learned of the action of
cocaine possibly from observation of Halsted's work in New York City. Corning was interested to know whether the
blood could carry cocaine to the spinal cord, similar to what had been demonstrated to occur after the injection of
strychnine between the spinous processes. On October 12, 1885, Corning injected a total of 120 mg of cocaine between
the T11 and T12 spinous processes in a 45-year-old man and obtained loss of sensation of the legs and perineum. He
concluded that this proved cocaine's action on the spinal cord and suggested its use in certain cases of spinal spasticity
and for operations on the genitourinary system.
The consensus is that Corning produced an epidural injection of the drug [171] because 120 mg (60 mg initially and then
60 mg 8 minutes later) of intrathecal cocaine would be expected to produce a total spinal anesthetic or a block extending
into the cervical dermatomes. It is not surprising that Corning's method of neuraxial blockade was not repeated because
the technique of consistently injecting into the epidural space had not yet been described. If any investigators had
attempted to repeat the Corning experiment with the dose that he used, it might have ended in disaster and thereby have
delayed the development of neuraxial blockade by several years.
Spinal Analgesia (also see Chapter 51 )
In Kiel, Germany, during the last decade of the 19th century, preparations were being made for the next major advance in
anesthetic practice. At the Kiel University Medical School, Friederich von Esmarch (1823-1908) was the senior surgeon
and August Bier one of the junior surgeons. Heinrich I. Quincke (1842-1922) was the leading internist in Kiel and had
already contributed several useful clinical observations, among them the Quincke pulse and Quincke edema, to the
medical literature. In 1891, Quincke observed that the dural sac, described by Domenico Cotugno (1736-1822) in 1787,
could be punctured by inserting a needle between the lumbar spinous processes. [172] This procedure, independently
reported by Walter Wynter (1860-1945) of Leeds, England, in the same year, at first was a curiosity without any real
purpose. Quincke unsuccessfully attempted to treat hydrocephalus by draining fluid from the dural sac. Microscopic
examination of the fluid did have some diagnostic value in cases of inflammation of the central nervous system.
On August 15, 1898, August Bier and his assistant August Hildebrandt (1868-1854) used the Quincke method of entering
the intrathecal space and injected between 5 and 15 mg of cocaine to produce spinal anesthesia in six cases for operations
on the lower part of the body. They also reported the results of spinal anesthesia given to each other in what has become
one of the classic clinical papers in medical literature. [173] Bier thought that it would not replace general anesthesia
because of the severity of side effects such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and headache. He proposed that these
undesirable side effects were caused by escape of cerebrospinal fluid from the dural sac. The method whereby Bier
arrived at the correct intrathecal dose of cocaine on the first attempt remains a mystery.
After Bier's report, interest in spinal anesthesia spread rapidly. J. B. Seldowitsch [174] successfully provided spinal
anesthesia in St. Petersburg on May 11, 1899; Frederick Dudley Tait (1862-1918) and Guido Caglieri [175] (1871-1951)
in San Francisco on October 26, 1899; Theodore Tuffier [176] (see Fig. 1-11B ) in Paris on November 9, 1899; and
Rudolph Matas [177] (1860-1957) (see Fig. 1-11C ) in New Orleans on November 10, 1899. By one report, more than
1000 manuscripts relating to spinal anesthesia had been published within 2 years of the original paper by Bier.
Not all researchers agreed on the technique and indications for spinal anesthesia. Tait and Caglieri suggested the use of
cervical intrathecal injections for operating on the upper extremities. A. W. Morton [178] reported success with total
spinal anesthesia after lumbar puncture for operations on all parts of the body. Thomas Jonnesco [179] reported no adverse
effects from 398 spinal anesthetics administered between vertebrae at the thoracic and lumbar levels with a novocaine
and strychnine mixture. Jonnesco called the method general spinal anesthesia. Remarkably, in his series there were 14
operations on the skull, 45 on the face, and 25 on the neck. In 1909, Bier [180] claimed that to be successful with spinal
anesthesia, the anesthetist should inject the solution only at body temperature and that tropacocaine was preferable to
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cocaine.
The early reports of cocaine spinal anesthesia mentioned that after injection, patients frequently became restless and
excitable, often exhibiting a significant rise in body temperature. One of the first physicians to specialize in anesthesia, S.
Ormond Goldan, maintained accurate anesthesia records from several cases of spinal anesthesia with cocaine. [181] His
records reveal a typical increase in heart rate, pupil size, and body temperature after cocaine spinal anesthesia. Matas
reasoned that these effects were secondary to an action of cocaine on the central nervous system. He learned that mixing
1.5 mg of morphine with cocaine was useful in mitigating these symptoms. In his 1900 report on spinal anesthesia, he
regarded a mixture of cocaine and morphine as his standard agent. This report by Matas appears to be among the first
attempts to use spinal opioids to enhance neuraxial analgesia. [177] The Japanese anesthesiologist Otojiro Kitagawa [182]
(1864-1922) used intrathecal morphine (10 mg) in the same year to treat the chronic painful conditions of two patients.
It is not surprising that serious complications from the spinal technique were soon observed. F. Gumprecht [183] reported
15 cases of sudden death from lumbar puncture in 1900. Several investigators observed respiratory arrest after high spinal
injections. After the introduction of routine blood pressure measurements by Cushing in 1903, it was observed that severe
hypotension could occur after spinal anesthesia.
The scientific study of spinal anesthesia began within a few years after its introduction. Investigations were undertaken
by Arthur E. Barker [184] (1850-1916) to determine factors involved in spread of the local anesthetic within the
subarachnoid space. Barker advised meticulous sterile technique and introduced the use of dextrose to produce hyperbaric
solutions. His emphasis on gravity as an essential determinant of local anesthetic spread remains an important facet of the
spinal technique today. [185] Several researchers reported the dangers of total spinal anesthesia. Gaston Labat [50] and
George P. Pitkin contributed clinical observations that improved the safety of spinal anesthesia.
A widely publicized malpractice trial in 1953 had a negative impact on the use of spinal anesthesia. [186] Albert Woolley
and Cecil Roe were healthy subjects who received dibucaine spinal anesthetics on the same day in 1947 at the
Chesterfield Royal Hospital in England. Permanent painful spastic paraparesis developed in both patients. Although the
cause of the paresis was inconclusive, it was thought that the injuries were caused by contamination of the spinal solution
by phenol, in which the dibucaine ampules had been immersed for sterilization. The Wooley and Roe case was followed
by other reports of paralysis after spinal anesthesia. [187] However, in 1954, a reassuring study of 10,098 spinal
anesthetics with only 71 minor neuropathies, most unrelated to the block itself, was published in a widely circulated
medical journal. [188] Spinal anesthesia then re-emerged as a safe anesthetic method, provided that attention was directed
to meticulous technique.
Consideration has been given to a syndrome characterized by transient paresthesias after lidocaine spinal anesthesia. [189]
However, with the introduction of disposable spinal kits and improved techniques, the spinal route of drug administration
is now firmly established. Research is continuing on new drugs and methods of delivery. Reports of cauda equina
syndrome after the introduction of lidocaine through spinal microcatheters [190] emphasize the importance of careful
clinical observations when new methods of spinal delivery are introduced.
Postdural puncture headache was an annoying problem for the first practitioners and their patients. The exact cause of
this reaction was not agreed on for several years. As late as 1924, Labat had suggested removal of cerebrospinal fluid for
the treatment of spinal headache. However, an extensive study by Leroy D. Vandam (1914-2004) and Robert Dripps
(1911-1974) confirmed Bier's original suggestion that leakage of cerebrospinal fluid through the dural rent was the
causative factor. [191]
The use of small-diameter spinal needles has decreased the incidence of spinal headache after spinal anesthesia.
However, inadvertent dural puncture with larger needles can sometimes occur during the placement of epidural catheters.
An innovative treatment of headache after dural puncture, the epidural blood patch, was suggested by James B. Gormley
[192] in 1960 and further described by Anthony J. DiGiovanni and Burdett S. Dunbar [193] in 1970. The blood patch has
been reported to be successful in a high percentage of cases and has withstood the test of time as an effective treatment of
this condition.
Epidural Analgesia (also see Chapter 51 )
Jean Enthuse Sicard (1872-1929) and Fernand Cathelin (1873-1945) independently introduced cocaine through the sacral
hiatus in 1901, thereby becoming the first practitioners of caudal (epidural) anesthesia. Sicard was a neurologist and used
the technique to treat sciatica and tabes, but Cathelin used the technique for surgical anesthesia. Arthur Lwen [194]
(1876-1958), a pupil of Heinrich Braun (1862-1934) and an early proponent of regional anesthesia, successfully used
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caudal anesthesia with large volumes of procaine for pelvic surgery. It soon became apparent that caudal anesthesia was
sufficient for operations on the perineum, but the drug would have to be deposited into the epidural space at higher levels
if the surgeon anticipated operating on the abdomen or thorax. Initial attempts to provide epidural anesthesia through
needles placed at higher levels were unsuccessful. B. Heile [195] published an extensive study of the epidural space in
1913, but the focus of his final report was on the treatment of neurologic conditions with epidural injections. His unique
approach was to enter the epidural space through the intervertebral foramina (a technique that has recently been revived).
Tuffier [196] was aware of the need for entry at higher levels but was unable to perfect a reliable technique for lumbar or
thoracic epidural injections.
In 1921, Fidel Pags [197] (1886-1923), a Spanish military surgeon, devised a technique to introduce epidural procaine at
all levels of the neuraxis. His method was to use a blunt needle and then feel and hear entry of the needle through the
ligamentum flavum. His report of 43 cases of lumbar and thoracic epidural anesthesia represents a landmark article that
went unnoticed because of its publication in an obscure medical journal. Pags died in an automobile accident soon after
his report on epidural analgesia, and no students at the time had learned his technique. Pags had the idea of producing
segmental anesthesia through epidural injections, thereby avoiding some of the side effects of complete neuraxial
blockade, which occurred after high subarachnoid administration of local anesthetics. He provided the anesthetics himself
and then performed the operations, noting that much time was saved with the epidural technique as compared with
general anesthesia. Of the 43 cases, it appears that one subject experienced total spinal anesthesia but survived after
assisted ventilation.
Achille Mario Dogliotti [198] (1897-1966) (see Fig. 1-11D ) described epidural injections of local anesthetics in 1931,
apparently without previous knowledge of the work of Pags. Dogliotti performed extensive studies to determine the
spread of solutions within the epidural and paravertebral space after injection. His work launched one of the most
valuable techniques in the modern practice of anesthesiology. An important innovation was Dogliotti's method of
identification of the epidural space. His 1939 textbook illustrates the use of continuous pressure on the plunger of a
saline-filled syringe as the needle is advanced through the ligamentous structures. In contrast to the methods of Corning
and Pags, the Dogliotti technique was reproducible and easily learned. Dogliotti also observed the extent and duration of
analgesia after injection into various spinal interspaces.
Initial acceptance of epidural analgesia was slow to develop in North America, although it gained early acceptance in
Europe and South America. A. Gutierrez of Argentina became an enthusiastic advocate for the epidural method and
collected valuable data on a large series of successful epidural anesthesia. He also developed the hanging drop sign,
which is still used by some anesthesiologists to identify the epidural space. Dogliotti's anesthesia textbook was translated
into English in 1939 and contained an extensive chapter on epidural analgesia. Textbooks by American authors several
years later [142] [199] contained only a short description of the technique and considered it a novelty practiced only by
those with special expertise. There were some early practitioners of epidural anesthesia in North America. Charles B.
Odom of New Orleans published 285 cases of lumbar epidural anesthesia in 1936 and introduced the concept of a test
dose to detect intrathecal injection. [200] In Odom's series there was one death attributed to the poor condition of the
patient. John R. Harger and coworkers [201] of Cook County Hospital in Chicago reported 1000 cases without a fatality
when using single injections of 45 to 50 mL of 2% procaine. Oral Crawford and colleagues [202] reported more than 600
cases of thoracic epidural analgesia for thoracic surgery in 1951, with two deaths.
One major limitation of the neuraxial techniques was the short duration of action of procaine. Bier experimented with the
addition of rubber and latex to the spinal anesthetic solution in an attempt to prolong the duration of blockade. [180] These
ideas were not expanded on because of complications or lack of effect. To deal with the same problem, William T.
Lemmon (1896-1974) used a 17-gauge, malleable, silver needle that was connected through a hole in the operating room
table to rubber tubing and a syringe. Injections could then be made at intervals to maintain the spinal block for several
hours. Edward B. Tuohy [203] (1908-1959) used a ureteral catheter threaded through a large Huber-tipped spinal needle to
provide continuous spinal anesthesia. The Tuohy needle, a simple modification of the Huber needle, was used by him to
thread the catheter into the subarachnoid space. Beginning in 1947, Manuel Martinez Curbelo [204] of Havana, Cuba,
used the Tuohy needle and a small ureteral catheter to provide continuous lumbar epidural analgesia. He reported 59
successful cases, and in one patient the catheter remained in place for 4 postoperative days with intermittent injections of
local anesthetic.
Caudal anesthesia experienced a resurgence in popularity after the report by W. B. Edwards and Robert A. Hingson
(1918-1996) [205] in 1942 that analgesia for labor and delivery could be achieved with caudal injections of tetracaine
through a malleable needle left in situ within the sacral canal. Their report was widely publicized, and within months the
technique was adopted by several hospitals. Although caudal epidural injections had been used for obstetric analgesia for
many years, it became apparent that the lumbar approach to the epidural space was more consistent, and it eventually
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replaced the caudal approach.

Beginning in 1960, coincident with its rising popularity in obstetric anesthesia, the epidural method was taken up by
several practitioners in North America. Philip R. Bromage and John J. Bonica performed several studies on epidural
dose-response relationships and the hemodynamic changes that followed initiation of the block. Textbooks soon followed
that introduced epidural analgesia into the operating room. [206] Although Dogliotti thought that general anesthesia was
contraindicated after the initiation of epidural blockade, Massey Dawkins (1905-1975), Philip R. Bromage, and later
Michael Cousins [207] discussed the advantages of providing general anesthesia during prolonged surgery while
extending epidural analgesia throughout the surgical procedure and into the postoperative period. Although lumbar
epidurals were widely used for postoperative pain relief, problems with ambulation and inadequate analgesia led to the
current practice of placing epidural catheters between the appropriate interspaces to provide selective antinociception
along the surgical incision site.
A report in 1979 by J. Wang and associates [208] demonstrated long-lasting analgesia from the intrathecal administration
of morphine in eight patients with cancer pain. This clinical study had firm groundwork from previous basic studies on
the spinal effects of opioids in animals. In 1976, Yaksh and Rudy [209] reported that intrathecal morphine produced spinal
analgesia in rats. Duggan and North [210] demonstrated evidence of spinal analgesia after iontophoretic application of
morphine into the dorsal horn region of the spinal cords of animals. Autoradiographic studies demonstrated a high density
of opioid receptors in the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord. [211]
The use of spinal opioids spread rapidly after the initial report by Wang and coworkers. [208] Samii and colleagues [212]
confirmed that selective opioid spinal analgesia occurs in humans. Cousins and associates [213] noticed that 1 to 2 mg of
intrathecal morphine injected into the thoracic intrathecal region relieved the pain of breast or lung cancer for more than
24 hours. Behar and collaborators [214] reported epidural opioid therapy in 1979. The explosive interest in neuraxial
opioids that followed these reports was equal to the enthusiasm after the initial report of cocaine spinal anesthesia. The
use of epidural catheters to provide long-lasting pain relief after surgery led to the formation of acute pain services. [215]
With special attention to drug concentrations and rates of infusion, patients were able to recuperate without pain and
ambulate on the first postoperative day, even after extensive thoracic, abdominal, and orthopedic operations. The special
advantage of epidural opioids was the synergistic effect that they exhibited with local anesthetics, which allowed a
marked decrease in the dose of both drugs to achieve the same level of analgesia. [216]
Intravenous Anesthetics
The development of intravenous anesthetics has been an important component of anesthetic management for more than
70 years (see Chapters 26 and 27 [Chapter 26] [Chapter 27] ). Before the introduction of rapidly acting intravenous
agents, induction of general anesthesia necessarily required inhalation of gases or vapors, an unpleasant experience for
some patients.
Pierre-Cyprien Or (1828-1891) performed the first successful attempt at intravenous anesthesia in 1872 by using chloral
hydrate to anesthetize a human subject. Although he believed it was superior to chloroform, his contemporaries did not
adopt the method. Intravenous paraldehyde was briefly used as an anesthetic during and after World War I. At the same
time, the combination of intravenous morphine and scopolamine gained wide popularity, particularly in obstetric
anesthesia. The method became known as twilight sleep, but this drug combination was slowly abandoned because of
unpredictable side effects when given to some patients. Tribromoethanol (Avertin) was originally promoted as a full
anesthetic agent to be administered rectally. Although rectal administration of agents had been promoted by Pirogoff,
Gwathmey, and others, the use of rectal tribromoethanol fell into disfavor when rectal ulcerations were reported after use
of the agent. Thereafter, tribromoethanol was used briefly as an intravenous agent, but because it had a prolonged
duration of action and produced profound respiratory depression and probable hepatotoxicity, other suitable intravenous
agents were sought.
Adolf von Baeyer discovered the first barbiturate, barbituric acid, in 1864, but the drug had no sedative properties. It is
said that Baeyer celebrated discovery of the compound on Saint Barbara's Day, and he coined the word barbiturate as a
combination of Barbara with urea because barbituric acid results from the combination of malonic acid and urea. The first
sedative barbiturate was synthesized in 1903 by Emil Fischer (1852-1919) of Berlin, but short-acting intravenous agents
such as hexobarbital were not introduced until nearly 30 years later. Helmut Weese [217] (1897-1954), considered by
many to be the originator of successful intravenous anesthetic methods, reported several thousand cases of hexobarbital
use in 1932. Sodium thiopental followed hexobarbital in 1934, and the first detailed analysis of its use was described by
John Lundy of the Mayo Clinic. [218] The use of thiopental was a further refinement of his earlier concept of balanced
anesthesia, whereby anesthesia is achieved with the use of multiple agents. According to Lundy, general anesthesia was
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safer with the use of multiple agents because the dose of any one particular agent was smaller and fewer side effects were
observed.
It was soon learned that thiopental could be dangerous to administer in certain circumstances. When the drug was used
for induction of anesthesia in injured personnel after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the frequent occurrence of
sudden death emphasized the profound depressant effect that this drug has on the cardiovascular system. [219] Later
analysis of the use of thiopental at Pearl Harbor, however, did not implicate the drug as the cause of the high mortality
rate observed at that time. [220] The only other commonly used short-acting barbiturate is methohexital, an oxybarbiturate
that has similar depressant effects on the circulation. Because of its unique proconvulsive effect, methohexital is used as
an anesthetic for electroshock therapy.
There have been several attempts to replace the barbiturates with shorter-acting drugs that have less cardiovascular
depression. Some of these drugs, such as althesin, [221] propanidid, and eltanolone, were withdrawn from clinical use
because of unwanted side effects. Etomidate, an intravenous anesthetic introduced in 1973 that was used to induce
anesthesia, produces only minimal hemodynamic depression and has found use in patients with hypovolemia and those
with significant cardiovascular disease. [222] Etomidate can cause undesirable myoclonic movements during induction in
some patients.
The benzodiazepines midazolam, diazepam, and lorazepam are useful intravenous agents that relieve anxiety without the
same degree of sedation produced with the barbiturates. Experimental studies on this class of drugs began in 1933 at the
University of Cracow in Poland, with the first clinically useful drug, chlordiazepoxide (Librium), introduced in 1960.
Diazepam (1963) and midazolam (1978) followed. A specific antagonist can be used to treat overdosage. [223]
Ketamine was synthesized in 1962 as an alternative to phencyclidine, a drug that resulted in severe psychological effects
in the postoperative period. Ketamine was one of 200 phencyclidine derivatives that were studied, and it was introduced
as an anesthetic in 1966. [224] It was initially used intravenously or intramuscularly as a complete agent by itself, but
reports of postoperative hallucinations led to re-evaluation of its use, and it is now typically used only in combination
with other sedative agents. Ketamine is a unique agent in the armamentarium of the anesthesiologist because it does not
depress the cardiovascular system, even when used in full anesthetic doses.
Propofol, introduced clinically [221] [225] in 1977, is an alkylphenol compound that has some advantages over thiopental.
It appears to have antiemetic properties and suppresses laryngeal reflexes to a greater extent than thiopental does, thus
allowing easy placement of supraglottic airways. It has achieved widespread use since its introduction, partially because
of its rapid recovery profile. Propofol is often administered as a continuous infusion for general anesthesia, with or
without the addition of inhaled anesthetics. When combined with analgesic agents such as opioids, propofol can provide
all the components of satisfactory general anesthesia. This method, often called total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA), can
eliminate the need for any gaseous or volatile agents. Propofol is a profound cardiovascular depressant, and it can
produce significant pain on injection.
Although intravenous opioids were once considered unsafe in the private rooms of hospitals, a modality of administration
called patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is now routinely used in most hospitals. The rationale is that because pain is a
subjective experience, only patients can assess the need for analgesics and balance that with their experience of side
effects. Overdose is obviated by lock-out intervals and by the inability to perform the task of drug administration as
somnolence ensues. Methods for intravenous PCA therapy in the postoperative setting were developed by
anesthesiologists more than 30 years ago, [226] but they are now used by several specialty groups within the hospital.
Muscle Relaxants
Neuromuscular blocking drugs or muscle relaxants are firmly entrenched as an integral part of everyday anesthetic
practice (see Chapter 29 ). Anesthesia providers practiced for nearly 100 years without these drugs, but it would be
difficult to provide the same level of anesthetic service today without their use.
Initial Contact with Arrow Poison
Homer (Odyssey, I, 260) and Virgil (Aeneid, IX, 772) mention poisoned arrows. The word toxin is derived from the
Greek root toxon (bow). Medical fascination with the specific arrow poison now called curare began nearly 500 years
ago when the first returning explorers from South America told of a poisoned arrow that was used in warfare and to kill
game. In 1505, Pietro Martyr dAnghiera (1457-1525), an Italian monk who visited South America in the early 16th
century, wrote the following:
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This Indian King layd wait for oure menset on them with about seven hundred men armed after theire maner,
although they were naked. For only the King and his noblemen were appareledSo fiercely assayling oure men with
theire venomous arrowes that they slewe of them fortie and sevenfor that poyson is of such force, that albeit the
wounds were not great, yet they dyed thereof immediately.
Sir Walter Raleigh [227] (1552-1618) was one of the first to report on the wonders of the drug, which his first lieutenant,
Laurence Keymis, called ourari, the first English attempt to reproduce the Macusi Indian pronunciation of the poison.
Remarkably, the flesh of the poisoned animal was eaten with impunity. The native inhabitants were greatly impressed
with gunpowder but noticed that the noise from guns frightened the game, and they preferred a poison-tipped arrow that
was sent quietly from a blowgun. Initial reports indicated that the poison was made from a mixture of rat bones and bark.
Charles-Marie de la Condamine (1701-1774) was the first to bring creditable samples back to Europe. His samples were
used by Richard Brocklesby (1722-1797) to demonstrate that the heart of a cat continued to beat for 2 hours after it was
apparently dead from curare poisoning. The Florentine Abbot Felix Fontana (1720-1805) injected the drug directly into
the exposed sciatic nerve and observed no effect. He concluded that the curare impaired irritability of the muscle. [228]
Mechanism of Action
The collaborative project of Benjamin Brodie (1783-1862) ( Fig. 1-12A ) and Charles Waterton (1783-1865) (see Fig. 112B ) initiated our modern understanding of muscle relaxants. [229] Benjamin Brodie was the principal figure of English
surgery at that time, and Waterton was the eccentric Squire of Walton Hall, near Wakefield, England. Waterton had
traveled extensively, including several expeditions into British Guiana, where he owned property and eventually obtained
several samples of the arrow poison.
Figure 1-12 Benjamin Brodie (A) and Charles Waterton (B) collaborated in demonstrating that animals could survive curare poisoning if artificial ventilation was
provided. (Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.)
In 1814, Brodie and Waterton demonstrated that an animal could survive an injection of curare provided that ventilation
was continued after injection. For this famous experiment, it seems that Waterton supplied the curare and the animala
donkeyand Brodie supplied the experimental idea. They injected the donkey with poison in the shoulder, and it was
immobilized within 10 minutes.
An incision was then made in its windpipe, and through it the lungs were inflated for two hours, with a pair of
bellows. The ass held up her head, and looked around, but the inflating being discontinued, she sunk once more in
apparent death. The artificial respiration was immediately recommenced and continued without intermission for two
hours. This saved the ass from final dissolution: she rose up and walked about; she seemed neither in agitation nor
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pain.
Waterton named the donkey Wouralia and nurtured her on his estate, where she died 25 years later. Curiously, in their
later correspondence, neither partner mentions the collaboration of the other individual. Waterton's book, titled
Wanderings in South America and dated 1879, contains an extensive description of the preparation and use of curare, as
well as the manner of use of the blowpipe, which he called the extraordinary tube of death.
The experiment performed by Claude Bernard [230] (1813-1878) demonstrating the action of curare at the junction
between the nerve and muscle was deceptively simple ( Fig. 1-13 ). In his studies with curare, Bernard used the drug to
open a new area of investigation, the physiology and pharmacology of the junction between the nerve and muscle.
Experiments on the specialized apparatus where the action of curare is primarily located, the neuromuscular junction,
were begun by one of Bernard's students, Willy Kuhne (1837-1900).
Figure 1-13 A, Claude Bernard (1813-1878) was one of the greatest physiologists of all time and made several contributions to the anesthesia literature. Bernard was born
in Saint Julien, France, and educated in Paris. After medical training, he became an assistant to Franois Magendie, the leading physiologist of that era. He never practiced
medicine, but his research contributions pervade every field of modern medicine. In 1855, he succeeded Magendie as Professor of Physiology at the College de France. A
special Chair of General Physiology was created for him at the Sorbonne. B, Experiment by Claude Bernard illustrating the site of action of curare at the junction of the
nerve and muscle. A ligature prevented injected curare (I) from reaching the muscle of the frog's hind limb. After systemic injection of curare, Bernard observed that the
limb contracted in response to a neural stimulus (N) applied above the ligature. The opposite limb would contract only to direct electric stimulation of the muscle but not to
a neural stimulus. He showed that the nerve and muscle were unaffected but that the connection between the nerve and muscle was blocked. [230] (Courtesy of the National
Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.)
Introduction into Clinical Medicine
Waterton suggested the use of his woraria for the treatment of tetanus and rabies, and the few successful trials of the
small samples of curare that were available then were used to treat these conditions. [231] For the next 175 years in
Europe and North America, the drug remained a curiosity with no definite purpose. The medical community ignored an
early report from 1912 suggesting its use to provide muscular relaxation during closure of the abdomen:
Thus far I have used solution of curarine up to 2% by intramuscular injection. With this dose, closure of the
abdominal wall was achieved readily. There is not sufficient curare available, so I have not yet been able to ascertain
the correct dose for this purpose.
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The active principle was eventually found in several plant species, primarily Chondodendron tomentosum and Strychnos
toxifera (see Fig. 1-9C ). King isolated the active compound from the Chondodendron species that he called Dtubocurarine in 1935.
Curare was initiated into clinical practice by several individuals, beginning with Richard C. Gill [232] (1901-1958), whose
contributions, like those of Waterton, arose out of a strong sense of wanderlust, combined with an interest in primitive
medicine. As a young man growing up in Washington, D.C., Gill was expected to follow his father and older brother into
the practice of medicine. Instead, his degree in 1929 from Cornell University was in English, and his career as a teacher
was brief. He took a position with a rubber company in Lima, Peru, but with the stock market crash of 1929, he
consolidated his savings and, together with his wife Ruth, purchased 750 acres of land in the Ecuadorian jungle. By 1930,
Richard and Ruth Gill were the proud owners of a large hacienda on the Eastern slopes of the Andes, [233] where they
raised tropical fruits and vegetables and studied the local Indian customs.
While returning to the United States in 1932 for a brief holiday, Gill fell from his horse and a neurologic syndrome,
initially thought to be multiple sclerosis, developed and eventually progressed to a painful spastic disorder. His
neurologist Walter Freeman (1895-1972) advised him that the arrow poison from South America might help cure his
painful spasms, but it was nearly impossible to obtain the drug. Procuring curare and other herbal remedies thereafter
became the focus of Gill's life until his death in 1958 at 57 years of age. Gill obtained funding from Sayre Merrill, a
wealthy Massachusetts businessman, for an expedition to retrieve indigenous medicinal plants from the Ecuadorian
jungle. The primary aim was to retrieve adequate amounts of the crude curare preparation to begin clinical trials with the
drug in cases of spasticity. It is noteworthy that Gill was in a unique position to obtain large quantities of curare because
the Indian medicine men, who jealously guarded the secrets of making the poisonous darts, trusted him.
After 4 years of planning, Gill's neurologic condition had improved, and the expedition was launched. In 1938, Richard
and Ruth Gill returned with 11 kg of a crude curare mixture and 75 other indigenous medicinal preparations obtained
from the Indian shamans. Sadly for the Gills, there was no interest in their jungle remedies. Initially, even the curare
failed to generate any interest. Freeman was acquainted with Abram E. Bennett, a psychiatrist at the University of
Nebraska who had expressed interest in the drug. Bennett had the crude concoction standardized by the pharmacologist
A. R. McIntyre but failed to find any prolonged benefit for it in cases of spasticity ( Fig. 1-14A ).
Figure 1-14 A, Richard Gill returned from Ecuador in 1938 with 11 kg of a dark tarlike paste from which Squibb and Sons, Inc., prepared the sterile, injectable solution
Intocostrin. B, Harold Griffith and Enid Johnson (not shown) used Intocostrin in 43 abdominal surgeries with success in 1942. (Courtesy of the Guedel Memorial
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Anesthesia Center, San Francisco, CA.)
Bennett then turned his attention to the use of curare during Metrazol convulsive therapy, which at that time was thought
to be therapeutic for depression and mania but was complicated by a high incidence of bone fractures and joint
dislocations. By then, E. R. Squibb and Sons had taken the remainder of Gill's curare and was distributing a small
quantity of the drug as Intocostrin, an unpurified form of D-tubocurarine. Bennett [234] reported on the successful use of
Intocostrin in cases of Metrazol convulsive therapy in 1940. His method was to administer Intocostrin until a head lift
was impossible and then give Metrazol. Surprisingly, he reported no respiratory embarrassment and no complications and
thought that patients preferred his new method.
E. R. Squibb and Sons, together with their anesthesiologist consultant Lewis H. Wright (1894-1974), were convinced that
the true home for curare was with the anesthesiologist, and in 1940, with some urging, Wright convinced Harold R.
Griffith (1894-1985) (see Fig. 1-14B ) of Montreal, Canada, to use the drug during general anesthesia when muscular
relaxation was required by the surgeon. Previous attempts by Wright to generate interest in the drug had failed until
Griffith agreed to use Intocostrin during cyclopropane anesthesia. Griffith and his junior colleague Enid Johnson reported
the successful use of curare in 43 patients to provide muscular relaxation during surgical anesthesia in 1942. [235] They
concluded that the agent provided relaxation without interfering with respiration. This was followed by a study in Iowa
by Stuart Cullen [236] (1909-1979), who enthusiastically supported use of the drug to provide muscular relaxation without
the need for deep levels of general anesthesia. T. Cecil Gray [237] (1913-) of Liverpool popularized the drug in England
and developed an anesthetic technique consisting of profound muscular paralysis and nitrous oxideoxygen anesthesia.
Phyllis Harroun [238] [239] used high-dose curare, nitrous oxide, and morphine for thoracic surgery, thereby providing
muscular relaxation without the use of flammable agents, a novel technique at the time. In 1947, William Neff used
nitrous oxide and oxygen supplemented with meperidine and curare and reported favorable anesthetic conditions.
Although Griffith and Cullen had both maintained spontaneous respiration, the technique of Harroun, Gray, and Neff
provided profound muscular paralysis with controlled respiration.
In a report from 1954, Henry K. Beecher (1907-1976) and D. P. Todd [240] concluded that the use of curare led to a
nearly sixfold increase in postoperative complications and deaths. Similar cautionary articles followed their report but
were refuted by others. Churchill-Davidson and Richardson [241] advised in 1952 that a useful technique for monitoring
the degree of neuromuscular blockade was to stimulate a peripheral nerve and observe the resulting muscular contraction.
Specific devices designed to stimulate the ulnar nerve were promoted in the 1960s. [242] [243] Various modifications of
the stimulus array to ensure complete return of neuromuscular function before allowing the patient to breathe unassisted
have been described since that time. [244]
Since the introduction of curare into anesthesia practice, numerous additional neuromuscular blocking agents have been
developed. Gallamine triethiodide was introduced in 1947, but like curare, it had undesirable effects on the autonomic
nervous system, which prompted a search for other drugs. Exploration of the structure-activity relationships of plant
alkaloids led to development of the methonium compounds. In 1949, the neuromuscular blocking activity of one of this
class of drugs, succinylcholine, was recognized, [245] and it was introduced clinically soon thereafter. [246] Daniel Bovet
(1907-1992) won the Nobel Prize in 1957, in part related to his discovery of gallamine and succinylcholine.
Succinylcholine and other similar agents were shown to depolarize the end plate, thereby preventing additional motor
contractions as a result of activity in the motor nerve. Advances in chemistry allowed the synthesis of neuromuscular
blocking agents that lacked the autonomic effects of curare. Since the discovery of curare, nearly 50 neuromuscular
blocking agents have been introduced, but many of these drugs have been abandoned because of undesirable side effects.
Drugs that have maintained favorable safety records are steroid-based synthetic neuromuscular blocking agents such as
pancuronium (1966), [247] vecuronium (1980), [248] [249] and rocuronium (1991), [250] and they have replaced older
drugs such as curare and gallamine in the modern drug armamentarium.
Anesthesia Apparatus
Early Delivery Systems
For the first public demonstration of ether anesthesia, Morton used a specially constructed glass bottle with an attached
mouthpiece (see Chapter 25 ). In England, John Snow developed a new type of ether inhaler and took up the practice of
ether anesthesia as a full-time endeavor. His apparatus provided valves to prevent rebreathing, and although he
experimented with methods for absorption of carbon dioxide, he did not develop it into a clinically useful technique. John
Snow was aware of the difficulties associated with the simple mouthpiece that was used with a noseclip by Wells and
Morton. In his book on ether published in 1847, he states the following:
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For some of the adult patients, after they lost their consciousness, made such strong instinctive efforts to breathe by
the nostrils, that the air was forced through the lachrymal ducts, and occasionally they held the breath altogether for a
short time, and were getting purple in the face, when the nostrils had to be liberated, for a short time, to allow
respiration of the external air, and thus a delay was occasioned.
Many types of anesthesia machines were developed to provide anesthesia via the insufflation method, whereby a small
catheter was placed with its tip near the carina to deliver air and ether or chloroform. These continuous-flow machines
did not rely on respiratory movement for oxygenation and were based on the work of Samuel Meltzer (1851-1920) and
John Auer (1875-1948), who demonstrated their safe use in animals. [251] It was one solution to the problem of
pneumothorax and respiratory decompensation during thoracic surgery. C. A. Elsberg's (1871-1948) continuous-flow
machine was described in 1911 and went through several modifications. [252] The popular Shipway model was used by
Francis E. Shipway (1875-1968) to provide anesthesia to King George V of England for rib resection and drainage of
empyema, a feat for which Shipway was knighted. In retrospect, it is clear that these continuous-flow machines were not
capable of eliminating carbon dioxide in all cases, [253] and anesthesia machines eventually were developed that allowed
to-and-fro respiration through one large-bore endotracheal tube.
Compressed Gases and Reducing Valves
Of major importance in design of the modern anesthesia machine was compression of gases in metal cylinders. Oxygen
and nitrous oxide were available under compression as early as 1885 through the manufacturers S. S. White of
Philadelphia and Messrs. Coxeter of London. This allowed the development of compact machines capable of prolonged
delivery of anesthetics without the cumbersome feature of low-pressure reservoirs. Frederick Hewitt's first anesthetic gas
machine designed for administering oxygen and nitrous oxide mixtures had two nitrous oxide cylinders and one oxygen
cylinder; the mixture was fed into a large breathing bag through a double cylinder yoke. [98] Oxygen concentrations could
be adjusted at the stopcock near the mask. His preferred oxygen concentrations were 5% to 8%. With the addition of
oxygen, he attempted to dispense with cyanosis, jerky and irregular breathing, deep stertor and clonic movements of the
extremities.
Invention of the reducing valve is accredited to Jay Albion Heidbrink (1857-1957), an anesthesiologist from Minneapolis
who observed that the opening from high-pressure cylinders often froze closed as the gases were released. He described a
valve that reduced the high tank pressures to working pressures and incorporated this device into his Heidbrink
Anesthetizer. In Germany, Heinrich Drager (1847-1917) and his son Bernhard Drager (1870-1928) developed reducing
valves to control an even, accurate flow of carbon dioxide gas drawn from beer cylinders, and these valves were later
used in the early anesthesia machines. Further refinements to the early machines were added by James T. Gwathmey and
H. Edmund G. Boyle (1875-1941), chiefly through the addition of bubble-through heated water baths for estimation of
gas flow. The Boyle machine passed various amounts of oxygen through ether with a water-sight meter. This flow
meter estimated the flow through the vaporizer from how many of the holes were generating bubbles. Heidbrink further
improved the flow meter by using an inverted float in a tube of varying taper with calibrations marked on the side.
Rotating floats, also called rotameters, have slanted grooves cut into the rim that cause them to rotate, and they are more
accurate than ball or nonrotating floats. Rotameters were introduced in 1908 by Karl Kuppers and first used in anesthesia
in 1910.
Carbon Dioxide Absorption
Anesthesiologists from the first half of the 20th century were not privileged to visit just one hospital during a day's work.
Visits to several institutions might take place in a single day, with the practitioners bringing their own delivery systems
and drugs with them as they traveled. Understandably, portability and elimination of waste were a priority because these
anesthesiologists paid for the agents themselves. One development that conserved gases and vapors was the use of
systems that absorbed expired carbon dioxide and allowed rebreathing of expired gases.
Several ineffectual attempts were made to introduce carbon dioxide absorption methods in the 19th century. John Snow
and Alfred Coleman (1828-1902) were motivated to conserve anesthetic gases that escaped into the atmosphere through
non-rebreathing valves. Coleman devised a system of absorbing carbon dioxide by passing the expired gases over slaked
quick lime. [254] The recovered gases were then used for subsequent anesthetics ( Fig. 1-15 ). Franz Kuhn (1866-1929)
described soda lime absorption of exhaled carbon dioxide in 1905, but the report did not attract attention.
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Figure 1-15 Alfred Coleman's economizing device. The anesthetic gases entered the lower bag and passed into the upper bag through a one-way valve. Gases were inhaled
and exhaled through the tube (h) and passed over a lime container (1, 2) held in a frame (k) that eliminated carbon dioxide; c, gas inlet. The conserved gas in the upper bag
was used during a later anesthetic administration. (From Coleman A: Mr. Coleman's economizing apparatus for re-inhaling the gas. Br J Dent Sci 12:443, 1869.)
Dennis E. Jackson (1878-1980) demonstrated the use of soda lime absorption to maintain stable levels of anesthesia for
several hours in animals with minimal ether consumption. [255] The animals were given additional oxygen to meet
metabolic needs, but the anesthetic gases were rebreathed, thereby resulting in economy and improved maintenance of
body temperature and airway humidity. In 1923, Ralph Waters (1884-1979) (see Fig. 1-18B ), then working as an
anesthesia practitioner in Sioux City, Iowa, contacted Jackson and devised a soda lime canister for clinical use. [256] The
canister was attached to a breathing hose close to the face, and although it was cumbersome to use, the device was widely
distributed. The in-line soda lime canister launched the academic career of Waters, who later became one of the most
prominent figures in anesthesiology during the first half of the 20th century. In 1930, Brian C. Sword [257] altered the
Waters canister by attaching it to the chassis of a movable cart with two hoses directed to the airway, one for inspired
gases and one for exhaled gases.
Controlled Vaporizers
With the introduction of more potent volatile anesthetics such as halothane it became important to control the
concentration of inspired vapor carefully. To solve this problem, Lucien Morris [258] invented the copper kettle to
vaporize liquid anesthetics. Its advantage rested on the fact that as the agent was vaporized, there was little change in the
temperature of the anesthetic liquid. The copper kettle could be used with any agent provided that the practitioner was
cognizant of the vapor pressure of the agent and the flow rates of the inspired gases. Without the addition of diluent gases
such as nitrous oxide or oxygen, the copper kettle could deliver lethal concentrations of vapor. The vaporizers in common
use today use bimetallic strips that bend as the temperature drops and permit more fresh gas to enter the vaporizing
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chamber. Vaporizers have been designed for all the agents in use today, including halothane, enflurane, isoflurane,
desflurane, and sevoflurane. Modern anesthesia machines are also equipped with scavenging systems designed to
minimize escape of anesthetic vapors and nitrous oxide into the operating room. Although controversial, some studies
have shown that daily exposure to anesthetic vapors in low concentrations can have deleterious side effects.
Ventilators in the Intensive Care Unit
The earliest ventilator, the Fell-O'Dwyer apparatus, was described in 1892. [259] It was used as early as 1896 to provide
respiratory support in cases of opium poisoning. Rudolph Matas, a surgeon in New Orleans who contributed significantly
to the early development of regional anesthesia in the United States, was one of the first to use the Fell-O'Dwyer
ventilator during thoracic surgery. [260] During the polio epidemic, thousands of afflicted patients were kept alive with
the Drinker respirator, [261] often referred to as the iron lung, a negative-pressure device that surrounded the patient and
provided air movement into and out of the lungs. A Swedish ventilator called the Spiropulsator was introduced in 1934
and modified in 1947 by E. Trier Moerch (1908-1995). [262] This ventilator used a piston pump to deliver a fixed volume
of gas. Ventilators today are usually an integral part of the anesthesia machine and direct compressed air into a rigid
container containing a bellows that inflates the lungs. Bjrn Ibsen [263] (1915-), a Danish anesthesiologist, initiated the
concept of intensive care units in the early 1950s to care for polio patients and guided the transition from iron lungs to
modern ventilators. Intensive care units have since become an integral part of the modern hospital, with anesthesiologists
actively involved in their daily operation.
Stress-Free Anesthesia
Procedures before the discovery of anesthesia were necessarily of short duration. Raper relates that surgical cases lasting
longer than 20 minutes would usually result in death of the patient because the stress associated with such intense
nociception would exhaust the patient's reserves. Highly stressful procedures such as abdominal surgery were rarely
attempted before 1846. Ephraim McDowell [264] (1771-1830), a rural surgeon from Kentucky, performed the first
successful intraperitoneal procedure when he excised a 10-kg ovarian cyst from Mrs. Jane Todd Crawford in 1809.
McDowell's publication of the case achieved for him a small measure of fame, unusual for a rural practitioner. However,
intraperitoneal procedures are among the most highly stressful operations, and McDowell's accomplishment was rarely
repeated. The first successful upper abdominal procedure occurred only after the advent of general anesthesia. Theodor
Billroth (1829-1894) performed the first gastrectomy with chloroform anesthesia on January 29, 1881.
The idea that reduction of perioperative stress had a beneficial effect on recovery was championed by George W. Crile
(1864-1943), chief surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic at the beginning of the 20th century. Crile's operative technique was
to infiltrate all tissues with dilute procaine before incision. Patients were lightly anesthetized by mask inhalation of
nitrous oxide and oxygen. [265] He describes these concepts of stress-free anesthesia in his book Anoci-Association,
published in 1914. [266]
An early devotee of Crile's ideas was the prominent neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing [267] (1869-1939), who promoted the
use of regional blocks before emergence from ether anesthesia to ensure a smooth postoperative course. Cushing was the
first surgeon to use blood pressure measurements on his patients after he learned the Rovi-Rocci method in Italy ( Fig. 116 ). Accurate anesthetic records were maintained during Cushing's cases and confirmed his opinion that shock could be
prevented by careful attention to avoiding the stresses associated with surgery.
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Figure 1-16 One of Harvey Cushing's early anesthesia records shows systolic blood pressure (top tracing) and pulse rate (bottom tracing). The first rise in blood pressure
occurred during the excitement phase of ether induction, and the second rise occurred during the release of adhesions of the sciatic nerve. Vertical lines take place 2.5
minutes apart. Systolic blood pressure rose to greater than 230 mm Hg during the operation. Cushing was an early proponent of regional anesthesia, possibly stemming
from his observations on blood pressure and heart rate. [267] (From Cushing H: On routine determination of arterial tension in operating room and clinic. Boston Med
Surg J 148:250-256, 1903.)
Crile's ideas have had a significant impact on how the modern anesthesiologist defines general anesthesia. In 1957, P.
Woodbridge [268] defined general anesthesia as consisting of four components: (1) sleep or unconsciousness, (2) blockade
of undesirable reflexes, (3) motor blockade, and (4) sensory blockade. These ideas have been discussed and modified by
M. Pinsker [269] into three components: (1) paralysis, (2) unconsciousness, and (3) attenuation of the stress response.
Lundy's balanced anesthesia is another formulation of the idea that several drugs can be used in combination to produce
the state of unconsciousness and analgesia that we define as general anesthesia.
An enduring question during the past century, since Crile's introduction of the concept of stress-free anesthesia, has been
how to evaluate the analgesic component of the ideal general anesthetic. Michael Roizen [270] (1947-) observed in 1981
that general anesthetics did not prevent the increase in sympathetic activity in response to a skin incision, even in
concentrations that prevented movement. Surgical stimulation often results in intraoperative hypertension and
tachycardia, with the corollary that interventions that prevent these hemodynamic reflexes provide analgesia.
Hemodynamic instability was of marginal significance until surgeons began to operate on patients with significant
ischemic heart disease. Studies have demonstrated that perioperative -adrenergic blockade reduces the risk for
perioperative myocardial infarction in patients at risk for this complication. [271]
It became apparent that intravenous opioids were highly successful in ablating the hemodynamic markers of stress.
Edward Lowenstein and coworkers [272] used large doses of morphine to stabilize the heart rate and blood pressure
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during cardiac surgery. In 1967, the short-acting opioid fentanyl was introduced to provide intraoperative hemodynamic
stability. Theodore H. Stanley and colleagues [273] reported its successful use in large doses for cardiac surgery without
the side effect of histamine release that sometimes occurs after administration of morphine. Other short-acting opioids
tailored for the anesthesiologist have been added since that time. Alfentanil, sufentanil, and remifentanil have different
pharmacokinetic profiles that make them suitable agents for selected procedures. Naloxone, a specific antagonist for this
class of drugs, was first used clinically in 1971. [274] Increased understanding of opioid pharmacology has opened up a
new role for anesthesiologists, including acute pain management. Rapid detoxification of opioid addiction by using
general anesthesia combined with opioid antagonism is a new technique that if combined with judicious follow-up, can
be a useful treatment of this condition. [275]
The combination of opioids with tranquilizers such as phenothiazines and butyrophenones provides a form of anesthesia
called neuroleptanesthesia, which was introduced by DeCastro and Mundeleer [276] in 1959. Patients administered this
form of anesthesia are immobile and tranquil and have stable hemodynamics, even during major surgical procedures. One
goal of this technique is to block the autonomic and endocrine response to stress. This unique method of providing
anesthesia is another technique for ablating the stress response, but unless other agents such as nitrous oxide or other
intravenous agents are administered, there can be a high incidence of awareness. Side effects from dopamine antagonism,
such as dysphoria and uncontrolled extrapyramidal motor movements, have limited the widespread use of
neuroleptanesthesia.
During the past 30 years, several investigators began a series of studies to measure markers of the stress response during
and after surgery. It was learned that during major surgery, patients anesthetized with traditional vapor anesthetics, with
or without opioids, displayed increased levels of catabolic hormones postoperatively. [77] Significant elevations in
catecholamines and in adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, antidiuretic hormone, and growth hormone were observed.
Various methods of preventing postoperative catabolism have been under investigation for several years. The resulting
catabolic state is thought by some to delay recovery and, with some operations, can be prevented with the use of
neuraxial blockade. [77] [277] [278] It is apparent from recent reviews on this subject that the formulations of George Crile
are still valid 100 years after he promoted them and are likely to be the subject of further studies in the future.
Airway Management and Resuscitation
Masks and Airways
Ventilation during anesthesia was managed without specialized airway devices for more than 50 years after Morton's
discovery, and a survey of anesthetic complications during this era attests to the relative safety of inhalation techniques in
spontaneously breathing patients (see Chapters 50 and 93 [Chapter 50] [Chapter 93] ). Deaths occurred during this era,
and in some reports the anesthetic death rate was alarmingly high, but an obstructed airway was rarely mentioned as the
primary cause of death. Friedrich von Esmarch [279] described the jaw thrust ( Fig. 1-17 ) as a lifesaving maneuver in
some cases of airway obstruction that resulted from chloroform or asphyxia:
Press the lower jaw forwards with both hands by placing the forefingers behind the ascending ramusby this
movement the hyoid bone and root of the tongue, and the epiglottis are drawn forwards, and the entrance to the larynx
is thus freed from obstruction.
Figure 1-17 Illustration in a treatise by von Esmarch [279] showing the technique of maintaining an open airway in an unconscious patient. (From von Esmarch F:
Handbuch der kriegschirurgischen Technik. Hanover, Carl Rumpler, 1877.)
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In 1874 the same maneuver had been previously described, but not popularized by J. Heiberg, a Norwegian surgeon.
Various problems with the Morton inhaler in the United States led to abandonment of inhalers in favor of a simple towel
or sponge saturated with ether. In 1850, John Warren, [280] in his address to the American Medical Association, described
his preferred technique for administration of ether at the Massachusetts General Hospital: (1) no oral intake for at least 3
hours before surgery, (2) a horizontal position for induction, (3) bleeding the patient before surgery for bloodless
operations, (4) pulse and respiration watched carefully by an assistant to the anesthetist, (5) ether applied with a large
sponge soaked with ether, and (6) avoidance of cautery.
Several wire frame masks were devised to replace the sponge or folded towel. The popular mask devised by Curl
Schimmelbusch (1860-1895) had a trough-shaped rim to prevent liquid chloroform or ether from dropping onto the
patient's face. Friederich von Esmarch [279] used a wire mask with a clip that enabled it to be strapped to the patient. The
advantages of these masks were low cost, simplicity, and portability. Disadvantages included delivery of vapor
throughout the operating room, cooling of the patient, and waste of anesthetic agent.
Development of the modern facemask originated with Francis Sibson [281] [282] (1814-1876), who devised a mask made
of pliable tinned iron and covered with glove leather. The mask covered the mouth and nose and therefore eliminated the
need for noseclips. Snow quickly recognized the superiority of the Sibson mask and incorporated it into his practice.
The first anesthetics were of short duration and rarely required special devices to maintain patency of the airway. With
the increasing complexity and duration of surgical procedures, special devices were fashioned to facilitate an open
airway. Frederick Hewitt promoted a simple metal tube that projected through the mouth into the hypopharynx. The
commonly used Guedel rubber curved airway was described in 1933. [283] At the same time, cuffs were sometimes used
on oral airways, a design that has been resurrected in the form of a modern product, the cuffed oral pharyngeal airway
(COPA).
Tracheal Tubes
In the 18th century, tubes were passed into the trachea during resuscitation from drowning, but these tubes were passed
without direct visualization and were not used for delivery of anesthetic agents. Similarly, the intubations of pediatrician
Joseph O'Dwyer (1841-1898) in cases of diphtheria were performed with metal tubes passed blindly. [284] The O'Dwyer
metal tube was later attached to a bellows by George Fell (1850-1918) for the treatment of opioid respiratory depression.
Placement of tracheal tubes was vigorously opposed by the influential Parisian surgeon Armand Trousseau (1801-1867),
who quoted the failures experienced by M. Bouchut in attempting to pass metal tubes for airway obstruction. Bouchut
had lost five of seven patients during his procedure, called le tubage du larynx, and the other two were rescued only by
tracheotomy. [285] Trousseau was the first to perform a tracheotomy in Paris and wrote a treatise promoting its use during
airway compromise in 1851.
John Snow had administered chloroform through tracheotomy tubes in animals, and Friedrich Trendelenburg (18441924) used the same technique in humans. [286] Sir William Macewen (1848-1924) was the first physician to intubate the
trachea orally for the sole purpose of administering anesthesia, and it was done to permit continued administration of
chloroform during an operation in the mouth. On July 5, 1878, Macewen [287] performed a blind oral intubation on an
awake patient with an ulcerating epithelioma of the tongue. An extensive operation was performed, and the results were
excellent. Subsequently, Macewen tracheally intubated three other patients, two for edema of the larynx, and a fourth for
another surgical procedure in the mouth. In the fourth case, the pulse was suddenly lost after chloroform was
administered, and the patient died on the table.
The use of tracheal intubation was accelerated to meet the needs of surgeons operating on the face and in the thoracic
cavity. To operate within the thoracic cavity, some means was required to avoid respiratory compromise, which followed
the inevitable pneumothorax when the chest was opened. Ernst Ferdinand Sauerbruch [288] (1875-1951) studied the
problem as a young assistant to Johann von Mickulicz-Radecki (1850-1905) in Breslau, Germany, and his solution, the
Sauerbruch Box, elevated him into a position of international prominence at a young age. The Sauerbruch Box was a
cumbersome solution to the problem of pneumothorax and entailed placing the surgeon and the patient (below the neck)
in a negative-pressure chamber while the head of the patient and the anesthetist were outside the box at normal
atmospheric pressure. The use of such an awkward construction indicates that surgeons were determined to solve this
problem at any cost. The modern solution, endotracheal intubation and controlled ventilation, as it unfolded was
relatively simple, but it took several years to become established.
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Franz Kuhn (1866-1929) perfected a flexible metal tube and used blind oral or nasal intubation for anesthetic purposes
when the surgeon operated in the mouth. Kuhn's first report on tracheal intubation was in 1905 and included an extensive
description of a technique using carbon dioxide absorption cartridges. He proposed but did not use inflatable pharyngeal
cuffs to prevent air leaks. Insertion of catheters directly into the trachea to insufflate anesthetic agents was begun in the
first decades of the 20th century. With this method, gases were introduced under continuous pressure through catheters
that allowed exhalation through the space between the catheter and tracheal wall.
The use of to-and-fro respiration through one large-bore endotracheal tube is credited to Ivan W. Magill [289] (18881986) ( Fig. 1-18A ) and Edgar S. Rowbotham [290] (1890-1979) to meet the demands of the maxillofacial surgeon. Their
technique of blind nasal intubation was to position patients as if they were sniffing the morning air. Occasional failures
of blind intubation were solved with a special instrument designed by Magill to lift the tube off the posterior wall of the
pharynx into the glottic opening. The so-called Magill tubes were formed to fit the airway and were made of red
mineralized rubber. The cuffed endotracheal tube was promoted by Arthur Guedel (1883-1956) ( Fig. 1-19 ) and Ralph
M. Waters (1883-1979) (see Fig. 1-18B ) in 1928, [291] and this refinement allowed the use of intermittent, controlled,
positive-pressure ventilation and the potential for one-lung ventilation, introduced by Gale and Waters in 1932. [292] Four
years later, Magill introduced the bronchial blocker to confine the secretions of an infected lung to one side. Magill's
technique was to pass the blocker before induction of anesthesia with a specially designed bronchoscope. [293] Doublelumen tubes for bronchospirometry were introduced by Carlens in 1949, [294] but the small lumen size made these tubes
inconvenient for anesthetized subjects. The commonly used disposable double-lumen tubes in use today are modeled
after the Robertshaw tube [295] for the left side and after the Green-Gordon tube [296] for the right side. An opening called
the Murphy eye, on the side of the standard endotracheal tube, was suggested in 1941 as an alternative air passage in the
event of distal tip occlusion. [297]
Figure 1-18 Prominent anesthesiologists of the 20th century. A, Sir Ivan Whiteside Magill (1888-1986) was born in Larne, Northern Ireland. He obtained a medical degree
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from Queen's University, Belfast, in 1913. During World War I, he served with the Irish Guards in the Medical Corps. After the war, he and Stanley Rowbotham (18901979) pioneered the use of large-bore endotracheal tubes to allow plastic surgeons to operate on the facial injuries of wounded soldiers. He designed many pieces of
equipment for the anesthesiologist, some of which are still used today. Before his death at the age of 98 years, he received many awards, including a knighthood awarded
personally by the Queen of England in 1960 and the Henry Hill Hickman Award. B, Ralph M. Waters was born in North Bloomfield, Ohio, and obtained his medical
degree from Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He began his career in general practice in Sioux City, Iowa, and specialized in delivering anesthesia in 1916. Waters
established the first academic program of anesthesiology in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1927. His contributions were many and included the carbon dioxide absorption method,
endobronchial anesthesia for thoracic surgery, and introduction of cyclopropane. His chief legacy is the many residents he trained who then became leaders within the
specialty in the following generation. C, Sir Robert R. Macintosh (1897-1989) was born in New Zealand and was a prisoner of war during World War I. He finished
medical training in London after the war and began the practice of anesthesia there. In 1937, he was appointed the first Nuffield Professor of Anaesthetics at Oxford
University. He was primarily a clinician, and his innovative techniques of airway management were eventually accepted worldwide. He received honorary degrees from
universities in several countries and was knighted in 1955. D, James T. Gwathmey was born in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1865 and graduated from the Vanderbilt School of
Medicine in 1899. In 1903, he limited his practice to the administration of anesthetics, and he is considered one of the first full-time private practice physiciananesthesiologists in the United States. He devised several innovations for the delivery of anesthetic gases and introduced these machines to his European colleagues during
World War I. He was an original member of the Long Island Society of Anesthetists, which eventually evolved into the American Society of Anesthesiologists. (Courtesy
of the Wood-Library Museum of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, IL.)
Figure 1-19 Photograph of Arthur Guedel while he was serving in the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. During the war, he was responsible
for the safe administration of thousands of anesthetics, often delivered without properly trained personnel. As a guide for teaching nurses and orderlies to administer ether,
he devised a wall chart describing the various stages and planes of ether anesthesia that eventually resulted in his classic publication on this topic in 1919. He used a drug
sequence of ethyl chloride, chloroform, and ether, which prepared the patient for surgery within 2 minutes. [353] (Courtesy of the Guedel Memorial Anesthesia Center, San
Francisco, CA.)
Laryngoscopes
Although blind or tactile tracheal intubation of awake patients could be mastered with extensive practice, an improved
technique to accomplish tracheal intubation was developed by Alfred Kirstein [298] [299] (1863-1922), Chevalier Jackson
[300] (1865-1958), and Gustav Killian (1898-1912), all contributors to the introduction of the hand-held laryngoscope.
Before the pioneering efforts of these innovators, the only way to visualize the larynx was by indirect laryngoscopy, a
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technique introduced by the Spanish singing instructor Manuel Garcia (1805-1868). In 1854, Garcia read a paper before
the Royal Society titled Observations on the Human Voice, wherein he described his use of mirrors to view his
student's and his own larynx during vocalization. [301] Alfred Kirstein was charting unknown territory in 1895 when he
boldly suggested that the larynx could be directly visualized with instruments similar to the commonly used
esophagoscope. [298] Although he abandoned the procedure after 1 year, it was revived 3 years later by Gustav Killian,
[302] whose portable laryngoscope was remarkably like the current instrument, but with no light attached.
Direct laryngoscopy did not gain in popularity among anesthesiologists until Chevalier Jackson promoted the use of his
hand-held laryngoscope for insertion of tracheal insufflation catheters. Even then, the technique was slow to gain
acceptance, but the accelerated use of muscle relaxants eventually required the anesthesiologist to be adept at rapid
placement of tubes within the trachea. The first hand-held laryngoscopes, as perfected by Jackson, were U shaped and
had no curve at the tip. A light at the end of the blade was a unique contribution by Jackson that has been retained, with
the modification that some instruments today use a fiberoptic bundle in the blade.
Anesthesiologists soon began to design their own laryngoscopes that were more suitable for insertion of endotracheal
tubes. Robert A. Miller [303] designed a new blade that was remarkably similar to Killian's instrument, except for a slight
curve at the distal end. Robert R. Macintosh's (1897-1989) (see Fig. 1-18C ) improved laryngoscope featured a short,
curved blade that elevated instead of retracted the epiglottis. [304] This promoted a new concept in laryngoscopy
specifically designed with the anesthesiologist in mind for timely tracheal intubation. Many intubations were then
performed without muscle relaxants, and the Macintosh blade was able to expose the glottis without coming into contact
with the sensitive posterior surface of the epiglottis. By this time a detachable joint had been placed between the blade
and the handle. The batteries were located in the handle, thereby conveniently avoiding the trailing wires attached to the
distal bulb.
Alternatives to the Laryngoscope
Unfortunately, not all patients could be successfully intubated with the hand-held laryngoscope. Several new blades were
developed in the 1940s and 1950s to solve the problem of a difficult airway, but none were 100% successful, and it soon
became apparent that some airways could not be intubated with any hand-held instrument. In such cases, the few
remaining members of the hospital staff who had been trained in blind tactile intubations were called in to secure the
airway.
The problem of a difficult or impossible intubation is now solved with a variety of tools, including various modifications
of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and the flexible laryngoscope, both established tools in the modern anesthesia
department. The LMA was developed by A. J. Brain of the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, England, with the
commercial product first appearing in 1983. [305] This device is well named, for it is indeed a small mask that covers the
glottic opening. The LMA eliminates the need for tracheal intubation in many cases and is useful in managing a difficult
airway.
The beginnings of flexible laryngoscopy were rooted in the 19th century. John Tyndall (1820-1893) succeeded the more
famous Michael Faraday as Superintendent of the Royal Institution in London in 1867 and published his observation in
1854 that light could follow a curved path through a water tube. In 1930, H. Lamm [306] used this property of light when
he introduced the flexible gastroscope, with glass fibers used instead of water. S. Ikeda [307] transferred the same
technology to a smaller-diameter instrument and thereby introduced flexible bronchofiberoscopy in 1968. The definitive
work followed in 1971. [308]
Resuscitation (see Chapter 97 )
Resuscitation from drowning was successfully accomplished by a variety of methods as early as 1792, when James Curry
used digital intubation of the trachea and forced air into the lungs with a bellows (see Chapters 93 and 97 [Chapter 93]
[Chapter 97] ). J. Leroy criticized the use of positive pressure with bellows as a dangerous procedure in 1827 by showing
that it could rupture the alveoli and produce fatal tension pneumothorax. Consequently, several ineffectual techniques
developed, such as administration of stimulating vapors, swinging the arms up and down, and pulling the tongue forward
in a rhythmic motion, and these futile techniques were slow to dissipate. Largely through the work of O'Dwyer, Tuffier,
and Matas, positive-pressure methods were reintroduced in the first few decades of the 20th century. James O. Elam
(1918-1995) instinctively demonstrated the efficacy of mouth-to-mouth ventilation in 1946 when ventilators were in short
supply during the polio epidemic. Peter Safar (1924-2003) and Elam were influential in converting teaching of the
ineffectual arm-lift method to mouth-to-mouth breathing techniques by demonstrating the proficiency of the later
technique on volunteer medical students. [309] [310]
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Rational methods of resuscitation from full cardiac arrest awaited development of the electrocardiogram and its
interpretation. Augustus Waller [311] (1856-1922) first produced tracings of the electrical activity of the heart in 1887, but
Willem Einthoven [312] (1860-1927) is credited with producing the first modern electrocardiogram by using a string
galvanometer in 1903. Tracings compatible with occlusion of the main coronary vessels were demonstrated first in
animals and then confirmed in patients by James B. Herrick [313] (1861-1954) of Chicago. John MacWilliam [314] (18571937) described ventricular fibrillation in 1887 and provided a case report showing it to be the cause of death in one
subject. [315] In 1899, J. L Prevost and F. Battelli [316] showed that small electrical currents passed across the heart could
induce ventricular fibrillation and that larger currents could convert fibrillation to a normal rhythm. Claude Beck [317]
(1894-1971) performed the first successful use of electric defibrillation in a patient in 1947.
Open cardiac massage was first performed in Norway in 1901 [310] and in the following year by Starling, [318] and
external massage over the chest was described by W. W. Keen (1837-1932) in 1904. [319] Brief anecdotal reports had
been presented on closed chest massage as early as 1883 by Franz Koenig of Gttingen, Germany. [320] William B.
Kouwenhoven (1886-1975), Dean of the School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins from 1939 to 1953, began his studies
on resuscitation from cardiac arrest in 1929 and 31 years later published the full sequence of external cardiac massage,
combined with electric countershock, to restore cardiac rhythm. [321] These methods of resuscitation have been promoted
by the American Heart Association and, with some modifications, have become the basis for the widely disseminated
educational programs of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS).
Anesthetic Accidents and ComplicationsPreventive Measures
Anesthetic accidents have occurred since the early days of administration of ether and nitrous oxide. Wells and Morton
described patients who required resuscitative measures during anesthesia. Several near deaths were reported after the
October 1846 demonstration. Bigelow's first description of ether anesthesia provides a case report of a patient who nearly
died after ether administration and was resuscitated by cold effusions, ammonia inhalation, and syringing of the ears. [86]
Two other patients failed to be affected by ether. George Hayward (1791-1863) reported a death occurring after ether
inhalation in August 1847. Snow's book on chloroform appeared in 1858 and discusses a number of frightening cases and
deaths during administration of anesthesia. The first such tragedy with chloroform struck in 1848, when an anesthetic was
given to a 12-year-old girl, Hannah Greener, for a minor surgical procedure. The postmortem examination of this young
girl was inconclusive, but the anesthetic was thought to have been administered properly. The controversy surrounding
this death has occupied the minds of numerous anesthesiologists for the past 150 years. [322] [323]
Most anesthetic deaths were not attributed to the agent or the method of administration but resulted simply from the
patient not taking the anesthetic well. A frequent diagnosis after death during anesthesia was the vague syndrome of
status lymphaticus. [324] Although this phrase was convenient for the anesthesiologist to use, it thwarted a review of
causes that might help prevent future disasters. A major change occurred in anesthetic practice with the introduction of
morbidity and mortality conferences to examine causes of anesthetic accidents. Originally introduced by Ralph Waters in
Madison, Wisconsin, these meetings sought to carefully scrutinize anesthetic complications, thereby shifting the focus of
investigation from the patient to the provider and the equipment used to deliver the anesthetic. The postanesthesia care
unit, originally designated the recovery room, was promoted for safety reasons by two anesthesiologists from
Washington, D.C., in an influential paper in 1951, [325] and these units are now mandated by the accreditation process for
all hospitals.
Curtis L. Mendelsohn, an obstetrician from New York City, presented one of the early useful reports of anesthetic
complications. In 1945, he reported 66 cases of aspiration of stomach contents during general anesthesia for labor and
delivery. [326] He further observed that aspiration of even small volumes of low-pH stomach contents in rabbits would
result in fatal pulmonary edema. Since his classic descriptions, the syndrome of acid aspiration is often called the
Mendelsohn syndrome.
The cuffed endotracheal tube was one solution to the problem of acid aspiration. Authur Guedel and Ralph Waters were
motivated to devise a truly closed system of anesthetic administration with carbon dioxide absorption that would
conserve anesthetic gases and body heat. Their 1928 report of the cuffed endotracheal tube [291] achieved these goals
with the added benefit of protection of the tracheobronchial tree from aspiration. Others had devised cuffed endotracheal
tubes before them, [327] but Guedel and Waters used a novel method to demonstrate and promote the safety features of
the cuffed tube. Guedel anesthetized and then intubated his pet dog, appropriately named Airway, with a cuffed
endotracheal tube. The dog was submerged in a water tank for several minutes and then removed and awakened
unharmed. The demonstration was repeated at several meetings, and this publicity enhanced rapid acceptance of the new
endotracheal tube. The cuffed tube is regarded today as an effective measure for preventing acid aspiration.
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In 1961, Brian A. Sellick [328] (1918-1996) described rapid-sequence induction for prevention of acid reflux. The method
involves the application of firm pressure over the cricoid cartilage to occlude the esophagus during endotracheal
intubation. John Hunter [329] had previously described the technique in 1776 for use in resuscitation of individuals
apparently drowned. Rapid-sequence induction remains a popular technique for induction of patients at risk for acid
aspiration.
Although few defects in apparatus could occur while applying ether onto a folded towel, the increasing complexity of the
anesthetic delivery system brought with it the unfortunate side effect of equipment failure. One of the earliest equipment
defects occurred with the simple Morton inhaler. George Hayward reported that a defective intake port led to restricted
breathing, lividity, and convulsions in an elderly woman having a leg amputated in January 1847. Wrong gas, wrong
agent, wrong concentration, sticky or jammed valves, contaminated agents, and hypoxic mixturesall of these and others
were reported as routes to disaster.
Open discussions of these complications led to adjustments in equipment design. [330] Pin indexing of gas cylinders and
hoses eliminated the possibility of introducing air or nitrous oxide into the oxygen lines of the gas machine. In-line
oxygen analyzers were placed on the inspiratory limb of the breathing circuit. Fail-safe devices prevented the use of any
machine that was not supplied with oxygen. Uniform connectors were adopted, thereby providing rapid assembly of
breathing circuits. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) initiated formation of the Z-79 Committee of the
American Standards Institute. This committee recommended safe construction of endotracheal tubes, needles, and
connectors. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), a not-for-profit organization that writes standards
for materials and products (through their committee designated F-29), describes the requirements used in the design of
safe anesthetic gas machines. The International Standards Organization is also developing global standards for anesthesia
equipment.
Further progress in reducing anesthetic-related complications resulted from the formation of professional societies,
specialty journals, and certification boards. One of the earliest journals limited exclusively to anesthesiology was Current
Research in Anesthesia and Analgesia, founded in 1922 largely through the efforts of Francis Hoffer McMechan (18791939). [331] McMechan was an anesthesiologist who had retired at an early age for health reasons and devoted the
remainder of his career to promoting organizational and political causes of anesthesiologists. An independent American
Board of Anesthesiology was formed in 1940 and, through its examination process, continues to elevate standards of
anesthetic care. Specialty societies of professional anesthesiologists have formed in most countries practicing modern
anesthetic techniques. The ASA was founded as the American Society of Anesthetists in 1936 and currently has
approximately 38,000 members. Anesthesiology, the official journal of the ASA, began publication in 1940. National
anesthesia societies promote safe anesthetic practice through annual meetings, refresher courses, and direct
communication with members. Practice guidelines for general anesthesia, obstetric anesthesia, and ambulatory surgery
are sent annually to each member of the ASA. Subspecialty societies in cardiac, ambulatory, transplant, pediatric,
neurosurgical, and obstetric anesthesia have been formed and strive to improve the anesthetic management of patients
within their respective groups.
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) was conceived in October 1985, largely through the organizational
efforts of Ellison C. Pierce, Jr. This highly successful organization promotes safe anesthesia practice through research
grants and periodic mailings to members. As a result of these efforts, anesthesiologists have been recognized as
forerunners in promoting agendas that enhance patient safety. [332] [333]
Improved monitors have provided the anesthesiologist with methods to fine-tune anesthetic delivery and detect early
signs of danger. Auscultation of the chest, an obligatory skill in the current era, had its beginnings in the early 19th
century when Rene T. Laennec [334] (1781-1826) used a cylindrical paper tube to listen to the chest. The term stethoscope
was a combination of the Greek words stetho (chest) and scope (I see) and was used by anesthesia providers as early
as 1896 to monitor cardiac and respiratory sounds. The esophageal stethoscope, introduced in 1954 by C. Smith, [335] has
been used extensively to detect breathing circuit disconnects, airway obstruction, and bronchospasm in anesthetized
patients.
A. E. Codman (1869-1940) of Boston introduced the first anesthetic records in 1894, and the practice was encouraged by
Harvey W. Cushing (1869-1939), who promoted recordings of blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate on all of his
cases. [336] Practice guidelines for minimal monitoring standards were first issued [337] at the nine teaching hospitals of
Harvard Medical School, and 2 years later, the ASA issued similar standards that included measures of oxygenation,
ventilation, circulation, and body temperature. Electronic monitoring has contributed to the safe practice of
anesthesiology significantly. Continuous electrocardiography displays, often with ST-segment analysis, are attached to
most anesthesia machines. End-tidal gas analysis using infrared technology developed in the 1940s is in common use.
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Thermistors offer a continuous measure of core body temperature, thereby providing an early warning of the rare, but
potentially lethal syndrome of malignant hyperthermia. [338] Awareness of complications associated with hypothermia in
anesthetized patients and the use of methods to prevent its occurrence have contributed significantly to a safer
environment for surgical patients. [339] [340]
Some complications that may seem trivial to the provider can be highly significant for the patient. Surveys have shown,
for example, that postoperative nausea and vomiting are feared complications in a large percentage of patients
contemplating surgery. [341] Progress has been made in eliminating this complication through the use of agents with less
emetogenic potential. Increased understanding of the neurochemical substrates that regulate the vomiting reflex has
resulted in specific therapies to prevent or lessen the gastrointestinal side effects of general anesthetics and opioids. [342]
Dopamine antagonists and serotonin 5-HT3 antagonists have been particularly cost effective. [343]
The increasing use of muscle relaxants by anesthesia providers has led to the terrifying complication of an awake,
paralyzed patient who is fully aware of surgical pain. Although early pharmacologic studies of muscle relaxants
suggested a central depressant effect of these drugs, this issue was settled when Scott M. Smith [344] (1912-) allowed
himself to receive curare without other agents and reported that no sedation or analgesia was present during complete
paralysis. R. S. Blacher [345] noticed that complete paralysis with awareness during surgery could sometimes lead to a
postoperative traumatic neurotic syndrome characterized by anxiety, irritability, and repetitive nightmares. Various
monitors have been used to avoid this rare, but dreaded complication. Tunstall [346] described the isolated arm technique
whereby one arm is excluded from the circulation, thereby allowing an awake, paralyzed patient to follow commands by
moving that extremity. The electroencephalogram was described in 1929 by Johannes Hans Berger [347] (1873-1941) and
first used during administration of anesthesia by Albert Falconer, Jr. [348] (1911-1985). Within the past 30 years, new
technologies have been developed that process the electroencephalographic raw signals and provide a number that is
indicative of anesthetic depth. The bispectral index (BIS) monitor is a recent commercial product that analyzes the
electroencephalographic pattern and provides some assurance that the paralyzed patient is also asleep. [349] Some
exceptions have occurred with this device, with paradoxically low BIS numbers being associated with awareness, and
solutions to the problem of awake and paralyzed patients continue to evolve.
Allergic reactions to drugs can be life threatening. Anaphylaxis (meaning without protection) is appropriately named,
especially for anesthetized patients, because the symptoms of hypotension and bronchospasm can have many causes and
specific treatment can often be delayed. The syndrome was described in 1913 by Charles R. Richet [350] (1850-1935),
who was studying the toxicology of various fish poisons and observed the rapid onset of death in dogs that more than 15
days earlier had withstood a much larger dose of the toxin. Richet postulated that an immune response had developed in
the interim and produced a fatal reaction to the injection. The role of histamine and vasomotor instability was described
in 1932, [351] and this understanding led to the role of vasopressors and antihistamines as treatment.
Even though enormous progress has been achieved toward the goal of zero anesthetic-related morbidity and mortality, no
such claim can yet be made at any institution. In part, this is because more extensive procedures are being performed on
sicker patients than was the case 100 years ago. In 1914, Gwathmey (see Fig. 1-18D ) reported a 0.01% anesthetic-related
mortality rate with ether anesthesia, a surprisingly low figure in view of the anesthetic methods in use at the time.
However, in 1914 they did not perform extensive procedures such as liver and heart transplantation on patients with life
expectancies (without surgical intervention) of only a few weeks. Anesthesiologists have recently focused on
postoperative as well as intraoperative pain, and this extension carries with it additional risks to anesthesia providers.
The quest for improving the perianesthetic experience is far from over. A physician has only to ask patients about the
experience of having a major surgical procedure to conclude that it is far from pleasant, even in the absence of
complications. It is futile to attempt to summarize the current hardships that a surgical patient must undergo in the
modern hospital or even attempt possible solutions. Change will occurthat is certainand if we can learn anything
from the past 150 years, there are possibilities for improvement and modalities of practice that we cannot even imagine
today. Some methods in use today will appear nonsensical to future practitioners. As portions of the preceding historical
survey demonstrate, one barrier to progress is failure by those entrenched in their routines and biases to recognize a
breakthrough when it occurs. Perhaps the smarter we are, the more we fail to see our failures. In 1775, while Joseph
Priestley [352] was hopelessly lost in the phlogiston theory of combustion, we find these words written in his classic
manuscript Experiments and Observations of Different Kinds of Air: The more ingenious a man is, the more effectually
he is entangled in his errors; his ingenuity only helping him to deceive himself, by evading the force of truth.
Truth in clinical medicine is perhaps even more difficult to recognize than answers to the questions that chemists were
contemplating at the end of the 18th century. However, anesthesiology has made remarkable progress in the more than
150 years since the public demonstration of ether anesthesia, and this progress should continue until safe elimination of
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all unwanted pain from human experience has been attained.

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282.. Maltby JR: Francis Sibson, 1814-1876. Pioneer and prophet in anaesthesia. Anaesthesia 1977; 32:53-62.
283.. Guedel A: A nontraumatic pharyngeal airway. JAMA 1933; 100:1862.
284.. O'Dwyer J: Fifty cases of croup in private practice treated by intubation of the larynx, with a description of the
method and of the dangers incident thereto. Med Rec 1887; 32:557-561.
285.. Trousseau A: Du tubage de la glotte et de la tracheotomie, par M Bouchut. Bull Acad Med 1858; 24:99.
286.. Trendelenburg F: Beitrge zu den Operationen an den Luftwegen. Arch Klin Chir 1871; 12:112-133.
287.. Macewan W: Clinical observations on the introduction of tracheal tubes by the mouth instead of performing
tracheotomy or laryngotomy. BMJ 1880; 2:122-124.163-165
288.. Sauerbruch EF: ber die physiologischen and physikalischen Grundlagen bei intrathorakalen Eingriffen in meiner
pneumatischen Operationskammer. Verh Dtsch Ges Chir 1904; 32:105-115.
289.. Magill I: Endotracheal anesthesia. Proc R Soc Med 1928; 22:1-6.
290.. Rowbotham E, Magill I: Anaesthetics in the plastic surgery of the face and jaws. Proc R Soc Med 1921; 14:17-27.
291.. Guedel A, Waters RM: A new intratracheal catheter. Anesth Analg 1928; 7:238-239.
292.. Gale J, Waters R: Closed endobronchial anesthesia in thoracic surgery: Preliminary report. Anesth
Analg 1932; 11:283-287.
293.. Magill I: Anaesthesia in thoracic surgery, with special reference to lobectomy. Proc R Soc Med 1936; 29:649-653.
294.. Carlens E: A new flexible double-lumen catheter for bronchospirometry. J Thorac Surg 1949; 18:742-746.
295.. Robertshaw F: Low resistance double-lumen endobronchial tubes. Br J Anaesth 1962; 34:576-579.
296.. Green R, Gordon W: Right lung anaesthesia. Anaesthesia 1957; 12:86-93.
297.. Murphy F: Two improved intratracheal catheters. Anesth Analg 1941; 20:102-105.
298.. Kirstein A: Autoskopie des Larynx und der Trachea. Berl Klin Wochenschr 1895; 32:476-478.
299.. Hirsch NP, Smith GB, Hirsch PO: Alfred Kirstein: Pioneer of direct laryngoscopy. Anaesthesia 1986; 41:42-45.
300.. Jackson C: Tracheobronchoscopy, Esophagoscopy and Gastroscopy. St Louis, CV Mosby, 1907.
301.. Garcia M: Observations on the human voice. Proc R Soc Lond 1854; 7:399-410.
302.. Killian G: Ueber directe Brochoskopie. Munch Med Wochenschr 1898; 45:844-847.
303.. Miller R: A new laryngoscope. Anesthesiology 1941; 2:317-320.
304.. Macintosh R: A new laryngoscope. Lancet 1943; 1:205.
305.. Brain A: The laryngeal mask: A new concept in airway management. Br J Anaesth 1983; 55:801-805.
306.. Lamm H: Biegsame optische Gerte. Z Instrumentenk 1930; 50:579-581.
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307.. Ikeda S, Yanai N, Ishidawa S: Flexible bronchofiberscope. Keio J Med 1968; 17:1-18.
308.. Ikeda S: Atlas of Flexible Bronchofiberoscopy. Baltimore, University Park Press, 1971.
309.. Elam J, Greene DG, Brown ES, et al: Oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange and energy cost of expired air
resuscitation. JAMA 1958; 167:328-334.
310.. Lind B: Recent History of Resuscitation in Norway. AnaesthesiaEssays on Its History. Berlin, SpringerVerlag, 1985.
311.. Waller A: A demonstration in man of electromotive changes accompanying the heart's beat. J Physiol 1887; 8:229234.
312.. Einthoven W: The string galvanometer and the human electrocardiogram. Proceedings of the Koninklijke
Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Amsterdam, Section of Sciences 1903; 6:107-115.
313.. Herrick J: Clinical features of sudden obstruction of the coronary arteries. JAMA 1912; 59:2015-2020.
314.. MacWilliam J: Fibrillar contraction of the heart. J Physiol 1887; 8:296-310.
315.. MacWilliam J: Cardiac failure and sudden death. BMJ 1889; 1:6-8.
316.. Prevost J, Battelli F: La mort par les courants electriques. J Physiol Pathol Gen 1899; 1:427.
317.. Beck C, Pritchard W, Feil H: Ventricular fibrillation of long duration abolished by electric shock.
JAMA 1947; 135:985-986.
318.. Starling E, Lane W: Case report. Lancet 1902; 2:1397.
319.. Keen W: A case of total laryngectomy (unsuccessful) and a case of abdominal hysterectomy (successful), in both of
which massage of the heart for chloroform collapse was employed, with notes of 25 cases of cardiac massages. Ther
Gaz 1904; 28:217-230.
320.. Koenig F: Lehrbuch des Allgemeinen. Chirurgie, Gttingen, 1883.
321.. Kouwenhoven W, Jude F, Knickerbocker G: Closed chest cardiac massage. JAMA 1960; 173:1064-1067.
322.. Beecher H: The first anesthesia death with some remarks suggested by it on the fields of the laboratory and the
clinic in the appraisal of new anesthetic agents. Anesthesiology 1941; 2:443-449.
323.. Knight 3rd PR, Bacon DR: An unexplained death: Hannah Greener and chloroform.
324.. Guedel A: Inhalation Anesthesia: A Fundamental Guide. New York, Macmillan, 1937.
325.. Lowenthal PJ, Russell A: Recovery room: Life saving and economical. Anesthesiology 1951; 12:470-476.
326.. Mendelson C: The aspiration of stomach contents into the lungs during obstetrical anesthesia. Am J Obstet
Gynecol 1945; 52:191-205.
327.. Dorrance G: On the treatment of traumatic injuries of the lungs and pleura with the presentation of a new
intratracheal tube for use in artificial respiration. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1910; 11:160-187.
328.. Sellick B: Cricoid pressure to control regurgitation of stomach contents during induction of anaesthesia.
Lancet 1961; 2:404-406.
329.. Hunter J: Of persons apparently drowned. Philos Trans R Soc Lond 1776; 66:415-425.
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330.. Rendell-Baker L: Standards for anesthesia: The issues. Contemp Anesth Pract 1984; 8:59-88.
331.. Bacon DR: The promise of one great anesthesia society. Anesthesiology 1994; 80:929-935.
332.. Gaba DM, Howard SK: Patient safety: Fatigue among clinicians and the safety of patients. N Engl J
Med 2002; 347:1249-1255.
333.. Cooper JB, Gaba D: No myth: Anesthesia is a model for addressing patient safety. Anesthesiology 2002; 97:13351337.
334.. Laennec RT: De l'auscultation mediate. Paris, JA Brosson & JS Chaude, 1819.
335.. Smith C: An endo-esophageal stethoscope. Anesthesiology 1954; 15:566.
336.. Beecher HK: The first anesthesia records. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1940; 71:789.
337.. Eichhorn JH, Cooper JB, Cullen DJ, et al: Standards for patient monitoring during anesthesia at Harvard Medical
School. JAMA 1986; 256:1017-1020.
338.. Denborough M, Lovell R: Anaesthetic deaths in a family. Lancet 1960; 2:45.
339.. Sessler DI: Mild perioperative hypothermia. N Engl J Med 1997; 336:1730-1737.
340.. Kurz A, Sessler DI, Lenhardt R: Perioperative normothermia to reduce the incidence of surgical-wound infection
and shorten hospitalization. Study of Wound Infection and Temperature Group. N Engl J Med 1996; 334:1209-1215.
341.. Orkin F: What do patients want? Preferences for immediate postoperative recovery. Anesth Analg 1992; 74:S225.
342.. Watcha M, White P: Postoperative nausea and vomitingits etiology, treatment, and prevention.
343.. Watcha M, Smith I: Cost-effectiveness analysis of antiemetic therapy for ambulatory surgery. J Clin
Anesth 1994; 6:370-377.
344.. Smith SM, Brown HO, Toman JEP, et al: The lack of cerebral effects of d-tubocurarine. Anesthesiology 1947; 8:114.
345.. Blacher R: On awakening paralyzed during surgery. A syndrome of traumatic neurosis. JAMA 1975; 234:67-68.
346.. Tunstall ME: Detecting wakefulness during general anaesthesia for caesarean section. BMJ 1977; 1:1321.
347.. Berger J: ber das Elektroenkephalogramm des Menschen. Arch Psychiatr Nervenkr 1929; 87:527-570.
348.. Falconer AJ, Pender JW, Bickford RG: The influence of partial pressure of nitrous oxide on the depth of anesthesia
and the electro-encephalogram in man. Anesthesiology 1949; 10:601-609.
349.. Glass P, Bloom M, Kearse L, et al: Bispectral analysis measures sedation and memory effects of propofol,
midazolam, isoflurane, and alfentanil in healthy volunteers. Anesthesiology 1997; 86:836-847.
350.. Richet C: De l'anaphysaxie en general et de l'anaphysoxie par la mytilocongestine en particulier. Ann Inst
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351.. Dragstedt C, Gebauer-Fuelnegg E: Studies in anaphylaxis. Am J Physiol 1932; 102:512-526.
352.. Priestley J: Observations on different kinds of air. Philos Trans R Soc Lond 1772; 62:147-264.
353.. Guedel A: Ethyl Chloride-Chloroform-Ether Anesthesia for Rapid Induction and Minor Surgery in War.
In: McMechan FH, ed. Year Book of Anesthesia and Analgesia, New York: Surgery Publishing Co; 1917-1918.
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2 Scope of Modern Anesthetic Practice

William L. Young,
Jeanine P. Wiener-Kronish,
Lee A. Fleisher
Key Points
1.
With the increase in the elderly population, more of the surgeries performed will be procedures required by
elderly patients.
2.
Minimally invasive procedures are increasing; anesthesiologists will be performing more anesthetic procedures
outside operating rooms. Anesthesia may be the major risk to patients as the surgical procedures become more
minimal.
3.
The mandates for quality, competency, and uniform process will change the way anesthesia is delivered. More
standardization and protocols will be used; this will allow more evaluation and research as to what optimal
anesthesia is and what competent anesthesiologists are required to do.
4.
The increase in nurses with degrees will change the number of anesthetics delivered by physicians. Team
management and relationships between physicians and nurses will become more crucial, and the demand for
skills in personnel management will increase.
5.
Not enough research is being done by anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologists will need to engage in research to
maintain an academic foothold. Opportunities for multidisciplinary research are increasing, and they need to be
embraced to increase the number of research-trained anesthesiologists.
Forces That Will Change Anesthetic Practice
Multiple changes are occurring that will affect the role of the anesthesiologist in the United States and perhaps globally.
The population of industrialized nations is aging so that many more operations are performed on elderly patients; this
dictates which operations are being performed. The cost of medical care is increasing globally, and perhaps most rapidly
in the United States. The increased cost will lead to more scrutiny regarding the need for operations, increased focus on
quality and use of care that has documentation by research, changes in Medicare reimbursement, changes in the ability of
patients to pay, and a demand for the use of less costly health care providers whenever possible. Technologic advances
are leading to less invasive procedures that can be done on patients who heretofore would be denied routine surgical
procedures. The mandates for quality metrics and evaluation of processes will change the way we practice medicine.
Changes in personnel also will affect the workforce in practices. We can only speculate as to what the practice of
anesthesia will be like in the next 10 years, but these forces will likely have a major effect ( Fig. 2-1 ).
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Figure 2-1 Changing scope and settings of anesthesia and perioperative medicine. A, The Cure of Folly, by Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516), depicting the removal of
stones in the head, thought to be a cure for madness. B, Friedrich Esmarch amputating with the use of anesthesia and with antisepsis. Woodcut from Esmarch's Handbuch
der Kriegschirurgischen Technik (1877). C, Harvey Cushing performing an operation, with the Harvey Cushing Society observing, 1932. D and E, Placement of deep brain
stimulator for the treatment of Parkinson's disease using a real-time magnetic resonance imaging technology (MR fluoroscopy). The procedure takes place in the MR suite
of the radiology department. The patient is anesthetized (D) and moved into the bore of the magnet (E). F and G, A sterile field is created for intracranial instrumentation
(F), and placement of electrodes is done using real-time guidance (G). (A, Courtesy of Museo del Prado, Madrid; B, courtesy of Jeremy Norman & Co, Inc; C, photograph
by Richard Upjohn Light [Boston Medical Library]; D-G, courtesy of Paul Larson, MD, UCSF/SF Veterans Administration Medical Center.)
Aging of Society
With the aging of the population and improvements in anesthetic and surgical methods, the fraction of the elderly
population undergoing surgical procedures is increasing in the United States (see Chapter 71 ). Use of surgical services in
older patients is not unexpectedly higher than in younger patients. In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
report of inpatient hospitalizations for 2005, there were 45 million procedures performed on inpatients with a similar
number of outpatient procedures. From 1995 through 2004, the rate of hip replacements for patients 65 years old and
older increased 38%, and the rate of knee replacements increased 70%. There seems to be a direct correlation between
age and use of surgical services. [1]
Changes in Location of Care Delivery
Because of the high costs to the insurance industry, the pressure to move less invasive surgical procedures to locations
remote from the hospital setting will continue, frequently motivated by changes in reimbursement. [2] Providing
anesthesia in ambulatory surgical settings and offices has increased dramatically over the last several decades (see
Chapter 78 ). As procedures become less invasive than those currently performed in the operating room, they will be
performed in procedure units. It will be important to determine the need for anesthesiologists to provide traditional
anesthesia and moderate to deep levels of conscious sedation in these settings. Postoperative care has been shifted from
the medical setting to the families, which may present difficulties in elderly patients. Anesthesiologists must be involved
in determining which patients are appropriate candidates to have different procedures in these different locations of care,
and the level of monitoring needed to perform these procedures safely. [3]
Cost of Medical Care
As the cost of health care in the United States approaches 15% of the gross national product, there has been increased
interest in determining the factors that are increasing the costs, attempting to find methods to decrease the cost, and
obtaining more valuable health care for the money spent. The primary driver of cost in the United States apparently is
technical progress, as health care costs are increasing throughout the world, regardless of the insurance system. [4] [5] [6]
The increase in elderly patients and patients with chronic disease in the population also is increasing health care costs. [7]
The increase in cost has led to a movement to get more value for the money spent. Pay-for-performance programs have
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been created (i.e., rewarding medical care that is consistent with published evidence and not paying for care that is
inconsistent with evidence). [8] [9] [10] The concept and reality of pay-for-performance programs has now moved to other
countries, including the United Kingdom. [11]
In the nonsurgical arena, the concept of pay-for-performance has been studied for several years. [12] [13] In addition to
paying for performance, in the United States, there is increasing emphasis on not paying for never events, such as
decubitus ulcers or urinary tract infections, unless they are present on admission to the hospital. Because of the role of
anesthesiologists in the entire continuum of perioperative care, including postoperative intensive care and pain
management, we have an opportunity to influence many of the practices that can be associated with poor outcomes and
increased cost, but that traditionally have not been considered under our domain of care.
Appropriate and timely administration of antibiotics has a significant impact on surgical site infection, but before the
initiation of the Surgical Care Improvement Project, many anesthesiologists were arguing that control of antibiotics was
not within their domain (see Chapter 5 ). [14] Anesthesiologists tend to focus on intraoperative cardiac arrests and other
short-term outcomes, such as postoperative nausea and vomiting (see Chapters 33 and 86 [Chapter 33] [Chapter 86] ).
Anesthesiologists will need to rethink this approach for other never conditions, such as urinary tract infections because
they help determine the need for Foley catheters. Anesthesiologists and intensivists also can have a significant impact on
the rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Some of these proposed measures, particularly the use of ventilatorassociated pneumonia as a quality measure, have become quite controversial, however. [15] Pain is considered the fifth
vital sign, and the management of postoperative pain is another area in which anesthesiologists can have a significant
impact with respect to cost and potential interaction with other members of the hospital team.
Process Assessment and Quality Metrics
Anesthesiology was among the first professions to focus on reducing the risk of complications, and anesthesiologists
were among the first groups to develop evidence-based guidelines and standards, as shown by the American Society of
Anesthesiologists standards and practice parameters (see Chapter 5 ). [16] It will be important to continue to be involved
in multidisciplinary approaches to surgical care. Examples where anesthesiologists were initially less involved include the
Society of Thoracic Surgeons database and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project. [17] [18] More recently,
anesthesiologists have become involved in both groups, and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists have begun
discussions with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Anesthesiologists have been involved from an early stage in quality
initiatives with the Institute of Healthcare Improvement and the Surgical Care Improvement Project. [19]
Other quality measures that will have an impact on anesthesiologists include the new demand for metrics of competency,
to be measured on a focused and an ongoing basis. Defining competency will demand that anesthesiologists adhere to
more protocols, and that the concept of safe anesthesia be standardized. Rather than stifling medical innovation,
standardization should be viewed as a mechanism for evaluating process and outcomes because comparisons cannot be
made without standardization. Anesthesiologists will need to engage in creating quality and competency metrics, or these
instruments will be created by others. This is an opportunity to formulate meaningful metrics that can be used in training
physicians. Metrics also will be sought for nurse anesthetists and other health care professionals.
Changing processes has become a cottage industry in medical care, with courses being offered on how to change
behaviors and processes in medical care. These mandates offer the opportunity for more research as to whether changing
processes leads to improved patient outcomes. These mandates also allow anesthesiologists to assume a leadership role in
team management. For anesthesiologists to accomplish this role, new skills need to be taught, including leadership
training, improved communication skills, and improved relationship training.
One advantage that anesthesiologists have is a long tradition and training in system approaches to care. These date back
to the original checklists for the anesthesia machine. It is crucial that this skill set be disseminated beyond the
intraoperative setting. Many ambulatory surgery centers are directed by anesthesiologists.
Changes in Personnel
There are approximately 250,000 active physicians, one third of whom are older than 55 years old and likely to retire by
2020. [20] Although in the 1960s enrollment in U.S. medical schools doubled, during the years 1980 through 2005, the
enrollment has been flat. There has been zero growth in U.S. medical school graduates. In this same interval, the U.S.
population grew by more than 70 million, creating a discrepancy between the supply of medical school graduates and the
demand for physician-associated care.
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There also has been a significant increase in the number of women in medical schools, so that about 50% of medical
students are now women. [21] Women tend not to work as many hours as their male counterparts, even when part-time
status is taken into consideration. [22] Also, today's younger physicians choose to work fewer hours than their older
counterparts, regardless of gender. [20] [23]
There has been a steady use of international medical graduates; 60,000 international medical graduates are used as
residents and constitute 25% of all residents in training. [24] There also has been an increase in the number of osteopath
schools and schools offering advanced degrees in nursing, including training of nurses to become nurse anesthetists. [20]
Given the increase in demand for medical care resulting from the increase in the geriatric population, this need will most
likely be met by a combination of physicians and nonphysician personnel.
Research
In terms of creative new investigations, most benchmarks suggest that the specialty of anesthesiology fares poorly
compared with other disciplines, especially clinical disciplines. Using data gleaned from publicly available National
Institutes of Health (NIH) sources, Reves [25] produced a troubling figure showing that anesthesiology ranked second to
the last for many medical disciplines. The exact position on any such figure would undoubtedly change from year to year.
The fact that U.S. anesthesiology inhabits the lowest quartile is of concern, however, because the external forces on the
practice components are generally applicable to all specialties.
NIH is not the only source of funding that may influence the specialty of anesthesiology; it is not even the largest portion
of total research funding in the United States ( Fig. 2-2 ). [26] For all sources, there has been a doubling over the last
decade in research expenditures for health and biomedical science research, although compared with biologically based
disciplines, health services research is considerably less well funded. In anesthesiology journals, the fraction of non-U.S.,
original peer-reviewed articles has increased dramatically. This increase does not seem to be attributable directly to
research support. Adjusted per capita, research support in Europe is only 10% of that in the United States, even though
the proportion of scientists in the population is similar. [27]
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Figure 2-2 Research expenditures in the United States, 1994 to 2003, by funding source (see text).
There is no a priori reason why anesthesiology should differ from any other medical specialty in terms of research output.
In our opinion, it should excel. One might argue that practitioners at academic institutions might be better compared in
terms of surgical versus medical specialties, but even in that comparison we fare poorly. One line of remedy is to develop
clinician-scientist training programs further, such as the NIH T-32 model. This approach is limited, however, by the fact
that selection of individuals entering the specialty has already occurred.
One of the most exciting and promising developments in this regard has been the initiative by several programs in the
United States to construct a special residency track that allows training for scientific independence to occur roughly in
parallel with clinical residency training over the course of a 4-year track after internship. Such an approach recognizes
that, to change the culture of the specialty, we must build from the ground up. Not all physicians who enter
anesthesiology training go on to participate in the research/academic sector. Similar to other highly visible specialties,
however, a sufficiently large cadre will be available to replenish those who leave active practice and further build up
intellectual capital for future generations.
One of the challenges in training is the inherent and increasingly diverse nature of the disciplines involved in any onesubject area. The term interdisciplinary research has become a tautology. Practically all new frontiers lie at the
boundaries of established departmental or specialty divisions, which are largely a historical relic of 19th century or early
20th century conceptualizations. A look at any large institution's roster of academic divisions yields a growing number of
centers, programs, and institutes, reflecting the ever-increasing interdependency of branches in biomedical
knowledge. [28] [29] In basic science departments, with conjugate names such as Physiology and Cellular Biophysics,
Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, it is
becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate one faculty research program from another, solely on the basis of the
topics and methods of study. Although this differentiation is clearly less complicated for domains that do not involve
patient care, the trend is evident. One might cite the example of endovascular surgery as an example in the collision of
science, technology, and historical boundaries of medical specialties. [30]
Medical research is at one level original creative work that involves systemic investigation of medical phenomena with
the direct or indirect consequence of improving health care. Activity that might be subsumed under medical research is
scholarly synthesis of available data to generate new insights into phenomena. Scholarship that involves this synthesis is
perhaps underappreciated and underemphasized. The most common type of publication in this category is the review
article. Although often review articles are written by the individuals performing the original research, this is neither a
necessary nor a sufficient precondition for a meaningful review. Especially for clinically oriented reviews, a broad
perspective on a particular clinical practice may not only be sufficient, but also desirable.
Ramachandran [31] quotes Medwar: An imaginative conception of what might be true is the starting point of all great
discoveries in science. Ramachandran says that if he would show the reader a talking pig, it is unlikely that he or she
would respond: Ah, but that's just one pig. Show me a few more, and then I might believe you! In this regard, an
unintended consequence of moving toward quantitative indices for impact of biomedical journals has led to the demise of
the case report. The case report is just such a Medwarian imaginative conception of what might be true. It is also an
ideal setting in which to perform a synthesis of available knowledge on a particular topic. Well-written and timely case
reports can add significantly to the medical literature and provide an early warning function before laborious efforts are
undertaken to conduct larger scale efforts to characterize a particular complication or phenomenon. Finally, case reports
are entry-level scholarly activities that students, residents, and junior faculty can use as a stairstep to more complex
modes of writing.
An area of potentially increasing contribution of anesthesia and perioperative care is in the realization of clinical trials for
efficacy of surgical therapy. It is not unreasonable to assume that reimbursement for delivery of clinical care in the future
may be increasingly tied to participation in some form of organized assessment of efficacy, such as a randomized
controlled trial (e.g., the case of lung reduction surgery). [32] Such considerations are especially pertinent for procedures
that are highly reimbursed, but controversial in terms of efficacy, as in the case of minimally symptomatic
cerebrovascular diseases. [30] [33] Perverse incentives can drive clinical practice and influence expert opinion. In addition
to insights into the delivery of perioperative medical care, anesthesiologists can help provide an honest broker function
in such settings.
In the clinical and policy research domain, anesthesiologists have an opportunity to study all aspects of surgical care. By
joining or leading multidisciplinary teams, they can ask questions relevant to the patient undergoing surgery and not just
undergoing anesthesia. Anesthesiologists must take leading roles in helping to define best surgical practice.
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Why is it important that anesthesiology maintain the strongest possible profile in research and scholarly contributions to
medical knowledge? Besides the intuitive sense that medical specialties must strive for advancing their domains, there is
a strategic necessity of significant proactive involvement in scholarly and investigative pursuits. In the modern medical
marketplace, physicians are not the only stakeholders in the delivery of health care. Physicians, particularly those in
professorial tracks, traditionally conduct the bulk of investigative research, however. The advent of higher-level, doctoral
degrees in nursing could significantly change this dynamic. The public that we serve, and the various governmental and
institutional bodies that regulate health care delivery, should have a clear vision of our mission and approach.
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policymakers. Acad Med 2006; 81:782-787.
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DC, Association of American Medical Colleges, 2005.
22.. Heiligers PJ, Hingstman L: Career preferences and the work-family balance in medicine: Gender differences among
medical specialists. Soc Sci Med 2000; 50:1235-1246.
23.. Jovic E, Wallace JE, Lemaire J: The generation and gender shifts in medicine: An exploratory survey of internal
medicine physicians. BMC Health Serv Res 2006; 6:55.
24.. Graduate medical education. JAMA 2005; 294:1129-1143.
25.. Reves JG: We are what we make: Transforming research in anesthesiology. Anesthesiology 2007; 106:826-835.
26.. Moses 3rd H, Dorsey ER, Matheson DH, et al: Financial anatomy of biomedical research. JAMA 2005; 294:13331342.
27.. Philipson L: Medical research activities, funding, and creativity in Europe: Comparison with research in the United
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3 The International Scope and Practice of Anesthesia

Ronald D. Miller,
Andrew Schwartz
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Outline
The Early History of International Anesthesia

India (Deepak K. Tempe)
The Middle East (Anis Baraka and Fouad Salim Haddad)
Russia (Olga Afonin)
The Cross-Pollination Period: 1920-1980
South America (Guillermo Lema)
China (Yuguang Huang)
Southeast Asia (Florian R. Nuevo)
Europe (Lars I. Eriksson and Peter Simpson)
Uganda/Sub-Sharan Africa (D.G. Bogod)
Japan (Akiyoshi Namiki and Michiaki Yamakage)
The Modern Period: Essentials of Modern Anesthesia around the World
Roles and Responsibilities of Anesthesia Providers
Facilities and Equipment
Education, Accreditation, and Availability of Practitioners
Subspecialization
Professional and Research Activity
Conclusion
At a recent international anesthesia conference, an American anesthesiologist spoke about the value of using modern
electronic monitoring devices in the operating room. Believing that they are essential for improved patient safety, the
presenter expressed a hope that hospitals worldwide would adopt and use these devices. During the question and answer
session, however, a physician from another countryone whose hospitals have considerably fewer resources than those
in the United Statesstood to express his frustration with this argument. In his country, he believed, there were other
priorities and the sheer cost of monitoring equipment prohibited its widespread adoption. Another physician, also from a
country whose hospitals do not have a wealth of resources, disagreed; by understanding what monitoring devices were
available, he would pick the most effective monitoring device or devices in accordance with the resources available. A
spirited exchange followed. Of course, there is no one right way for hospitals to spend their limited resources. There was,
however, enormous value in this exchange among physicians from different countries with different cultures, different
resources, and different perspectives. It is through these discussions that the profession can create fully informed baseline
standards that foster greater levels of patient safety and improved outcomes worldwide.
Such discussions, which occur with increasing frequency, also inspired this chapter on the global scope and practice of
anesthesia. Throughout his career, this book's editor, Ronald D. Miller, has had the privilege and pleasure of speaking and
working with leading anesthesiologists from all over the world. His work and discussions with international colleagues
spurred a desire to recognize and honor the growth and practice of anesthesia outside North America. He wanted to
describe the different ways that anesthesia began from place to place and to follow the regions through time so that we
can better understand how the various regions influence each other today.
This chapter is the first step in realizing his hope. Work on this chapter began in earnest when he invited a number of
colleagues whom he had met over the yearsprominent anesthesiologists in their parts of the world and beyondto
contribute a short summary describing the growth and practice of anesthesia in their country or region. When the
contributions arrived, they proved to be a fascinating read: creative, informative, and inspirational. Yet for all their rich
content, they also posed an editorial challenge in that the unique cultures, politics, economics, and developments in
various regions prompted the contributors to emphasize different ideas, discoveries, or time periods. These differences in
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emphasis and coverage reflect the freedom that the contributors were given to describe their country or region. In the
future we hope to expand on this topic by covering other areas of practice and including world regions not featured in this
chapter.
It was in the face of this challenge that Dr. Schwartz was asked to integrate the short individual contributions into a single
chapter without compromising their integrity. Dr. Miller and Dr. Schwartz chose to create a chronologic narrative that
progresses through three distinct time periods. Each period is broken up by region; each regional narrative draws directly
from the work of the international contributors. Our intent was to always acknowledge and document the sources and
wherever possible maintain each contributor's individual voice, and we hope that we have achieved that goal.
Dr. Miller is deeply grateful to all the colleagues who contributed to this chapter, for their insightful writing and the time
that they devoted to their tasks, and regrets that because of time and space constraints not more contributions of this kind
could be included in this edition. He recognizes that the pages you are about to read are only a first step and by no means
a comprehensive look at the development of anesthesia around the world. Future editions will deepen and broaden the
international focus.
The first section of this chapter is a sprint through a vast stretch of history, from ancient times through the early 20th
century. Over these two thousand or so years, with a few notable exceptions, the practice of anesthesia grew
independently by region in response to the need for pain relief during medical procedures.
The second section covers the period from the 1920s through the early 1980s. This was a time when modern
communications and international travel expanded dramatically, leading to increased cross-pollination of anesthesia
techniques. Physicians and researchers began to regularly travel to foreign countries, receive training and education
abroad, and hear others speak at conferences. As international journals grew, knowledge about emerging practices in
anesthesia spread further.
The third section covers the time from the early 1980s through the present. This has been an exciting period because
today nearly all anesthesiologists, no matter where they practice in the world, can gain access to the information
necessary to deliver safe anesthesia at the most basic level. Even though significant differences in resource levels still
remain, some of which undermine the practice of safe anesthesia, at least all anesthesiologists worldwide today know
how to avoid the common complications of anesthesia that can endanger patients lives. This section details the state of
anesthesia in the regions coveredfrom education, accreditation, professional exchanges, and actual practice to available
facilities and equipment.
The chapter concludes by raising questions about what is next in terms of the way various countries and regions practice
anesthesia. How integrated should the practice of anesthesia become? What can we do to raise levels of care worldwide?
Again, there are no simple answers, but it is a future that anesthesiologists face together.
The Early History of International Anesthesia
Before the early 20th century, those interested in analgesia during surgery rarely had the advantage of being able to learn
from what their colleagues around the world were doing. Rather, in response to patient need, physicians from various
regions came to different, but often similar conclusions about how to relieve pain. In many, if not most places, herbs,
opium, and alcohol were the mainstays of pain relief medication.
Regions were not completely isolated, however. As the narratives herein describe, the traditional ways of spreading
culture and information, such as war and trade, enabled at least some sharing of anesthesia techniques. In particular, the
first published account of ether used as an anesthetic in 1846 seems to have been anesthesia's shot heard round the
world.
The history of anesthesia in India dates back to the era of Susruta, the great surgeon of ancient India. During his time,
around 600 BC, operations were performed with the use of opium, wine, and Indian hemp (an herb). Surgical science was
called salya-tantra (salya: broken parts of an arrow and other sharp weapons; tantra: maneuver). [1]
Much later, in 980 AD, Pandit Ballala mentioned in Bhoj Prabandh that Raja (King) Bhoj underwent a cranial operation
under the anesthetic influence of a plant called sammohini. The same plant was applied as healing balm to surgical
wounds. A drug called sanjivan was administered to revive the Raja and help him regain consciousness. [2]
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Nearly 900 years later, after the first widely publicized demonstration of ether anesthesia in the United States in 1846,
India quickly followed suit by administering ether anesthesia on March 22, 1847, in Calcutta under the supervision of a
surgeon named Dr. O'Shaughnessy. [3] Later, chloroform was also used but fell into disrepute because of the high
morbidity associated with it. Despite thisand the fact that the world began to discard chloroform in preference for ether
by 1890India continued to use chloroform until 1928.
Among the several interesting case reports related to anesthetic practice is the emergency appendectomy performed on
Mahatma Gandhi on January 12, 1925, at Sassoon Hospital, Pune. During an electricity failure, the mahatma was
administered open-drop chloroform anesthesia, with the surgery being completed by the light of a kerosene lamp and
battery-operated torch. [4]
With the decline of the Greco-Roman Empire in the fifth century AD, the Middle East witnessed the rise of an
Arab/Islamic civilization that within a hundred years (632-732 AD) expanded over a 3000-mile stretch extending from the
western borders of India, through north Africa and Sicily, to Andalusia on the Atlantic coast of Spain. This civilization
interacted with the ancient Egyptian, Hellenistic, Byzantine, Syrian, Persian, and Indian cultures. Many Arab/Islamic,
Christian, and Jewish scholars translated, refined, and augmented the knowledge contained in these cultures. The new
civilization that evolved lasted for around 1000 years, carried the torch of knowledge in the Middle Ages, and through its
transmission via Spain and Sicily, contributed to the European Renaissance.
In this epoch, some prominent Arab/Islamic, Christian, and Jewish scholars made important contributions in the fields of
medicine, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, and chemistry. A wealth of knowledge was thus inherited by several
succeeding ages. Of special interest, the following scholars made contributions to the field of anesthesia: (1) Al-Rhazi
(865-925 AD), born in Ray, Persia, described the pupillary reaction to light and the laryngeal branch of the recurrent
laryngeal nerve [5] ; (2) Avicenna (980-1037 AD), born near Bukhara, Persia, enumerated agents that alleviate pain:
opium, henbane, and mandrake; in his Canon of Medicine, he advocated oral intubation: When necessary, a cannula of
gold, silver, or another suitable material is advanced down the throat to support inspiration ( Fig. 3-1 ) [6] [7] ; (3) Ibn Al
Nafis (1208-1288 AD), born in Quresh, near Damascus, Syria, criticized in his Sharh Tashrih Al Qanou Galen's theory of
blood movement, which said that blood from the right ventricle passes into the left ventricle through small invisible pores
in the septum ( Fig. 3-2A ); Ibn Al Nafis asserted that there is no direct pathway between the chambers and the thick
septum of the heart is not perforated, and he described the pulmonary circulation as we know it today (see Fig. 3-2B ) [8]
[9] ; and (4) Al-Khawarizmi (died 840 AD), born in Balkh, Persia, who was a famed mathematician; the word algorithm,
a mathematical tool, is attributed to him. Algorithm is defined as a step-by-step problem-solving procedure. [10]
Figure 3-1 A, The Latin version of oral intubation: Et quandoque intromittiture in gutture canula facta de auro aut argento: aut silibus ambobus, adjuvando ad
inspirandu. B, The Arabic version of oral intubation: When necessary, a cannula made of gold, silver, or another suitable material is advanced down the throat to support
inspiration. (From Haddad FS: Ibn Sina [Avicenna] advocated orotracheal intubation 1000 years ago: Documentation of Arabic and Latin originals. Middle East J
Anesthesiol 17:155-162, 2000.)
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Figure 3-2 A, Galen's theory of blood movement. According to Galen, blood reached the periphery through the veins (most of it departing from the liver), as well as
through the arteries (departing from the heart). Little blood went to the lungs from the right ventricle of the heart. He thought that most of the blood passed from the right to
the left ventricle through pores in the intraventricular septum. B, Photographic reproduction of the original manuscript of Ibn al-Nafis denying the presence of
intraventricular pores and describing the pulmonary circulation as we know it today.
THE USE OF SPONGIA SOMNIFERA.
In the Middle Ages, the concept of inhalation to induce sedation before surgery with use of the sleeping sponge, or
spongia somnifera, is attributed to Arab origins. [11] [12] With the Arab conquest of Sicily in the ninth century and the
Latin translations of Arabic medical books that followed, Arabic medicine, including the soporific sponge, took hold in
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southern Italy (Salerno, Monte Cassino). From there it spread to other parts of Europe and was used in the Middle Ages.
[12] A probability also exists that it was carried from the Andalus of Spain by Michael Scot, who in the 13th century
transmitted scientific culture from Toledo to Bologna via the Court of Frederick II Hohenstaufen in Sicily. [13] [14]
After the Middle Ages, major political events in the 19th century affected the development of medicine throughout the
countries of the Middle East. First, with Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798, the medical awakening of Middle Eastern
countries to western medicine can be said to have started. To win the cooperation of the Egyptian people, Napoleon
brought with him men of all specialties. [15] After Napoleon's departure from Egypt and the assumption of power by
Mohammad Ali in 1805, efforts to propagate knowledge and education continued. Mohammad Ali brought doctors from
Europe and France to take care of the health of his army. Of those, the most remarkable was Dr. Antoine Berthelemy Clot
(later Clot Bey) (1793-1868), who was brought to Egypt in 1825. In 1835 Bey established a medical school in Kasr Al
Aini Hospital in Cairo, the only Arab medical school in the Middle East at the time. [15]
The developing renovation of Egypt then influenced other regions of the Middle East, either through students flocking to
study medicine in Kasr Al Aini Hospital or through the influence of the Egyptian military campaign (Ibrahim Pasha, son
of Mohammad Ali) against the then known Syria (1831-1840). Graduates from the medical school in Cairo practiced in
all big cities of the Middle East: Beirut, Damascus, Allepo, Jerusalem, Safad, Nablus, Haifa, and Nazareth. It is assumed
that the analgesia practiced in major cities of the Middle East was the same technique used in Cairo. Relief of surgical
pain in Cairo then consisted of herbal medications and antispasmodics. [15] No kind of inhaled anesthesia was known.
After the invasion of Syria by Ibrahim Pasha from 1831 to 1840, the Egyptians, with the influence of Western
missionaries, built two military hospitalsone in Allepo and one in Damascusand established free medical clinics. [15]
[16] The presence of Clot Bey in the campaign was instrumental in sending the first five Lebanese students to study
medicine at Kasr Al Aini Hospital. [15]
Finally, after massacres in 1860, western powers (American, French, and British) intervened in Lebanon, and with the
inflow of missionaries, more medical schools and hospitals were established. In 1866, the Americans founded the Syrian
Protestant College, which in 1920 became the American University of Beirut. In 1883, the French founded their medical
school (Facult Franaise de Mdecine). [15]
INTRODUCTION OF MODERN ANESTHESIA TO THE MIDDLE EAST.
In 1846, the first published account of the use of ether anesthesia for a surgical operation appeared, and the innovation
spread rapidly, [17] [18] including to London in December 1846 and Paris in January 1847. Twenty-seven years later, in
1873, it arrived in Beirut [15] with the help of an American surgeon, Dr. George Post.
In 1863, Dr. Post had arrived in Lebanon to assist in missionary work. In 1867, he and others established the medical
school of the then Syrian Protestant College, and in 1873, Dr. Post wrote a book on surgery in the Arabic language,
which included a chapter on general anesthesia, the first of its kind in the Middle East. It was in this book that for the first
time mention was made of administering chloroform to reduce a dislocated shoulder of a patient, which was performed at
the Syrian Protestant College's Johanniter Hospital in Beirut. To describe this action, Dr. Post coined the word kulfera,
an Arabization of the word chloroform. Dr. Post rightly deserves the title of the First Pioneer of Modern Anesthesia in
Lebanon and the Middle East. [15]
Graduates of the Syrian Protestant College in Lebanon and other graduates of medical schools in the Middle East
probably administered open-drop ether or chloroform along with local and spinal anesthesia through the rest of the 19th
century and middle of the 20th century. Physicians, students, nurses, nuns, and technicians were most likely also
involved.
Russia (Olga N. Afonin)
The history of Russian medicine has its roots in the history of medieval European medicine. Right through the 18th and
19th centuries, much of the information about anesthetic techniquesapplying snow 15 minutes before surgical
procedures and analgesics for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and wound healing, as well as the use of bellows
for lung ventilationcame from various leaders in European medicine. In addition, like their colleagues in the Middle
East and India, Russian physicians of course heard of the use of ether on October 16, 1846; that day is still a professional
holiday for anesthesiologists in Russia. A brief 4 months later, Dr. F. I. Inozemtzev of Moscow became the first in Russia
to use ether for anesthesia during surgery.
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Around the same time, the art of local anesthesia was developing rapidly after the publication of an article by the Russian
doctor Vassili von Anrep. He described the effects of cocaine as a topical and subcutaneous local anesthetic in 1879.
Isolated by the German chemist Friedrich Gaedcke in 1855 and purified by University of Gottingen student Albert
Niemann in 1859, cocaine was first given to a patient in 1884. It was the only local anesthetic until 1904, when procaine
was synthesized.
von Anrep's ideas of local anesthesia were very popular. Famous physicians of Europe and Russia (Shleich, Lukashevich,
Vishnevskiy, Bier) were developing the knowledge of local anesthesia, which gave rise to new methods of preventing
pain: local field anesthesia, local infiltration anesthesia, nerve blocks, plexus anesthesia, intravenous anesthesia, and
neuraxial anesthesia.
In general anesthesia, the Russian physician Nikolay Pirogov (1810-1881) was a prominent physician and surgeon, well
known in Europe. He was the first to describe the negative effects of general anesthesia and the possibility of severe
complications. He postulated the necessity of acquiring detailed knowledge of the physiologic and clinical effects of
anesthetics and requiring a separate course on anesthesia during medical education. He also described many of the
modern methods of anesthesia, including inhaled endotracheal anesthesia, intravenous anesthetics, rectal use of
anesthetics, and spinal anesthesia. This had a huge impact on the analgesia provided to wounded soldiers in terms of
increasing surgical success and rates of survival.
In 1904, the Russian physicians S. P. Feodorov and N. P. Kravkov described and demonstrated total intravascular
anesthesia with the intravenous anesthetic Gedonal. They were also the first to use combined narcosis through induction
with Gedonal and maintenance with inhaled chloroform.
Another area in which Russian physicians made advances was in the field of blood transfusions. In 1901, Karl
Landsteiner reported his discovery of the possible existence of blood types. In 1909 he expanded his initial discovery by
establishing the A, B, AB, and O blood types. He demonstrated that transfusions between individuals with the same blood
group do not result in the destruction of new blood cells and that this catastrophe occurs only when a person is transfused
with the blood of a person belonging to a different group. In 1930, Landsteiner received the Nobel Prize for his work. In
1907, Russian physician Yanskiy had described four blood types and created the basics of blood transfusion. His work,
however, went unnoticed.
Just a few short years later, World War I began, followed by the October Revolution in 1917, which destroyed the
monarchy in Russia. Civil war, general poverty, and empowerment of the Communist Party in the early 1920s led to
dramatic changes in Russia's political philosophy, economics, and technical and scientific progress, all of which affected
the development of medicine. With Joseph Stalin coming to power in the 1920s, communication with other countries in
Europe was terminated, exchange of information stopped, and Russian physicians had to continue treating their patients
while developing the art of medicine separate from the knowledge and advances in the rest of the world. On the other
hand, advances in Russian medicine were not known to the world and, frequently, had to be reinvented.
The Cross-Pollination Period: Approximately 1920-1980
In the late 1970s, the editor took a sabbatical in Holland, during which time he lectured at a local university hospital. Also
there at the time was a young anesthesiologist from Ecuador. Over time, the two physicians became friends as they shared
ideas about the practice of anesthesiology and its future. This rich exchange about their profession continues to this day.
This was the beginning of the editor's understanding of the interesting and varied approaches in different parts of the
world to achieve the status of anesthesiology as it now stands.
Their cross-cultural exchange, however, is no aberration. Over the approximately 60 years from the end of World War I
through the early 1980s, anesthesiologists from around the world began to meet in a variety of forums facilitated by the
advent of air travel and modern communications.
Physicians received training and education abroad. Lecturers from diverse nations spoke frequently outside their home
country and brought in new ideas and techniques. Academic and research journals proliferated, as did international
congresses and access to textbooks, thereby laying the groundwork for a common understanding about how to practice
anesthesia.
Up to about 30 years ago, anesthetic equipment in Indian operating rooms often consisted solely of a simple anesthesia
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machine, a suction unit, and perhaps an electrocardiographic monitor. Even the oxygen supply was mainly via cylinders,
with very few hospitals having a centralized medical gas supply. The first medical pipeline system was installed in
Vellore in 1954.
Today it is widely accepted that postoperative care is crucial for the success of surgery, but in previous days, many
patients were sent back to the ward directly after surgery and only a few would go to the recovery room. In recognition of
the fact that surgical patients often need to be observed in a specialized area, India commissioned its first intensive care
unit (ICU) in 1963 in an Army hospital in Delhi. Interestingly, that was the same year that an ICU was first established by
an anesthesiologist at the University of California, San Francisco.
During this stretch of the 20th century, Indian anesthesiologists also recognized the need for professional societies. The
idea of an Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (ISA) was conceived in 1946; the group was established in 1947. The first
ISA meeting was held in 1949 during a surgeons conference in Mumbai, and the first independent ISA conference was
held in Hyderabad in 1965. Professors Macintosh and Gray were the distinguished guests during the conference. The ISA
published its first official journal in July 1953 and joined the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists (WFSA)
in 1956. The group has grown from 19 members when it began to nearly 12,000 members in 2007.
At the end of World War I, the Middle East was divided by Western powers into small countries that were placed under
British and French mandate. The major pattern in the practice of anesthesia was complete dependence on foreign
surgeons, who could administer anesthetics, as well as on local and foreign nurses or nonanesthesiologists and
technicians, who administered ether or chloroform. This period also witnessed the foundation of faculties of medicine in
some countries of the Middle East (Syria, Sudan, and Iraq). [16]
By the end of World War II, the beginning of oil production contributed to an improving economy, which meant more
funds available for anesthesia machines, endotracheal tubes, and thiopental, all of which began to appear in many
countries of the Middle East. An influx of newly trained surgeons increased the demand for qualified anesthesiologists,
thus prompting anesthesia residencies. In addition, in response to a manpower shortage in many countries of the Middle
East, nurse and technician training began as well, although this was gradually phased out as locally and internationally
trained and certified anesthesiologists began arriving in many countries of the Middle East.
During the second half of the 20th century, all countries of the Middle East were striving to attain state-of-the-art
anesthesia. The World Health Organization (WHO) played a great role in encouraging and sponsoring graduate
physicians for training in anesthesia at the World Anesthesiology Training Center in Copenhagen.
RAISING THE PROFESSIONAL PROFILE OF ANESTHESIA.
As in many other places in the world, the status of anesthesia in the Middle East depends partly on the establishment of
fully independent departments of anesthesia that have their own structure, staff, residency training, research, and
certification by international academic institutions and that offer fellowships in cardiovascular, obstetric, and pediatric
anesthesia, as well as pain management. To that end, certain landmark strides were taken during this period.
In 1966, the Middle East Journal of Anesthesiology (ISSN 0544-0440) was founded; it continues to thrive to this day. Its
main objectives are to act as a forum for education and exchange of opinions and to promote research and publication of
Middle Eastern medicine and anesthesia. The journal is accepted for inclusion in the Index Medicus and MEDLARS
system.
In addition, in the 1960s and 1970s, many Middle Eastern countries founded their own national societies of anesthesia,
which promoted the practice and image of the specialty. In 1990, The Pan Arab Society of Anesthesia and Intensive Care
was founded and became a member of the WFSA. Every 2 years, the Pan Arab Society holds The Pan Arab Congress of
Anesthesia and Intensive Care in one of the member countries.
Russia (Olga N. Afonin)
In the midst of the economic difficulties and political upheaval after the Russian civil war, medical services underwent
dramatic reorganization and expansion, and some positive developments ensued. Campaigns were carried out against
diseases and poor hygiene. Thousands of unpaid men and women underwent short courses in nursing. They went all over
the country to educate people and treat deadly diseases, often risking their own lives. This remarkable effort was
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rewarded in just a few years. The epidemics were stopped, and control of many diseases was established. This experience
emphasized the importance of preventive measures, including vaccinations, and Soviet physicians began working on
preventive medicine.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, Dr. Yurevich was first in the world to begin using citrate for blood conservation. His colleague
Dr. Shamov was first to use cadaveric blood for transfusion in 1928, thus giving birth to a new field of medicine
transplantation.
The very first Institute of Blood Transfusion, a scientific center for study and development of the science of blood and
blood component use and storage, was formed in 1926 in Moscow by Professor A. A. Bogdanov. Physicians of the
institute developed and published the first systematic approach to the treatment of shock, including traumatic,
hypovolemic, and burn related. Another dramatically important innovation of Russian physicians was the introduction
of methods of diagnosis and treatment of electrolyte and acid-base imbalances with complex salt solutions, blood
substitutes, and total parenteral nutrition solutions.
In 1924, the Russians S. S. Bryuchonenko and S. I. Chechulin constructed and used the very first artificial heart machine
in the world, the parent of what is now known to us as a cardiopulmonary bypass machine. Surgical procedures were
becoming more complex and required more advanced methods of exposure of the abdominal and thoracic organs. The
bellows of Dr. Henry Hickman was transformed into many different machines to provide artificial ventilation, including
the famous iron lung of Harvard, used first in Boston in 1928.
In 1939, N. L. Gurevich and G. S. Yunev developed the physiologic basis and methods of indirect heart massage and
electrical defibrillation. These methods were used successfully on patients requiring complicated cardiothoracic surgeries
in Russia.
As all these developments grew into complex surgical procedures and as the use of neuromuscular blocking drugs spread,
it became necessary in Russia to develop a new kind of subspecialty in medicine: anesthesiology. This would require
extensive and detailed knowledge of many disciplines, including physiology, biochemistry, surgery, medicine, neurology,
pharmacology, traditional anesthesia, and critical care.
The first Department of Anesthesiology in Russia branched out of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery (now the
Russian Medical Academy of Physicians Postgraduate Education) in 1959 in Moscow (this is also the same year that the
current Department of Anesthesia was formed at the University of California, San Francisco). The first postgraduate
courses for physicians to become anesthesiologists lasted 4 months. Later, there were additional courses of
anesthesiology that included the basics of intensive care and another couple of months of additional training. The broad
variety of topics covered and the complexity of the potential patient care issues meant that the new specialists needed
more time to properly prepare for their careers. These careers were in demand as newly formed anesthesiology and
intensive care departments required more and more anesthesiologists to teach and take care of patients.
It was in 1969 when the Ministry of Health of the Soviet Union released the Order of improvement of anesthesiologic
and reanimatologic (intensive care) services in the country. That was when anesthesiology finally received the financial
and administrative support required at that time for any significant changes to take place.
The main influences on the South American practice of medicine in general, and anesthesia and surgery in particular,
come from Europe. For many years and particularly during the first 6 decades of the 20th century, many doctors were
trained in different parts of Europe: France, Germany, and Scandinavian countries among others. The European influence
was as strong in medicine as it was in other aspects of daily life.
One example of Europe's influence was South Americans wide use of the Ombredanne ( Fig. 3-3 ). This device, used to
deliver anesthesia, was invented in France in 1908 by the surgeon Dr. Louis Ombrdanne (1871-1956). It is believed that
South America is the only continent where this particular equipment was clinically acceptable and used widely.
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Figure 3-3 The Ombrdanne anesthesia delivery device.
Of course, ether was not the only anesthetic used during this time. Cyclopropane was another, although Chile had a
dramatic experience with this gas that eventually caused it to be banned. In 1963 at the Manuel Arriarn Hospital in
Santiago, a cyclopropane tank exploded in a pediatric operating room. Two small boys and four physicianstwo of them
anesthesiologistsdied. This remains one of the worst anesthesia-related accidents ever to happen in the world. New
standards, including the banning of cyclopropane, were imposed to avoid further accidents.
In the early 20th century, with the introduction of Western medicine into China, modern anesthesia began to be applied in
clinics. At that time, anesthesia was implemented mainly by nurses or surgeons. Only a few Western professional
anesthesiologists, such as Mr. Yueqing Ma from the Peking Union Medical College, could undertake clinical anesthesia
in China.
After the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, some early pioneerssuch as Jue Wu and Xingfang Li
from Shanghai and Rong Xie, Deyan Shang, and Huiying Tan from Beijingreturned from the United States and Europe
to help modern anesthesia take shape in China.
In the 1950s, only simple anesthesia was available in China, such as the ether open-drop method, inhaled tracheal
intubation anesthesia, and single procaine spinal anesthesia. Peripheral nerve block and continuous epidural anesthesia
were introduced gradually.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, intravenous procaine combined anesthesia and continuous epidural anesthesia were the
most common methods in China. When anesthetic drugs and monitoring tools became scarce in the 1960s, Chinese
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anesthesiologists tried to develop acupuncture anesthesia based on the pain-relieving mechanisms of traditional Chinese
acupuncture. In addition, in the 1970s Chinese anesthesiologists investigated the anesthetic effect of Chinese herbal
medicine. However, beginning in the late 1970s, because of the success of reform and the government's opening-up
policy, many new anesthetic drugs and instruments were introduced into China. At that time, acupuncture anesthesia and
herbal anesthesia stepped down from the clinical stage as a result of their unsatisfying anesthetic efficacy and adverse
effects.
RAISING THE PROFESSIONAL PROFILE OF ANESTHESIA.
Chinese anesthesiologists also began raising their profile as early as the 1950s, when they took part in the rescue of
critically ill patients via cardiopulmonary resuscitation. For example, in 1959, Professor Yuanchang Wang from Tianjin
Medical College shared his experience in the Chinese Journal of Surgery by reporting that a woman whose life was in
danger during cesarean section was saved by chest compressions. Partly because of the influence of anesthesiologists,
since the 1970s ICUs and postanesthesia care units (PACUs) have gradually been established in many domestic hospitals.
China has also participated in numerous international conferences and professional groups ( Fig. 3-4 ). The First National
Conference on Anesthesia was held in Nanjing in 1964, during which the development and achievements of Chinese
anesthesiology were systematically reviewed. In 1979, the Chinese Society of Anesthesiology (CSA) was founded during
the Second National Conference on Anesthesiology held in Harbin. Professor Deyan Shang was elected as president of
the first CSA committee. Since then, national CSA conferences have been held every 3 or 4 years.
Figure 3-4 A, Participants of the First National Conference on Anesthesia, Nanjing, 1964. B, Participants of the Second National Conference on Anesthesia, Harbin, 1979,
during which the Chinese Society of Anesthesiology was founded.
During this period there was also a foray into professional publications, most notably Professor Jue Wu, the leader of
Chinese anesthesia, who was the lead editor of Clinical Anesthesiology in 1954 and Practical Anesthesiology in 1976.
Western medicine introduced by the United States also helped promote the development of modern medicine in China. A
good example is Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, which was founded by the Rockefeller Foundation in
1917. Even today, PUMC Hospital is still regarded as an ivory tower of Chinese medicine. Some professors from
PUMC Hospital moved to Taiwan in 1949, and some of them changed their specialization from surgery to anesthesiology
and became the early practitioners of anesthesiology there. They made important contributions to the foundation and
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development of modern anesthesiology in Taiwan.

The Modern Period: The Essentials of Modern Anesthesia Around the World
The last 25 years has been an exciting period for anesthesia, largely because the ability to share clinical and research
experience has made the practice safer and better than it ever has been.
Today, all anesthesiologists, no matter where they practice in the world, can gain access to the information necessary to
deliver safe anesthesia. However, there are still places in the world that do not have access to the equipment or supplies
needed to implement that knowledge. This section details the essentials: the roles and responsibilities, the facilities and
equipment available, the education and accreditation, the professional societies, and the research conducted by
anesthesiologists around the world.
Roles and Responsibilities of Anesthesia Providers
In India, anesthesia can be administered only by a qualified anesthesiologist or by a trainee anesthesiologist under the
supervision of a qualified anesthesiologist. In some states, such as Delhi, a directive from the government has been issued
that states, Anesthesia must be administered by a qualified anesthesiologist, i.e., an anesthesiologist with a postgraduate
qualification and who has been actively working.
The duties and responsibilities of anesthesiologists have been evolving, but they have not yet been clearly defined by the
ISA or health care officials (Ministry of Health). Nevertheless, it is now well recognized that an anesthesiologist's work is
not limited to the operating room (OR). Typically, anesthesiologists in India are involved in the following types of care:
(1) preoperative assessment and preparation of patients; (2) perioperative care of patients; (3) pain relief during the
perioperative period; (4) management of critically ill patients; (5) management of acute, chronic, and cancer-related pain;
(6) management and teaching of resuscitation skills; (7) provision of outpatient anesthesia services; (8) administrative
involvement in setting up and managing health care organizations; (9) disaster management coordinator in the hospital;
and (10) teaching and training of the medical and paramedical staff.
In addition to the duties just listed, both natural and man-made disasters have provided an extra challenge for
anesthesiologists. By virtue of their ability to administer emergency life support measures, as well as their perioperative
management skills, anesthesiologists were at the forefront during the Gujrat earthquake and tsunami disasters and
actively participated in setting up operating theaters on site and providing care to victims. Likewise, during the Mumbai
and Delhi bomb blasts, anesthesiologists played a leading role in carrying out emergency surgery and perioperative
management.
PREOPERATIVE EVALUATION.
Despite preoperative evaluation and preparation of the patient being integral components of safe surgery, there were no
dedicated preoperative anesthesia clinics (PACs) in India until recently. That began to change in the early 1980s, and
today almost all hospitals have a dedicated PAC in which all patients are screened before surgery (including outpatient
day surgery). PACs have become increasingly important because of a growing incidence of cardiovascular and other
systemic diseases in patients undergoing surgery. In PACs anesthesiologists review and optimize the treatment of other
systemic diseases, as well as detect new diseases and health concerns. In addition to improving patient outcomes, PACs
help develop the patient-physician relationship and patient awareness about anesthesia. A few hospitals have started
awareness programs wherein a lecture is delivered (with illustrations) on a monthly basis to patients and their relatives to
make them familiar with the anesthetic techniques and procedures that they will undergo.
OPERATING ROOM.
The OR continues to be the mainstay of anesthetic practice, but because ORs are the major consumers of hospital
resources, as well as a major source of income for private hospitals, it is imperative that ORs be managed in the most
efficient manner. However, there is no consensus on an ideal system to ensure efficiency in this area. The anesthesiologist
is actively involved in trying to improve efficiency, especially with triage and scheduling of urgent and emergency cases.
Safety is another concern. The professional risks (especially those related to needlestick injuries) of anesthesiologists, as
well as other workers in the OR, are well recognized, and preventing such health care hazards has become an important
consideration.
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RECOVERY ROOM AND POSTOPERATIVE INTENSIVE CARE UNITS.
Appropriate postoperative care is crucial for the success of surgery. Today in India, depending on the nature of the
surgery and the patient's condition, the patient is transferred to either a recovery room or an ICU; some version of an ICU
or recovery room exists in almost all major hospitals in India today. The nomenclature of these areas is not uniform,
though, so terms that include postoperative ward, recovery room, high-dependence unit, critical care unit, and PACU are
often used to describe the same facility. At some hospitals, especially those in which major and complex surgery
requiring postoperative ICU management is not performed regularly, there is no demarcation between an ICU and the
recovery room. A single area designated as a recovery room is used for both purposes.
Where there is a distinction, the decision about where a postsurgical patient belongs is governed by the degree of
morbidity. If a patient is very sick and requires ventilation and careful hemodynamic monitoring, the patient is transferred
to an ICU. If mechanical ventilation and continuous hemodynamic monitoring are not required, the patient is transferred
to a recovery room, which is perhaps the equivalent of the PACU. Patients undergoing daycare surgery (if practiced in a
given hospital) are also transferred to the recovery room before discharge.
Most recovery rooms are under the charge of an anesthesiologist; in the case of ICUs, sometimes the anesthesiologist is
in charge and sometimes not. Practice varies from place to place and is generally governed more by the logistics involved
in a particular hospital than by any definite norms.
AMBULATORY CARE AND OTHER AREAS.
Although it is recognized and appreciated that ambulatory care is a distinct possibility in a substantial number of patients,
it is not practiced as much as it should be. It is difficult to provide exact figures in this matter, but in general, it is the
private/corporate hospitals that practice ambulatory care. The number of government hospitals practicing ambulatory care
is relatively small, mainly because of logistic reasons. That is likely to change, however, with the increasing availability
of short-duration anesthetic drugs and modern surgical facilities (tools for minimally invasive surgery). Saving cost to the
patient and the hospital and increasing patient turnover have been the major factors influencing interest in ambulatory
care. The safety issues related to ambulatory care are well recognized, but there are no guidelines or recommendations
from the ISA or any other regulatory body on this matter.
Anesthesia services are also frequently required in several other areas outside the OR. These areas tend to be less familiar
to most anesthesiologists and provide less access to the facilities typically available in an OR. Their proliferation,
however, has increased the demands on our profession. Areas where anesthesia is playing an increasingly prominent role
include radiology suites (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], and interventional radiology), the
cardiac catheterization laboratory, electrophysiologic laboratories, the endoscopy room, and the electroconvulsive therapy
room. In most of these areas patients require sedation, but with some lengthy proceduressuch as MRI,
electrophysiologic studies, and some interventional procedurespatients tend to get restless and may require general
anesthesia. In addition, special considerations such as long breathing circuits or MRI-compatible equipment may be
necessary. The anesthesiologist should be familiar with these requirements to maintain safety standards.
CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE.
In the beginning, the anesthesiologist's focus on critically ill patients was ventilatory care because anesthesiologists are
well versed in cardiorespiratory physiology and ventilatory management. Furthermore, managing a critically ill patient
was considered an extension of the job that anesthesiologists performed in the OR. Therefore, the anesthesiologist
managed patients receiving controlled ventilation via a ventilator and, ultimately, weaned the patient from mechanical
ventilation.
Subsequently, however, it became obvious that respiratory function was only one aspect (albeit a crucial one) of the care
of the critically ill. Anesthesiologists therefore became well informed about cardiovascular support, nutrition, infection,
and various other diagnostic procedures. However, the interest of anesthesiologists in critical care medicine has been
waxing and waning, and other specialists have entered this field. Currently, management of critical care units in India
tends to be split: some are managed by physicians not trained in anesthesia, others by anesthesiologists.
There is widespread agreement that a critical care specialist who is devoted full-time to the care of critically ill patients
should manage a critical care unit. The consensus includes three key items: (1) a dedicated expert irrespective of the
specialty (if not holding a critical care qualification) should be in charge of the critical care unit; (2) each hospital can
follow practices according to the availability of trained or experienced personnel with the primary aim of giving the best
possible care; and (3) care of critically ill patients is always a team-based process, and the practice of taking the advice of
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different experts in managing a particular case is encouraged to achieve better outcomes.

Critical care training has long been part of the anesthesia residency program in India, but in 2001 the National Board of
Examinations initiated a full-fledged 2-year training program in critical care medicine with 6 seats throughout India; the
number has now increased to 25. Anesthesiologists, chest physicians, and general physicians are eligible to seek
admission to this program. Clearly, the number of these specialized intensivists is not sufficient to cater to the critical care
units that have mushroomed all over the country, so some disparities exist in the personnel involved in the management
of critically ill patients.
In summary, critical care medicine has emerged as a new specialty but is still evolving in India. Because the number of
persons having a qualification in the critical care area is not sufficient to fill current needs, anesthesiologists and
physicians with interest in the specialty continue to practice critical care medicine. Out of a total of around 25 training
seats, anesthesiologists account for about half, followed by general physicians (30%) and chest physicians (20%). The
fact that all the seats in this program get filled suggests the growing interest in this specialty area.
PAIN MANAGEMENT.
Interest in managing pain, both acute and chronic, has been growing over the last 2 decades. Nevertheless, the specialty is
in its infancy in India, the number of pain clinics is limited, and there is no formal training program. The focus has largely
been on the treatment of chronic pain, including cancer pain. Most anesthesiology departments perform nerve blocks,
with a few even practicing acupuncture. There are, however, very few departments that have the facilities to conduct
procedures such as radiofrequency ablation, implantation of intrathecal pumps, or spinal cord stimulation. The thrust now
is toward treating pain as a disease, especially in patients suffering from nervous disorders or in terminal cancer patients
where the only possible form of management is alleviation of pain.
There is also growing awareness of the management of acute pain, including the possibility of providing the patient with
a totally pain-free surgical experience. After all, the WHO now recognizes pain as the fifth vital sign, and alleviation of
pain is regarded as a basic human right. Various forms of medicine and equipment (patient-controlled analgesia pumps;
intrathecal, epidural, and intrapleural techniques) can now offer the possibility of a relatively pain-free course of surgical
treatment. Indeed, management of acute pain during the entire perioperative period is a leading concern of all anesthesia
departments and is also actively practiced in recovery rooms or PACUs. However, much needs to be done regarding pain
management in India. The Indian Society for the Study of Pain was formed in the late 1980s and currently has about 3200
members. The society is working toward improving pain management, but it is facing tough challenges, mainly because
of lack of awareness. One looks forward to improving pain relief facilities in the country.
Until the 1980s, Russia's anesthesia educational system was unified and structured into courses for nurse anesthetists and
postgraduate education for physicians that included either a 1-year anesthesiology internship or a 2-year
Orditatura (analogue of residency). All the programs included intensive care (reanimatology) as an obligatory part of
the education. Participants were working in operating rooms and ICUs under the supervision of attending physicians and
had a required course of lectures. Self-education was encouraged as well. After completion of training, graduates had to
pass an oral qualification examination and were granted a Diploma of a Physician Anesthesiologist-Reanimatologist.
The quality of the education and the amount of experience varied significantly from program to program, and there were
no universally accepted standardized examinations. Many conscientious anesthesiologists took additional courses on
qualification improvements from the Academy of Physicians Postgraduate Education. However, there were also
specialists whose education was finalized on completion of the courses.
By the end of the 1980s it became clear that the quality of education had to be monitored and the need for standardized
examinations was debated to acceptance. Meanwhile, the Iron Curtain had become partially permeable to some of the
information about accepted standards of education and care in the other countries. The future promised improvements,
but not for long. The era of stagnation of the 1980s led to economic imbalance and a gradual decline in political
structures. By the end of the 1980s, Communist leaders embarked on major reforms in an effort to revive the country's
economics, which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In turn, the continued financial support from the government for the entire medical structure became very thin and
eventually disappeared. All the financially unsound programs, such as research, education, and development of new
technologies or educational methods, were frozen. The government-funded health care system did not exist any more.
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Many professionals had to quit their careers for their families to survive. The private sector was in the very beginning of
its development, and the great majority of the population could not afford private health care. It was not uncommon for
patients to be asked to bring supplies for the medical care that they required, even for surgeries, and it was not uncommon
for people to die as a result of the lack of proper medications or proper medical care. This continued until the mid-1990s,
when things began to turn around. The damage, however, has not been completely overcome, even now.
As of today, anesthesiology education in Russia still requires revision and improvements. There is a need for structured
residency programs that would teach the standards accepted around the world, which are based on decades of experience
in the safe practice of anesthesiology. The Academy of Postgraduate Education recently introduced new standardized
tests, comparable to internationally accepted graduation examinations, that would permit objective measurement of the
knowledge of newly graduated anesthesiologists.
That said, with the exception of very few medical centers, most anesthesiologists have to practice their art of extremely
invasive and possibly dangerous science without sufficient monitoring. Pulse oximeters, gas analyzers, and capnographs
are still a luxury in many medical centers. Medical science is again government financed, but it is often still subject to the
good will of the physicians who carve out time for research from their private lives. Russian anesthesiologists, as well as
medics in other specialties, have been raising their concerns to the government. The Ministry of Health recently accepted
a new national program for improvement in medical services, but it will take dramatic measures and significant
investments in the health of Russian citizens for the country to achieve the goal of a safe and effective health care system
in compliance with international standards. Statistics and the experience of multiple countries prove that the huge initial
investments are returned as improvements in population health decrease medical and illness-related costs. It would be
great to see Russia, the country that contributed so much to the growth and development of medicine and anesthesiology,
return to the international scene as a partner in health promotion in all forms of medical science and art.
For the past 50 years, anesthesiologists have been involved in PACUs and more recently have been responsible for them,
including determination of the standards of care for these areas. Pediatric and cardiovascular anesthesia is generally
performed by physicians with subspecialty training in these areas. Pain management and critical care reflect important
areas where the influence of the anesthesiologist has been important. Anesthesia-trained personnel run most of these
units.
Another area of interest is the choice that many physicians, including anesthesiologists, must make between public and
private hospitals. For many years, anesthesiologists worked in public hospitals. Private practice came about afterward, in
small clinics and in other institutions, with anesthesiologists generally continuing to work in public hospitals in the
mornings. Nowadays, anesthesiologists tend to work solely in one hospital, either public or private.
Economic groups own most of the private clinics and run them under strict financial criteria. There are very strict
professional duties, and the cost containment issue features heavily. Anesthesiologists, as well as other specialties, have
lost control of these institutions, although a few have dedicated their time to administrative duties.
The resources given to public hospitals are increasing, but the benefit of these resources is less than one might expect,
probably because of central and nonprofessional administration. Thus, economic restraints and inadequate conditions for
anesthesiologists make posts in public practice less attractive than in private institutions.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) includes Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. While maintaining their operating room
presence, anesthesiologists in this region are beginning to assume duties outside the operating room.
First, having gained the respect of their medical colleagues, anesthesiologists have become an important part of
perioperative care and critical care management teams. Many are also moving toward pain management, which has paved
the way to the Association of Southeast Asian Pain Societies, with the main goal of promoting further advancement in the
study of pain in the region. Some anesthesiologists also practice anesthesia in conjunction with intensive care medicine.
Hospice care and palliative medicine are also areas where anesthesiologists are now part of the team. In addition, ASEAN
anesthesiologists have emerged as leaders in their national medical organizations and have become essential stakeholders
in almost every aspect of medical and surgical care.
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However, as we enter areas outside the delivery and operating suites, we must caution ourselves to slow down. ASEAN
anesthesiologists must remain focused in our work, within that small space in operating theaters, where we remain the
unsung heroes. Physician anesthesiologists should take full responsibility for safeguarding all patients who entrust their
whole being to us while undergoing a diagnostic or therapeutic procedureasleep, immobilized, unable to protect
himself from harmwith the hope that as patients regain consciousness, they will not only be healed but comforted as
well.
The main areas of work in European anesthesia departments are delivery of operating room anesthesia, postoperative
care, critical care medicine, pain medicine, emergency medicine, and prehospital care. In some countries, such as Italy,
Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom, more than 30% of the daily activity of anesthesiologists is devoted to
critical care medicine, and in some countries a large proportion of anesthesiologists are also involved in acute and chronic
pain medicine. [18]
Delivery of anesthesia in the operating room is most often performed by anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists,
although the number of operating rooms staffed by nurse anesthetists and supervised by a certified anesthesiologist varies
between countries. A recent survey has indicated that Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Lithuania,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Israel do not have programs for nurse anesthetists. [18] In all remaining countries, the number of
nurse anesthetists per 100,000 population varies largely, from 0.7 in Albania and 4.9 in Turkey to 106.4 in Luxembourg.
In most Western European countries (except Luxembourg and Switzerland), nurse anesthetists have undergone formal
examination before graduation.
In Western European countries, surveys estimate that more than 70% of an average clinician's time is spent providing
operating room anesthesia, with about 20% being spent in critical care medicine, 5% in pain control, and 5% in
prehospital care. [18] A similar distribution of working time is found among nonEuropean Union (EU) member countries
from all parts of Europe, including the former Eastern Europe. Although most critical care units are staffed by
anesthesiologists who have an interest and training in critical care medicine and who are associated with departments of
anesthesia, in some countries an increasing number of departments of critical care medicine are staffed by dedicated
specialists in critical care medicine.
Facilities and Equipment
In India, the journey from open-drop chloroform and ether anesthesia to the present-day high-tech operating theaters with
anesthesia workstations and monitors, ICUs, PACUs, pain clinics, and preanesthetic checkup clinics is nearly complete.
In fact, the ORs in India have undergone huge change during the last 2 to 3 decades. The present day OR is totally
modular in structure with high-tech anesthesia workstations, monitoring systems, and on-line networking of the various
equipment that is used. Such a change has been largely due to the arrival of private investment and management in the
health care business. These corporate hospitals have built state-of-the-art ORs that match the best of the ORs in the rest of
the world.
One should remember, however, that like many other things in India, diversity is also a hallmark of the health care
system. Although corporate and other private hospitals have state-of-the-art ORs, government hospitalsother than those
in cities such as Delhi and Mumbaimay not. In general, government hospitals cater to the general population and are
overcrowded with long waiting lists. The situation in rural areas in particular is not up to the mark because these places
typically have only primary health centers with basic facilities and the ORs are equipped to deal with just minor surgical
procedures. Thus, ORs of several varieties can still be seen in India, and one hopes that this diversity gradually changes to
uniformity in times to come.
It has been quite a challenging and turbulent journey from the days when Mahatma Gandhi was operated on with the
open-drop chloroform technique to today. However, it is satisfying to see that developments in anesthesia have kept pace
with time in India. Consider that recently the present Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh underwent prostatectomy at
the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). During that procedure, anesthesiologists used a balanced general
anesthesia with drugs such as fentanyl, midazolam, sevoflurane, and atracurium and full-fledged monitoring. In addition,
they used a patient-controlled analgesia pump for postoperative analgesia.
The Middle East (Anis Baraka)
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The anesthetic machinery, monitoring equipment, and anesthetics used match the international standards that are
approved by international societies, such as the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Figure 3-5 shows the operating
room and illustrates monitoring of a patient undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting at the American University of
Beirut Medical Center, which has updated anesthesia equipment.
Figure 3-5 The operating room at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, which shows the updated anesthesia equipment and monitoring of a patient
undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
In South America, as in other places in the world, the economic resources invested in medicine and anesthesia depend on
the economic situation of the country. The huge disparity in economic growth among countries in the region has
produced an enormous difference in public resources allocated to health care, which has created diverse conditions for
public health management. Moreover, anesthesia has been a relatively low government priority in many countries
because governments often perceive anesthesia as having high cost (because of the technology) and little impact on the
improvement of health care.
Nevertheless, countries with anesthesia as a mature specialty (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay) have
modern equipment, advanced monitoring technology, and access to all types of anesthetics and ancillary drugs,
comparable to the United States and Europe. Anesthesia techniques vary, and many different types are being practiced.
Anesthesia with volatile anesthetics has been used widely for many years and in all of these countries. Total intravenous
anesthesia is also common these days, and the use of regional anesthesia has been widespread. Other countries, because
of resource constraints, practice a more basic form of anesthesia. Regardless of resources, however, all anesthesiologists
in South America need to have a strong focus on cost containment. Indeed, this situation is common globally.
Uganda/Sub-Saharan Africa (D.G. Bogod)
In a 2007 survey of more than a quarter of Uganda's anesthetic practitioners, 23% thought that their facilities met all of
the widely accepted minimal standards for the practice of safe, adult anesthesia. Categories surveyed included access to
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updated information, basic operating room equipment, and the most basic supply of anesthetic drugs. For safe pediatric
anesthesia, only 13% thought that their facility met the basic requirements. [19]
For spinal anesthesia techniques, more than half of the anesthesiologists surveyed did not have regular access to the
necessary local anesthetics, and others did not have a ready supply of spinal needles. Only 23% could guarantee being
able to find a brush to clean their tracheal tube between procedures. [19]
For cesarean sections in women during childbirth, nearly all of the respondents (94%) said that they did not have the
facilities to perform this procedure safely. More than three quarters did not have reliable access to magnesium sulfate,
and half of them said that they could never get it. [19]
As D. G. Bogod, editor-in-chief of Anaesthesia, wrote in the editorial of the issue in which these numbers were
published:
The figures revealed by this survey show that despite the best efforts of all involved, 27 million Ugandans essentially
enter a lottery every time they undergo anaesthesiaa lottery with poor odds of a happy outcome. What the authors
cannot tell us is whether this problem is confined to Uganda aloneit would be foolish to try to extrapolate from one
country to another, but it is unlikely that Uganda data differ wildly from most of sub-Saharan Africa.If the situation
in Uganda is bad, it is likely to be far worse in Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and many other neighbouring countries.
[19]
Japan (Michiaki Yamakage)
The following summary of the practice and scope of anesthesia in Japan was excerpted, with permission, from the
Journal of Anesthesia. [20]
In the 1980s, general anesthesia was mainly conducted using halothane or enflurane with nitrous oxide (laughing
gas). Fentanyl, an opioid analgesic, was also available, but was rarely used because it was believed to cause delay in
awakening. Epidural anesthesia was used more frequently then than it is now. For example, cervical epidural
anesthesia was generally used in surgery on upper limbs or for breast cancer. The only intravenous anesthetics
available at that time were thiamylal and ketamine, which was administered to asthma patients despite its known
secretion-promoting effects. The depolarizing neuromuscular blocking drug (NMBA) succinylcholine was used for
induction of anesthesia and the nondepolarizing NMBA pancuronium was the only NMBA available for maintenance
of anesthesia. During the 1980s, there was no awareness of the progression of acute renal failure during emergency
surgery, and some patients did not awake from anesthesia for a long time after surgery due to the prolonged effect of
pancuronium.
Since the 1980s, various anesthetic agents have become available in Japan. The availability of a large range of
anesthetic agents together with the development of anesthetic monitors has made anesthesia a much safer and more
comfortable procedure for patients. However, Japan (maybe due to its unique medical system) lags behind the US and
Europe with regard to the use of anesthetic agents other than sevoflurane. The ultrashort-acting opioid analgesic
remifentanil has finally been launched in Japan, and the fast-onset nondepolarizing NMBA rocuronium is expected to
become available soon. The selective relaxant binding agent sugammadex that is currently being used in phase III
clinical trials throughout the world is also expected to be approved for clinical use in the near future.
General anesthesia with airway management using a laryngeal mask is increasing in Japan due to the promotion of
this device and the widespread use of ProSeal (Laryngeal Mask, Jersey, UK), which has high sealability. The
indication for this method of anesthesia depends on the anesthesiologist, although it is generally not used for
laparotomy, thoracotomy, or for prolonged general anesthesia. If the device has high sealability and can withstand
positive pressure ventilation, anesthetic management is sometimes performed under artificial ventilation with the use
of NMBAs. The use of the laryngeal mask is expected to increase further.
In the US and Europe, day surgery has become popular due to the high costs of hospitalization. Day surgery in Japan,
however, is rare as most patients have national and private medical insurance. However, the duration of
hospitalization is expected to become shorter with the introduction of a comprehensive medical system, though it is
impossible to predict at present whether this will have an effect on the methods of anesthesia used.
Methods used for postoperative analgesia differ greatly between countries, and between institutions in Japan. In the
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US and Europe, patient-controlled analgesia is popular, and intravenous opioids alone are used in about two-thirds of
patients. The combination of intravenous opioids with epidural analgesia appears to be used only for patients who
have undergone upper abdominal surgery or thoracotomy. In Japan, epidural analgesia with or without intravenous
opioids is used for postoperative pain control in almost 50% of patients. When delivery of fentanyl by iontophoresis
(Ionsys; Ortho-McNeil, Titusville, NJ, US), which is currently being tested in trials, becomes applicable for clinical
use, the methods used for postoperative analgesia might undergo great change.
Finally,the number of surgery cases in specialized hospitals, including university hospitals, is expected to continue
to rise in Japan. Due to the increasingly advanced age of patients and an increase in incompatibility complications, the
number of cases anesthetically managed by neural block or general anesthesia alone is also growing.
In Japan, with the launch of remifentanil, the anticipated approval of rocuronium, and when sugammadex and the
fentanyl iontophoretic transdermal system become available, the methods used for anesthesia will continue to change
significantly in the future.
Clinical use in Japan of xenon, an ideal anesthetic, and dexmedetomidine, a respiratory-sparing sedative, is unknown
and controversial due to their high cost and prolonged effect/off label use, respectively.
Education, Accreditation, and Availability of Practitioners
In India, there are mainly two types of postgraduate qualifications that one can obtain in the field of anesthesiology. The
first, provided by medical colleges (MD in anesthesiology, a 3-year degree program), is governed by the Medical Council
of India (MCI), which oversees the syllabus and other teaching and training standards. The second one is provided by the
National Board of Examinations, which awards a degree called Diplomate of National Board (DNB). In addition, the
MCI also regulates the diploma in anaesthesiology (DA), which is a 2-year training program that is available at medical
colleges.
In 1992 it was determined that no new medical college or postgraduate course could be started without the prior approval
of the MCI, and the recommendations of the MCI became mandatory for all medical colleges. Thus, it was only after the
addition of this section, known as 10a, that teaching and training in the medical field in India were standardized and
minimum standards were enforced. The strength of the MCI as a regulatory body was further reinforced in 1998 by a
Supreme Court judgment, which ruled that the regulations of the MCI are mandatory and must be applied to all medical
colleges in India. As of now, the recognition awarded by the MCI for undergraduate courses must be reviewed every 5
years by an inspection team of the MCI.
However, this is not so for postgraduate courses. Institutions conducting a postgraduate course today can enjoy the
benefit of one-time MCI recognition, but the MCI will soon implement a review process every 5 years for postgraduate
courses. Thus, teaching and training in anesthesiology in India are standardized through the setting of minimum standards
throughout the country in terms of the facilities (space, equipment, manpower, and infrastructure) and the syllabus.
GROWTH OF THE SPECIALTY.
The interest of Indian medical students in the specialty of anesthesiology has shown a dramatic increase during the last
decade. Candidates for a postgraduate course in anesthesiology used to be admitted on the basis of scores obtained on the
MBBS examination. This practice has now changed to conducting a common entrance examination, and admission to a
given subject area is decided on the basis of the rank obtained by the student. In a few states such as Delhi, this has been
the practice for approximately 20 years.
Table 3-1 shows the top and bottom ranks that were admitted to an MD anesthesiology program between 2002 and 2007
in the states of Maharashtra and Delhi. The table indicates that interest among students to learn and practice anesthesia is
increasing. Reasons for the growing interest in anesthesia among students could be related to the increasing scope of
anesthesia (as discussed earlier) and better job prospects. It may also be related to resistance to pursuing other fields, such
as general surgery and general medicine, which require further subspecialty training. In Delhi, anesthesiology is among
the top six specialties preferred by medical students, along with radiology, dermatology, pediatrics, orthopedics, and
gynecology. This is in sharp contrast to the situation about 10 to 15 years ago, when anesthesiology was among the last
five choices.
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Table 3-1 -- Overall Rankings of Postgraduate Students Enrolled in Anesthesiology Programs in Maharashtra
and Delhi (2002-2007)
Maharashtra
Delhi
Year
Top Rank Bottom Rank Top Rank Bottom Rank
2002 228
854
2004 No exam
65
98
53
96
2005 405
642
32
96
2006 160
606
33
99
2007 106
504
61
85
Note: The total number of postgraduate seats in all subjects is 140 in Delhi and 450 in Maharashtra. The students often
sit for entrance examinations in several states, which probably explains why the last rank exceeds the number of seats in
Maharashtra.
There are a total of 269 medical colleges in India with 30,000 undergraduate and 9100 postgraduate seats. Of these, there
are 612 seats in MD anesthesia and 528 in DA anesthesia. In addition, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of
India recognizes the DNB as a qualification in the given field and equates it with the postgraduate degrees awarded by
other Indian universities; there are approximately 205 DNB seats in anesthesiology.
One challenge is assigning seats, especially because it remains unclear just how many anesthesiologists India needs.
According to one estimate, there are approximately 28,000 anesthesiologists in India and the country requires about 7000
more (data provided by the current president of the ISA at the Uttar Pradesh chapter congress in November 2007).
The departments of anesthesia in the different Middle East countries consist of highly academic staff certified either by
the Arab Board or foreign academic bodies, such as the American Board of Anesthesiology of the United States and the
Faculty of the Royal College of Anaesthetists of the United Kingdom.
Training of anesthesiologists is a contentious issue in South America. First, there is a large discrepancy between the
views of anesthesia societies and the government with regard to the number of anesthesiologists needed. All countries on
the continent have anesthesia training programs of different quality. The governments run a few, but universities conduct
most of them.
There is no dispute about the length of time needed for training; regardless of who runs the program, 3 years is required
to complete the training. Some countries also have specific scientific organizations run by universities and scientific
societies to certify the various places where anesthesia is being taught. There are still places without proper certification
that teach residents, but they are gradually being restricted from teaching.
Requirements for anesthesiologists are viewed differently by governments and scientific societies. Governments push for
increased numbers of practitioners, whereas universities prefer better trained ones. Despite such difficulties,
anesthesiologists and their scientific societies have campaigned for greater influence in the processes of accreditation. To
the author's knowledge, only two countries have an anesthesia training program conducted by anesthesia societies;
however, in those countries conflict with the government is even greater.
Further training of anesthesiologists is performed abroad, usually in Europe, the United States, or some prominent
anesthesia departments in South America: Buenos Aires (Argentina), San Paulo (Brazil), and Santiago (Chile).
In Chinese medical universities, there currently exist 8-year, 7-year, and 5-year options for training in anesthesiology.
Specialists in anesthesiology come mostly from undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The system of nurse
anesthesiologists is not popular in China. More than 80,000 anesthesia professionals are available in mainland China,
based on data from Dr. Shuren Li, Emeritus President of the CSA in 2007.
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In the Philippines, the certification process for anesthesia includes three phases: a written examination, an oral
examination, and practical examinations. Every year, a national anesthesia in-service examination is conducted that gives
a percentile assessment of the standing of each trainee. However, even though our medical education has an American
flavor, there is no reciprocity with the United States. Everybody must still comply with the licensure requirements or
examinations prescribed by the United States to be able to pursue fellowships in anesthesia subspecialties. Thailand,
Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia have their own framework of certification, one that is more European in context and
process.
For basic training on the fundamentals of anesthesiology, many Indonesians prefer to go to the Philippines. In addition,
the WFSA supports a regional training center for Southeast Asian countries in Bangkok, Thailand. It is called the
Bangkok Anesthesia Regional Training Center and has graduated anesthesiologists from Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and
Mongolia.
The Anesthesiology Center for the Western Pacific in Manila, Philippines, is a joint activity of the WHO Regional Office
for the Western Pacific, the University of the Philippines, the China Medical Board, and the WFSA. It is an 11-month
course in anesthesia that was initiated in January 1970. The rationale for this center was to help alleviate the shortage of
reliable anesthesiologists in the region and to underscore the importance of administering safe anesthesia. The center does
not seek to provide a complete training program, but rather its purpose is to emphasize the basic sciences in
anesthesiology. It creates a foundation for students to build on so that they can eventually qualify, through further
training, as specialist anesthesiologists. Students come to the center from the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, southern
Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Iraq, Russia, and Sudan. The program has served the region for 16 consecutive
years, and many of its graduates have become respected anesthesiologists and contributed to the development of
anesthesia programs and safe anesthesia care in their respective countries. If further studies or a fellowship in anesthesia
specialties is desired, Singapore and Malaysia are two countries that can offer these particular courses.
At present, only the societies of Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines have a written monograph on the guidelines for
minimum requirements in delivering safe anesthesia practice. The government of Malaysia supports the activity of a
national medical audit system and includes respectable physicians from all specialties. Apart from Singapore, most
ASEAN anesthesia programs have not developed a quality assurance program. In effect, we have no factual regional
database to document and monitor anesthesia-related morbidity and mortality.
Organizations, certification requirements, and recognition of anesthesiologists in Southeast Asian countries are
summarized in Table 3-2 . Workforce, scope, and type of anesthesiology practice are summarized in Table 3-3 .
Table 3-2 -- Organizations, Certification Requirements, and Recognition of Anesthesiologists in Southeast Asian
Countries
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Training
4 years medicine
1.5 years
internship
3.5 years
residency
Patterned after the

British
Stringent
examination and
promotion
requirements
Certification/certifying Collegium of
organization/continuing Indonesian
medical education
Anesthesiologist
Societies
Patterned after
the British
Stringent
examination and
promotion
requirements
3 years
residency
Philippine Board Singapore

Royal College of
of
Society of
Anesthesiologists
Anesthesiology Anesthesiologists in Thailand
Indonesian
Malaysian Society Philippine
Singapore
Society of
of
Society of
Society of
Anesthesiologists
Anaesthesiologists Anesthesiologists Anesthesiologists
& Reanimateurs
Critical care
Pain
management
Roles outside the

operating room
Recognition by
Patterned after
the United States
3 years
residency
Neuroanesthesia
National
Critical care
Pain
management
Head of critical
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fellowship
Anesthesia Day
care
Table 3-3 -- Workforce, Scope, and Type of Anesthesiology Practice in Southeast Asian Countries
Indonesia
Malaysia Philippines
Singapore Thailand
Workforce
Physician anesthesiologist
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Nurse anesthesiologist
Yes
No
No
None
Yes
Operating room *
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Intensive care
Yes
Yes
Slowly developing
Yes
Yes
Pain management
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Limited group practice

(consisting of
physicians)
No
Yes (physician has a

supervisory role)
Scope of Practice
Type of Practice
Anesthesia care team
(physician, nurse,
technician)
Yes (physician has a

No
supervisory role)
* Includes anesthesia services for inpatient, ambulatory/office-based, and diagnostic procedures.
A shortage of physician anesthesiologists has become a persistent problem in densely populated Southeast Asian
countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand. The Philippines has the largest number of physician
anesthesiologists in this region but is beset by maldistribution of qualified anesthesiologists, with more found in
urbanized areas and the majority electing to engage in private (not public) hospital practice.
One strategy to address this personnel shortage is to formally conduct training of nurse anesthesiologists. Unlike the
situation in the United States, where nursing programs independently train nurse anesthesiologists, both Indonesia and
Thailand have developed formal courses for nurse anesthesiologists. These nurse anesthesiologists are supervised by
physician anesthesiologistsand there is a clearly defined demarcation of responsibilities between physician
anesthesiologists and nurse anesthesiologists. Hence, through an anesthesia care team composed of physicians and nurses
working together, they found the answer to the crying need for anesthesia services in Indonesia and Thailand.
In the Philippines, nurse anesthesia practice is considered illegal. It is not allowed under the Nursing Act of the country.
Moreover, the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists maintains that anesthesiology is a practice of medicine and will not
allow nurses to deliver anesthesia care.
It is rather sad that the practice of medicine in Philippine government hospitals is not able to provide decent remuneration
for the majority of its health care providers, including physician anesthesiologists. Migration of physicians to seek better
alternatives in greener pastures is a reality. With the high demand for nurses worldwide, it is also not unusual for some
physicians to take a 4-year bachelor's degree in nursing and decide to migrate abroad to work professionally as nurses.
Uganda/Sub-Saharan Africa (D.G. Bogod)
In a survey by Hodges and colleagues, there was only 1 medical anesthesiologist among the 91 anesthesia practitioners
who participated in the survey, which means that as is so often the case, many trained physicians in Uganda probably
traveled to the West to find a better life for their families. In addition, based on the survey, access to up-to-date textbooks
seems iffy at bestfewer than half of those surveyed have access to such texts. [18]
As a geographic area, Europe consists of more than 30 countries, a number of which, during the last decade, have
undergone the dynamic process of integration into the EU. Although a core of European countries has had a strong
impact for many years on development of the EU, several other countries, many of them belonging to the former Eastern
Europe, are still candidates or potential candidates for entry into the EU. Europe is therefore a heterogeneous region and
group of countries, which is reflected in the large variation in medical systems, research, and education, as well as
language and culture. Over the years, continuous expansion of the number of countries associated with the EU has
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inevitably affected financial, monetary, labor, and educational systems in the other member states. Inevitably, this has
also changed health care systems and provided a new impetus for increased migration of qualified health care workers
and academic personnel between member states. Partly because of the large variation in social welfare and financial
systems between parts of Eastern Europe and the traditional Western European countries, the net migration of health care
workers has deprived many low-income countries of their own medical staff. In addition, new working time directives in
Western European countries have led to increased demand for physicians, and taken together, these two issues have
encouraged emigration from Eastern European countries. In general, the many changes brought about by the integration
of new countries into the EU continue to have an impact on the practice of medicine in Europe, and in this context the
practice of anesthesiology is no exception.
The average number of anesthesiologists within Western European countries has increased over the last decade from 10.8
to 14.5 per 100,000 population. [18] [21] In contrast, among non-EU Eastern European countries, the average number of
anesthesiologists is currently 6.1 per 100,000 population. [18] Hence, there is large variation in both the supply and
demand of anesthesiologists between parts of Europe.
In most European countries, health care is funded by the government, although local exceptions to this rule exist.
Whereas more than 50% of anesthesiologists in some Western European countries (Luxembourg, The Netherlands) are
involved in private practice, anesthesiologists within Scandinavia and the United Kingdom rarely (less than 5%) work in
private practice.
THE EUROPEAN DIPLOMA IN ANESTHESIOLOGY AND INTENSIVE CARE (EDA).
The EDA, introduced in 1984, is a two-part examination intended as a comprehensive test of knowledge of
anesthesiology, critical care, and pain management. It provides an international European standard that allows
harmonization of training and assessment of knowledge across all European countries and is used by some (Switzerland,
Austria, Hungary, and Poland) as part of their internal examination structure. Both parts of the examination take place in
designated centers across Europe, depending on demand. Part 1 consists of multilingual, multiple-choice questions
available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian. It consists of two multiple-choice sections, one on
basic physiology, pharmacology, physics, clinical measurement, and statistics and the other on clinical practice associated
with anesthesia and its subspecialty areas. It is intended to be taken after approximately 2 years of anesthesia training.
Part 2 consists of four oral examinations, each with two examiners moderating each other. Guidelines for the content of
these oral examinations are determined by the examination committee, and each examination is divided again into clinical
practice, intensive care medicine, and general anesthesia. Candidates may choose the language in which they wish to be
examined within the constraints available at the examination center.
Success in Part 2, which is an end-of-training examination, qualifies the candidate to receive the EDA. Because the EDA
is an assessment of anesthetic knowledge, it can in no way substitute for the local assessment of skills and professional
attitudes or behavior that takes place in each country according to local systems and is a requirement before an individual
can be placed on the specialist register of their country. Because entry onto a person's national specialist register is
necessary before award of the EDA, it follows that anyone passing the Part 2 examination also has to provide evidence of
specialist registration before receiving the EDA itself. Thus, the EDA examination is a test of knowledge, embedded in
and dependent on assessment of clinical skills and attitudes, that is provided by the national training program.
In addition to the examination itself, there is also the option for those wishing to assess their level of knowledge to take
the Part 1 EDA as an in-training examination at a much reduced fee. This not only allows personal assessment of one's
knowledge but also includes detailed feedback so that candidates can assess their own performanceboth in comparison
to those in their national peer group and in comparison to candidates in other parts of Europein areas as detailed as
cardiovascular physiology and other fields.
THE ESA/EBA JOINT HOSPITAL VISITING AND ACCREDITATION PROGRAM (HVAP).
The HVAP has been in place since January 1996 as a joint permanent committee of the European Society of
Anaesthesiology (ESA, formerly the European Academy) and the European Board of Anesthesiology (EBA), its main
goal being to encourage and enhance training standards across Europe and to ensure that an academic institution meets
the prerequisites of training in anesthesia as set out in the EBA training guidelines (1996). Together with the EDA, the
HVAP serves to improve the overall quality of the specialty of anesthesia and to harmonize its activities throughout
Europe. The visit consists of a detailed presentation of the staffing and organization of the hospital, the department (or the
institute), and the structure of training. This forms the basis for discussion and evaluation of all aspects of the teaching
and training process with the staff members involved for the purpose of complementing and building on strengths and
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encouraging development and change to address areas of weakness. A subsequent comprehensive report of the visit,
together with recommendations for improvement or accreditation (or both), is presented by the program committee.
STANDARDIZING THE QUALITY OF PATIENT CARE IN ANESTHESIOLOGY AND INTENSIVE CARE.
In recent years the opportunity for accredited specialists in anesthesiology and intensive care to work and move between
different European countries has increased considerably. EU legislation allows such free movement of specialists, which
in many ways is beneficial to everyone. In such circumstances, it is essential to ensure that the quality and safety of care
that patients receive is sustained and enhanced. Training and accreditation programs inevitably vary between member
states and even within countries that lack a single national organization. The EBA is uniquely placed to ensure that
appropriate standards are set to achieve harmonization in the quality and safety of patient care, and two important areas of
standardization are already in place: the joint HVAP and the EDA.
At the present time, although the standards of well-established training and accreditation programs are known and thus
acknowledged across many European states, others are not, particularly in some of the countries that have recently joined
the EU. As a result, those trained in these countries are potentially unfairly disadvantaged. Their specialists wish to move
freely as much as others and should be able to do so. Equally, those appointing them to specialist posts need a uniform
quality standard to ensure the delivery of high-quality and safe patient care. Individual countries specialist qualifications
do vary, and an international assessment standard to facilitate free movement of specialists is needed. New proposals for
EBA membership and fellowship have been developed and agreed on and build on the initiatives and programs already in
place. These proposals are in addition tobut do not replacenational qualifications or competence in discourse or
dialogue and allow those who desire to clearly demonstrate their ability to deliver anesthetic care of a uniformly high
standard to patients. They are marks of individual excellence in the specialty and can be awarded only after European
national accreditation as a medical specialist in anesthesiology is achieved. They will be open to anesthesiologists who
are nationals of any country in the world and who are on the specialist anesthesiology register of a European country.
They will be strictly awarded to individuals in recognition of their personal achievement and not automatically to all
those working in a particular hospital or anesthesiology department. However, they will have no legal standing and do not
in themselves confer a right to practice in a country of the EU.
Subspecialization
For more than 2 decades, anesthesiologists have recognized the need for dedicated practice in the field of cardiac
anesthesia and neuroanesthesia. There are anesthesiologists who are working exclusively in these specialties, but there are
no separate departments of cardiac anesthesia and neuroanesthesia. AIIMS is an exception in this respect because it
created two such departments in 1986. Postdoctoral courses in these specialties have been started in the country. AIIMS
has conducted the courses in both specialties since 2002, whereas the Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences,
Thiruvananthpuram, has offered a course in cardiac anesthesia since 2003. The number of seats, however, is grossly
inadequate, with four seats in cardiac anesthesia and two in neuroanesthesia. The National Board of Examinations started
a DNB fellowship program (2 years) in cardiac anesthesia in 2002; it began with four seats, and the number has increased
to 18.
In South America, only Colombia has a specialty law. In all other countries, physicians can perform professional actions
without a law to certify the proficiency and quality of care and protect patients. In fact, physicians with a very low level
of training have practiced anesthesia for many years; in most of the countries, paramedical personnel have performed
anesthesia because of lack of sufficient medical personnel or interest in the specialty. In some countries, surgeons
perform both anesthesia and surgery with the help of technical personnel. This practice has been abandoned in most
countries, but in a fewBolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuelathis situation persists, with government
authorization.
Nowadays, the law in most countries specifies that only physicians can provide anesthesia. The problem is a shortage of
trained physicians, so some countries are left with inadequately trained ones. Nevertheless, the process of certification of
specialties, including anesthesia, is on the way. Most countries have medical organizations and anesthesia societies
demanding proper certification methods. In some countries these medical organizations have obtained the support of the
government. So even though a law does not exist, there is an intense effort to gain official certification. Medicolegal
issues and increased concern from patients have helped. It is interesting that most anesthesiologists are willing to obtain
certification; clinics and hospitals are also requiring certification for physicians to work in these institutions.
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Professional and Research Activity

Since its inception in 1947, the ISA has grown from 19 members in 1947 to nearly 12,000 in 2007. Today, there are also
separate Indian associations of cardiothoracic anesthesia and neuroanesthesia. The Indian Association of Cardiovascular
and Thoracic Anesthesiologists (IACTA) is 10 years old and holds an annual meeting. IACTA also publishes the journal
Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia, which is now in the 10th year of publication and is the first Indian journal in anesthesia to
be indexed in the National Library of Medicine and included in the MEDLINE database. In addition, there are societies of
critical care medicine (founded in 1992) and for the study of pain.
Most anesthesiologists in the Middle East are in close contact with developments in anesthesia throughout the world
through attending congresses and lectures, publications, subscriptions to various international anesthesia journals, and
building of worldwide friendships.
Some anesthesiologists in the Middle East, including those who have emigrated abroad, have become leaders in the
specialty and have made original contributions in the fields of muscle relaxants, [22] [23] [24] semiopen systems,
obstetrics, [25] pediatric anesthesia, [26] [27] and the pathophysiology of open heart surgery. [28]
Time, funding, and expertise are the basic requirements for research of sufficient quality to support publications or
communications internationally. These requirements are not found widely in South America. Only a few university
anesthesia departments have the capability of producing clinical research of high enough quality to be published in
esteemed journals such as the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), most notably in Chile. Some colleagues have
argued that research is not important in a continent that has more pressing priorities. I do not agree.
Research is also a tool for learning and it should be encouraged, at least at university-based anesthesia residencies.
Unfortunately, research does not generate income, so most of the clinical groups are not willing to dedicate time to this
particular activity. Funding is lacking, and although some countries have national research grants to support clinical
research, most do not. Support from drug companies is weak and usually depends on the impact that their drugs have in
our clinical setting. Because of economic constraints, a large number of generic drugs are used, so major pharmaceutical
companies are not willing to support research activities. In short, basic research in anesthesia virtually does not exist in
South America.
Anesthesia meetings achieve the goal of educating residents and older generations of anesthesiologists. Anesthesia
journals are in existence, and although none of them are ISI, effort is being made to enter the international medical
databases.
The CSA was founded in 1979 at the Second National Conference held in Harbin. Professor Deyan Shang was elected
president of the first CSA committee. Since then, a national CSA conference has been held every 3 or 4 years. In 1986,
the Beijing International Conference on Anesthesia was held successfully. Many famous experts from abroad, including
Professor Ronald Miller (this textbook's editor), were invited to join as keynote speakers.
From that point on, Chinese anesthesiologists began to communicate more with international professionals. At the first
Sino-Japanese Clinic Anesthesia Symposium held in 1986, the CSA and Japan Society for Clinical Anesthesia agreed to
hold a symposium every 2 years. Professor Ailun Luo, after being selected president of CSA in 1997, advocated China's
integration into the world anesthesia community. The National Conference on Anesthesia is held annually on the second
weekend of every September.
Regarding professional publications, Professor Rong Xie was chief editor of the Encyclopedia of Chinese Anesthesia
Medicine in 1986. Professor Jun Zhao was the chief editor of Modern Anesthesiology in 1987. These books have
contributed to the development of clinical and research anesthesiology in China. Two academic journals, Chinese Journal
of Anesthesiology and Journal of Clinical Anesthesiology, were launched in 1981 and 1982 by the Chinese Medical
Association. Besides these two journals, the International Journal of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation and the Chinese
Journal of Pain Medicine have formed a good platform for rapid communication among Chinese anesthesiologists.
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From the 1990s until today, research in Chinese anesthesiology has moved as fast as the economy of China. The CSA has
built good cooperative relationships with many international associations, such as the American Society of
Anesthesiologists, the International Anesthesia Research Society, and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain
and Ireland, among others. Many well-known journals including, Anesthesia & Analgesia, Anesthesiology, and
Anaesthesia, have been published with Chinese editions, which has extended their influence among Chinese
professionals. These localized journals will become the window for communication in anesthesiology between China and
the world.
To lessen the variability in medical practice and anesthesia careand with the vision of fostering more understanding
and cooperation among ASEAN anesthesiologiststwo pioneering anesthesiologists (Professor Quintin J. Gomez of the
Philippines and Dr. Saywan Lim of Malaysia) conceived of the Confederation of ASEAN Societies of Anesthesiologists
(CASA). This took place in Kuala Lumpur in September 1974 during a meeting after the Fourth Asian Australasian
Congress of Anaesthesiologists, a regional congress of the WFSA.
The main objective of CASA is to enhance and promote the specialty of anesthesiology in the region by hosting biennial
congresses of anesthesia called the ASEAN Congress of Anaesthesiologists. These congresses serve as a venue for
ASEAN anesthesiologists to meet experts from the United States and Europe, as well as other international anesthesia
leaders, and to learn current practices in anesthesia from them. They also inspire trainees and younger anesthesiologists in
Southeast Asia to present their clinical trials and modest research activity and participate in scientific activities as
resource speakers or workshop facilitators.
The first such congress was held in December 1979 in Manila, Philippines, under the leadership of Professor Gomez,
who was then the incumbent president of the WFSA (1976-1980). More than 400 delegates came from Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States. Professor John Bonica
(United States) was the guest of honor and main invited speaker; Professor Bonica would later become president of the
WFSA.
Over time, the objectives of CASA have grown. The group has strived to promote closer ties among member societies, to
enhance the image of the specialty in the region, and to upgrade the specialty through exchange of information between
local and international experts in anesthesia. Indeed, through CASA there has been an information avalanche that has
paved the way to further upgrade and develop the practice of anesthesia and anesthesiologists themselves.
Unfortunately, of late, economic depression and terrorismas well as health threats such as bird flu and severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS)have threatened these academic activities. Nevertheless, the ASEAN confederation has
persisted in hosting its biennial congress. The five founding members take turns, with much enthusiasm and camaraderie,
in hosting these meetings. Attendance has grown from 400 to almost a thousand anesthesiologists coming from ASEAN
and non-ASEAN countries, such as Japan, Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Canada, and the Middle East. The
faculty of speakers includes local ASEAN and international anesthesia experts from the United States, Europe, Canada,
Australia, and New Zealand, some of whom were supported by the WFSA, by industry, by respective anesthesia
societies, and by the faculty themselves.
Currently, each of the CASA member organizations is conducting clinical research activities in anesthesia, but there is
much room for improvement. Most research studies involve clinical drug trials funded by pharmaceutical companies, but
there is a paucity of published papers in peer-reviewed anesthesiology. What is lacking is translating the research
activities into well-written research papers.
The ASEAN Journal of Anesthesiology (AJA) is only 8 years old. Thus far it has served as an avenue to publish all of
these research endeavors in the region. We encourage all member societies to submit their research papers for
publication. The current seat of editorship of the AJA is located in Singapore. Perhaps to encourage more output, future
ASEAN Congress of Anaesthesiologists meetings may provide incentives for participation in free papers and poster
discussion sessions.
Before formation of the European Academy of Anaesthesiology in 1978 there was no formal representative structure for
the specialty within Europe. The five statutory aims of the academy were to (1) raise the scientific level of the discipline;
(2) improve the training of anesthetists, their clinical and theoretical education, and their competence at the completion of
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the training period by holding examinations; (3) hold scientific meetings, conferences, and seminars; (4) facilitate
research in anesthesia and its associated disciplines; and (5) promote exchange among anesthetists and discussion of all
matters concerning their profession.
The European Academy of Anaesthesiology had a limited number of members and academicians and, as European
anesthesiology grew, was perceived by many to be an exclusive organization. In 1992, the ESA was formed and was
open to everyone. Its chief aims were to conduct an annual Euroanesthesia meeting to replace the European Congress,
which had formerly run on a 4-year cycle alternating with the World Congress, and to support educational and research
activities by awarding grants and fellowships. Whereas the ESA was concerned with the practice of clinical anesthesia
and supporting its membership, the European Academy of Anaesthesiology had developed formal initiatives such as the
EDA, the European Journal of Anaesthesiology (EJA), and a system of hospital visiting and accreditation training in
conjunction with the Anesthesiology Board and Section of the UEMS (Union Europenne des Mdecins Spcialistes or
European Union of Medical Specialists).
The fourth organization that existed at that time was the Confederation of European National Societies of Anesthesiology
(CENSA), which was effectively the European section of the WFSA.
For some years, the roles of all the various organizations were increasingly complementary, thus making it necessary for
an individual anesthesiologist to be a member of more than one body to participate in and benefit from all the variety of
activities. As a result, in 1998 a decision was made to amalgamate the former ESA, the European Academy, and CENSA
into one organization. A temporary organization, the European Federation of Anaesthesiologists, was established in 2001,
under which amalgamation was successfully achieved, and the new European Society of Anaesthesiology, which thus
represents every anesthesiologist in Europe, was launched in January 2005 in its interim form before becoming fully
established in January 2006. Moreover, because the formal, declared responsibilities of the parent organizations were
essentially different and there was very little overlap between them, a strong and comprehensive organization could be
established right from the start. Under this new organizational structure, CENSA became the ESA's National
Anaesthesiology Societies Committee, now ESA National. Each country has a number of delegates to ESA National,
depending on the number of members of its National Society.
The ESA now provides a comprehensive range of activities to support European anesthesiology, primarily aimed at
sustaining and enhancing the safety, efficacy, and quality of care of patients. Through publication of the EJA and the
Euroanaesthesia organization and other meetings, it supports the interests of its members and facilitates the exchange and
dissemination of information related to anesthesiology, critical care, pain, and emergency medicine. It encourages
research and scientific progress both by conducting academic meetings and by awarding grants and fellowships and has a
key role in raising and harmonizing the standards of anesthesiology. This is achieved by delivering education, training,
continuous medical education, and accreditation of anesthetists through educational programs, the EDA, and in-service
training examinations, as well as through the HVAP run jointly with UEMS.
UEMS represents national associations of medical specialists in the EU and its associated countries. UEMS provides
general and specialist medical advice to ministers. It is also responsible for the European Accreditation Council for
Continuing Medical Education. Each specialty has its own board and section, the members of which are drawn from all
the EU member states together with Norway and Switzerland. The EBA has two delegates per country, one professional
and one academic. UEMS itself is a nonprofit organization concerned with (1) the study, promotion, and harmonization
of the highest level of training of medical specialists, medical practice, and health care within the EU; (2) study and
promotion of free movement of specialist doctors within the EU; (3) representation, within this framework of medical
specialists in the member states of the EU, to EU authorities and to any other authority with similar responsibility; and (4)
protection of the professional interests of European medical specialists. UEMS defines a medical specialist as a physician
who has satisfactorily completed a specialist training program in a recognized specialty that conforms to the UEMS
charter on specialist training.
Thus, European anesthesiologists are represented in several ways. Those in EU member states, together with Norway and
Switzerland, are represented nationally through their country's membership in the UEMS Anesthesiology Board and
Section. Additionally, anesthesiologists in all European countries are represented nationally as members of their
respective national society through that society's delegates to the ESA, through the ESA council via their national elected
council member, and individually as active members of ESA.
THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ANESTHESIOLOGY.
The EJA is the official journal of the ESA and is distributed to all ESA members. It is published and owned by the ESA.
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The EJA is also the official journal of a variety of organizations (EACTA, UEMS, FEEA) and is distributed to all
members of these societies. It is published monthly and run by an editorial board that is not directly involved in any
editing or editorial work and by a 19-member group of editors who are responsible for the content of the journal itself.
The EJA has two main functions: to publish peer-reviewed original articles and reviews in the field of anesthesia, pain,
emergency medicine, and critical care, together with correspondence pertaining to these articles, and to provide
educational material with appropriate methods of self-assessment for ESA members. The ESA also publishes a newsletter
four times a year, separately from the EJA, that contains items of interest to ESA members together with information and
formal announcements.
Conclusion
As demonstrated in this chapter, anesthesiology as a discipline and a profession has grown dramatically around the world.
Differences in the rate of growth and scope of practice exist for a variety of reasons, largely because of disparities in
resources and socioeconomic and political factors. Nevertheless, regardless of country of residence, patients can feel
much safer today with regard to receiving anesthesia than even 20 or 30 years ago. As noted repeatedly throughout this
chapter, some of the most powerful advances are the spread of knowledge, professional integrity, curiosity, and the
utmost desire to practice anesthesiology at the highest possible level. This means that anesthesiologists not only can learn
of the advances of their colleagues elsewhere but can also better understand and respond to the needs of others.
So where do we go from here? Some authorities suggest that we take advantage of the latest advances to further the
interconnectedness of our profession, such as conducting more in-depth comparisons of the effectiveness of various
techniques from country to country and engaging in more joint research. Others believe that such comparisons would
serve no useful purpose given the disparities in resources and different approaches to care. The editor has dreamed of the
day that anesthesiologists worldwide would form global think tanks to ask and answer the most important questions to
advance our intellectual foundations and benefit society.
As is noted in the opening paragraph, the purpose of this chapter is not to invite comparisons or highlight differences in
the practice of anesthesiology around the world, but rather to encourage and invite anesthesiologists globally to keep
talking to each other. The editor was thrilled and honored that his invitation to contribute to this chapter has resulted in so
many interesting contributions from leaders of anesthesia worldwide. When viewed together, the journey of
anesthesiology has been an amazing story worldwide.
References
1.. Agrawal DP: Susruta: The great surgeon of Yore. Available at http://www.infinityfoundation.com
2.. Kothare SN, Pai SA: Sweet slumber. Available at www.histmedindia.org
3.. Divekar VM, Naik LD: Evolution of anaesthesia in India. J Postgrad Med 2001; 47:149-152.
4.. Jhaveri VK, Tendulkar DG: Escape from death. In: Jhaveri VK, Tendulkar DG, ed. Mahatma: Life of Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi, vol 2. The Times of India; 1951:156-166.
5.. Baraka A: The contributions of Arabs to medicine. Middle East J Anesthesiol 2000; 15:353-359.
6.. Brandt L: The first reported oral intubation of the human trachea. Anesth Analg 1987; 66:1198-1199.
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Anaesthesia, London: Royal Society of Medicine Services, Parthenon Publishing Group; 1989:46-48.
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16.. Takrouri MSM, Seraj MA: Middle Eastern history of anesthesia. Middle East J Anesthesiol 2000; 15:397-413.
17.. Wright AJ: Diffusion of an innovation: The first public demonstration of general anesthesia. Middle East J
Anesthesiol 1991; 11:93-118.
18.. Egger Halbeis CB, Cvachovec K, Scherpereel P, et al: Anesthesia workforce in Europe. Eur J
Anaesthesiol 2007; 24:991-1007.
19.. Bogod DG: One day for Africa: Anaesthesia in Uganda and beyond. Anaesthesia 2007; 62:1-3.
20.. Yamakage M, Namiki A: Anesthetic practice in Japan: Past, present, and future. J Anesth 2007; 21:390-395.
21.. Rolly G, MacRae WR, Blunnie WP, et al: Anaesthesiological manpower in Europe. Eur J
Anaesthesiol 1996; 13:325-332.
22.. Baraka A: The Influence of carbon dioxide on the neuromuscular block caused by tubocurarine chloride in the
human subject. Br J Anaesth 1964; 36:272.
23.. Ali HH, Utting JE, Gray C: Stimulus frequency in the detection of neuromuscular block in humans. Br J
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24.. Ali HH, Utting JE, Gray C: Quantitative assessment of residual anti depolarizing block (part II). Br J
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25.. Baraka A, Noueihid R, Hajj S: Intrathecal injection of morphine for obstetric analgesia.
26.. Naughton P, Mossad E: Retraining the left ventricle after arterial switch operation: Emerging uses for the left
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28.. Baraka AS, Baroody MA, Haroun ST, et al: Effect of alpha-stat versus pH-stat strategy on oxyhemoglobin
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4 Medical Informatics
C. William Hanson
Key Points
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1.
A computer's hardware serves many of the same functions as those of the human nervous system, with a
processor acting as the brain and buses acting as conducting pathways, as well as memory and
communication devices.
2.
The computer's operating system serves as the interface or translator between its hardware and the
software programs that run on it, such as the browser, word processor, and e-mail programs.
3.
The hospital information system is the network of interfaced subsystems, both hardware and software,
that coexist to serve the multiple computing requirements of a hospital or health system, including
services such as admissions, discharge, transfer, billing, laboratory, radiology, and others.
4.
An electronic health record is a computerized record of patient care.
5.
Computerized provider order entry systems are designed to minimize errors, increase patient care
efficiency, and provide decision support at the point of entry.
6.
Decision support systems can provide providers with best-practice protocols and up-to-date information
on diseases or act to automatically intervene in patient care when appropriate.
7.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a comprehensive piece of legislation designed
in part to enhance the privacy and security of computerized patient information.
8.
Providers are increasingly able to care for patients at a distance via the Internet, and telemedicine will
continue to grow as the technology improves, reimbursement becomes available, and legislation evolves.
Computer Hardware
Central Processing Unit
The central processing unit (CPU) is the brain of a modern computer. It sits on the motherboard, which is the
computer's skeleton and nervous system, and communicates with the rest of the computer and the world through
a variety of peripherals. Information travels through the computer on buses, which are the computer's
information highways or nerves, in the form of bits. Bits are aggregated into meaningful information in
exactly the same way that dots and dashes are used in Morse code. Bits are the building blocks for both the
instructions, or programs, and the data, or files, with which the computer works.
Today's CPU is a remarkable piece of engineering, totally comparable in scope and scale to our great bridges and
buildings, but so ubiquitous and hidden that most of us are unaware of its miniature magnificence. Chip designers
essentially create what can be thought of as a city, complete with transportation, utilities, housing, and a
government, every time they create a new CPU. With each new generation of chips, the cities grow substantially
and yet remain miniaturized to the size of a fingernail.
For the purposes of this text, the CPU can be treated as a black box into which flow two highways: one for data,
the other for instructions. Inside that black box, the CPU ( Fig. 4-1 ) uses the instructions to determine what to do
with datafor example, how to create this sentence from my interaction with the computer's keyboard. The
CPU's internal clock is like a metronome pacing the speed with which the instructions are executed.
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Figure 4-1 Programs and data are stored side by side in memory in the form of single data bitsthe program tells the central processing unit (CPU) what to do
with the data. RAM, random-access memory.
Most people think that the clock speed of the CPU, which is measured in megahertz, or millions of instructions per
minute, determines the performance speed of the unit. In reality, the performance of a CPU is a function of several
factors that should be intuitive to anesthesiologists when an operating room (OR) analogy is used. Let us compare
the clock speed to surgical speed, where a fast clock is comparable to a fast surgeon and vice versa. CPUs also
have what are called caches, which are holding areas for data and instructions, quite comparable to preoperative
holding areas. Information is moved around in the CPU on buses, which can be likened to the number of ORs. In
other words, it is possible to have a CPU that is limited because it has a slow or small cache, in the same way that
OR turnover is limited by the lack of preoperative preparation beds or too few ORs for the desired caseload.
The speed of a processor is a function of the width of its internal buses, clock speed, the size and speed of internal
caches, and the effectiveness with which it anticipates the future. Although this last concept may seem obscure, an
OR analogy would be an algorithm that predicts a procedure's length based on previous operations of the same
type by the same surgeon. Without going into detail, modern processors use techniques called speculation,
prediction, and explicit parallelism to maximize efficiency of the CPU.
True general-purpose computers are distinct from their predecessor calculating machines in that regardless of
whether they are relatively slow and small, as in dedicated devices such as smart phones, or highly streamlined
and fast, as in supercomputers, they can perform the same tasks given enough time. This definition was actually
formalized by Alan Turing, who is one of the fathers of computing.
Each type of CPU has its own instruction set, which is essentially its language. Families of CPUs, such as Intel's
processors, tend to use one common language, albeit with several dialects, depending on the specific chip. Other
CPU families use a very different language. A complexinstruction set computer (CISC) has a much more lush
vocabulary than a reducedinstruction set computer (RISC), but the latter may have certain efficiencies relative to
the former. It is the fact that both types of computer architecture can run exactly the same program (i.e., any
windowed operating system) that makes them general-purpose computers.
Memory
Computers have a variety of different kinds of memory ranging from very small, very fast memory in the CPU to
much slower, typically much larger memory storage sites that may be fixed (hard disk) or removable (compact
disk, flash drive).
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Ideally, we would like to have an infinite amount of extremely fast memory immediately available to the CPU, just
as we would like to have all of the OR patients for a given day waiting in the holding area ready to roll into the OR
as soon as the previous case is completed. Unfortunately, this would be infinitely expensive. The issue of ready
data availability is particularly important now, as opposed to a decade ago, because improvements in central
processing speed have outpaced gains in memory speed such that the CPU can sit idle for extended periods while it
waits for a desired chunk of data from memory.
Computer designers have come up with an approach that ensures a high likelihood that the desired data will be
close by. This necessitates the storage of redundant copies of the same data in multiple locations at the same time.
For example, the sentence I am currently editing in a document might be stored in very fast memory next to the
CPU, whereas a version of the complete document, including an older copy of the same sentence, could be stored
in slower, larger-capacity memory ( Fig. 4-2 ). At the conclusion of an editing session, the two versions are
reconciled and the newer sentence is inserted into the document.
Figure 4-2 Processing of text editing using several memory caches in which duplicate copies of the same text may be kept nearby for ready access.
The very fast memory adjacent to the CPU is referred as cache memory, and it comes in different sizes and speeds.
Cache memory is analogous to the preoperative and postoperative holding areas in an OR in that both represent
rapidly accessible buffer space. Modern computer architectures have primary and secondary caches that can
either be built into the CPU chip or be situated adjacent to it on the motherboard. Cache memory is typically
implemented in static random-access memory (SRAM), whereas the larger and slower main memory consists of
dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) modules. RAM has several characteristics, including the facts that it
can be read or written (in contrast with read-only memory), it disappears when the electricity is turned off, and it
is much faster than the memory on a disk drive.
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To understand the impact of the mismatch in memory access times and CPU speed, consider the following.
Today's fastest hard disks have access times measuring about 10 milliseconds (to get a random chunk of
information). If a 200-mHz CPU had to wait for 10 milliseconds between each action requiring new data from a
hard disk, it would sit idle for 2 million clock cycles between each clock cycle used for actual work. Furthermore,
it takes 10 times longer for the computer to get data from a compact disk or digital video disk than it does for data
from a hard disk.
Communications
There are many functionally independent parts of a computer that need to communicate seamlessly and on a
timely basis. The keyboard and mouse have to be able to signal their actions, the monitor must be refreshed
continuously, and the memory stores have to be read and written correctly. The CPU orchestrates all of this by
using various system buses as communication and data pathways. Whereas some of the buses are dedicated to
specific tasks on newer computers, such as communication with the video processor over a dedicated video bus,
others are general-purpose buses.
Buses are analogous to highways traveling between locations in the computer ( Fig. 4-3 ). In most computers, the
buses vary in width, with the main bus typically being the widest and other buses narrower and therefore of lower
capacity. Data (bits) travel along a bus in parallel, like a rank of soldiers, and at regular intervals determined by
the clock speed of the computer. Older computers had main buses 8 bits wide, whereas newer Pentium-class
computers use buses as wide as 64 bits.
Figure 4-3 Buses are like highways, where the number of available lanes relates to bus capacity.
Input-output buses link peripherals such as the mouse, keyboard, removable disk drives, and game controllers
to the rest of the computer. These buses have become faster and increasingly standardized. The universal serial
bus (USB) is a current widely accepted standard, as is Apple's proprietary Firewire bus. These buses allow onthe-fly attachment and removal of peripherals via a standardized plug, and a user can expect that a device
plugged into one of these ports will identify itself to the operating system and function without the need for specific
configuration. This is a distinct improvement over the previous paradigm, in which a user typically needed to open
the housing of the computer to attach a new peripheral and then configure a specific software driver to permit
communication between the device and the computer.
In addition to their local computing function, modern personal computers have become our conduits to networks
and must therefore act as terminal points on the Internet. As with houses or phones, each computer must have an
individual identifier (address, phone number) to receive communications uniquely intended for it. Examples of
these kinds of specific addresses are the IP (Internet protocol) address and the MAC (media access control)
address. The IP address is temporarily or permanently assigned to a device on the Internet (typically a computer)
to uniquely identify it among all of the other devices on the Internet. The MAC address is used to specifically
identify the network interface card for the computers that assign IP addresses.
The computer must also have the right kind of hardware to receive and interpret Internet-based communications.
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Wired and wireless network interface cards are built into all new computers and have largely replaced modems as
the hardware typically used for network communications. Whereas a modem communicates over existing phone
lines also used for voice communication, network cards communicate over channels specifically intended for
computer-to-computer communications and are almost invariably faster than modems.
Although we commonly think of the Internet as being one big network, it is instructive to understand a little bit
about the history of computer networking. In the beginning there were office networks and the progenitor
Internet. The first office network was designed at the Palo Alto Research Center, which is the Xerox research
laboratory where a number of major computer innovations were developed. That office network was called
Ethernet and was designed as part of the office of the future, where word-processing devices and printers were
cabled together. Separately, the ARPAnet was the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's creation and
linked mainframe computers at major universities. Over time, the two networks grew toward one another almost
organically, and today we have what seems to be a seamless network that links computers all overand above
the world.
Networking technology has evolved almost as rapidly as computer technology. As with buses in a computer, the
networks that serve the world can be likened to highways. Backbone networks ( Fig. 4-4 ) are strung across the
world and have tremendous capacity, like interstate highways. Lower-capacity systems feed into the backbones,
and traffic is directed by router computers. To facilitate traffic management, before transmission messages are cut
up into discrete packets, each of which travels autonomously to its destination, where they are reassembled.
Internet packets may travel over hard-wired, optical, or wireless networks en route to their destination.
Figure 4-4 Lower-speed networks are attached to high-speed core networks that span the globe. LAN, local area network.
Computer Software
Operating System and Programming
The operating system (OS) is the government of the computer. As with a municipal government, the OS is
responsible for coordinating the actions of disparate components of a computer, including its hardware and
various software programs, to ensure that the computer runs smoothly. Specifically, it controls the CPU, memory,
interface devices, and all the programs running on the machine at any given time. The OS also needs to provide a
consistent set of rules and regulations to which new programs must adhere to participate.
Although most of us think of Apple and Windows synonymously with OSs, there are other OSs that deserve
mention. Linux is an open-source, meaning nonproprietary, OS for personal computers that is distributed by
several different vendors but continuously maintained by a huge community of passionate programmer devotees
who contribute updates and new programs. In addition, every cell phone and smart device has its own OS that
performs exactly the same role as for a personal computer OS.
OSs can be categorized into four broad categories ( Fig. 4-5 ). A real-time OS is typically used to run a specific
piece of machinery, such as a scientific instrument, and is dedicated solely to that task. A single-user, single-task
OS is like that found on a cell phone, where a single user does one job at a time, such as dialing, browsing, or email. Most of today's laptop and desktop computers are equipped with single-user, multitasking OSs, whereby a
single user can run several jobs simultaneously, such as word processing, e-mail, and a browser. Finally, multi-
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user, multitasking OSs are usually found on mainframe computers and run many jobs for many users
concurrently.
Figure 4-5 Several operating system configurations.
All OSs have a similar core set of jobs: CPU management, memory management, storage management, device
management, application interfacing, and user interfacing. Without getting into detail beyond the scope of this
chapter, the OS breaks a given software job down into manageable chunks and orders them for sequential
assignment to the CPU. The OS also coordinates the flow of data among the various internal memory stores, as
well as determines where that data will be stored for the long term and keeps track of it from session to session.
The OS provides a consistent interface for applications so that the third-party program that you buy at a store will
work properly on a given OS. Finally, and of most importance for many of us, the OS manages its interface to you,
the user. Typically, today that takes the form of a graphic user interface (GUI).
E-mail
E-mail communication over the Internet antedated the browser-based World Wide Web by decades. In fact, the
earliest e-mail was designed for communication among multiple users in a time-sharing, multi-user environment
on a mainframe computer. E-mail was used for informal and academic communications among the largely
university-based user community. Without going into great detail, an e-mail communication protocol was
designed so that each message included information about the sender, the addressee, and the body of the message.
The protocol is called the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and the process of message transmission
proceeds as follows. The sender composes a message via a software-based messaging program (such as Outlook,
Gmail). The sender then applies the recipient's address and dispatches the message. The message travels through a
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series of mailboxes, much as a regular letter does, and eventually arrives at the addressee's mailbox, where it sits
awaiting pickup.
Although e-mail has had dramatic and largely positive implications for the connectedness of organizations and
people, it has also created hitherto unimagined problems, including spam, privacy issues, and the need for new
forms of etiquette.
The term spam is said to have come from a Monty Python skit. Spam is such a ubiquitous problem that most email crossing the Internet is spam at this point. Spam is essentially bulk e-mail and was never envisioned by the
creators of SMTP. Spam is a generic problem with e-mail communications, but the issues of privacy and etiquette
are of much greater relevance for medically oriented e-mail.
The American Medical Informatics Association has taken a lead role in defining the issues associated with e-mail
in the medical setting. The organization defined patient-provider e-mail as computer based communication
between clinicians and patients within a contractual relationship in which the health care provider has taken on
an explicit measure of responsibility for the client's care. [1] A parallel set of issues relates to medically oriented
communications between providers. [2] [3] [4] [5] Another category of medically oriented communications is that in
which a provider offers medical advice in the absence of a contractual relationship. An egregious example of the
latter is the prescription of erectile dysfunction remedies by physicians who review a Web-based form submitted
by the patient and then prescribe a treatment for a fee.
In theory, e-mail is a perfect way to communicate with patients. [6] [7] [8] [9] Because of its asynchronous nature, it
allows two parties who may not be available at the same time to communicate efficiently ( Fig. 4-6 ), and it
represents the middle road between two other types of asynchronous communication: voice mail and traditional
mail. E-mail can also be tailored to brief exchanges, more structured communications, and information broadcasts
(such as announcements). As such, a patient could send interval updates (blood pressure, blood sugar) to the
physician. Alternatively, the physician could follow up on an office visit by providing educational material about a
newly diagnosed condition or planned procedure.
Figure 4-6 E-mail is an effective form of communication between a patient and a physician because it does not require both parties to be present at the same
time.
Even though e-mail has many advantages in medicine, there are a variety of risks associated with its use, which
has slowed adoption. [10] Some of the problems are generic to any e-mail exchange. Specifically, it is a more
informal and often unfiltered form of communication than a letter and often has the immediacy of a conversation
but lacks its visual and verbal cues. Emoticons (such as the use of :) to indicate that a comment was sent with a
smile) evolved as a remedy for this problem.
E-mail is also permanent in the sense that copies of it remain in mailbox backups even after deletion from local
files ( Fig. 4-7 ). Every e-mail should therefore be thought of as discoverable from both a liability and
recoverability standpoint. Before dispatch e-mail should be scrutinized for information or content that might be
regretted at a later date.
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Figure 4-7 E-mail leaves copies of itself as it travels across the Internet.
E-mail is also vulnerable to inadvertent or malicious breaches in privacy or disclosure through improper handling
of data at any point along the chain of custody between the sender and the recipient. Alternatively, a hacker
could potentially acquire sensitive medical information from unsecured e-mail or possibly even alter medical
advice and test results in an e-mail from physician to patient.
The Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) legislation mandates secure electronic
communication in correspondence regarding patient care. Three prerequisites for secure communication include
authentication (that the message sender and recipient are who they say they are), encryption (that the message
arrived unread and untampered with), and time/date stamping (that the message was sent at a verifiable time and
date), although these techniques are not yet widely deployed in the medical community.
It is beyond the scope of this chapter to go into great detail about the methods used to authenticate, encrypt, and
time-stamp e-mail. However, it is possible to ensure that each of these elements by using mathematically linked
pairs of numbers (keys), in which an individual's public key is published and freely available through a central
registry (like a phone book) whereas a linked private key is kept secret ( Fig. 4-8 ). Public key encryption
combined with traditional encryption is used to transmit messages securely across public networks, ensure that
messages can be read only by a specific individual, and digitally sign the message.
Figure 4-8 Public/private key encryption in which Joe sends a message intended only for Bob by using Bob's public keythe message remains encrypted until
Bob decrypts it with his private key.
Although the use of e-mail for medical patient-provider and provider-provider communications is growing, it is
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not yet universally adopted for several reasons, including physician distrust of the medium, unfamiliarity with
software, lack of standards, and lack of clear methods for reimbursement for time spent in e-mail
communications. Nevertheless, several professional societies have published consensus recommendations about the
management of e-mail in medical practice. Common consensus-based elements are enumerated in ( Box 4-1 ).
Box 4-1
Suggested Rules for E-mail Correspondence in a Medical Setting
All patient-provider e-mail should be encrypted.

Correspondents should be authenticated (guarantee you are who you say you are).
Patient confidentiality should be protected.
Unauthorized access to e-mail (electronic or paper) should be prevented.
The patient should provide informed consent regarding the scope and nature of electronic communications.
Electronic communications should (ideally) occur in the context of a preexisting physician-patient relationship.
On-line communications are to be considered a part of the patient's medical record and should be included
with the same.
Browser
Many people think of the Internet and the World Wide Web as one and the same. The Internet is the worldwide
network, whereas the Web is one of its applications characterized by the browsers with which its users interact.
The browser was invented by Tim Berners Lee at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, commonly
known as CERN, in 1990. Marc Andreessen wrote the Mosaic browser and subsequently the Netscape browser,
which like all subsequent browsers, has a GUI and uses a specific language called hypertext markup language
(HTML). Microsoft eventually developed its own version of the browser, Internet Explorer, after recognizing the
inevitability of the Web.
The browser is a computer program, just like a word-processing or e-mail program, with a GUI. It can be thought
of as a radio or television insofar is it serves as an interface to media that do not originate within it. The address of
a webpage is analogous to the channel or frequency of a television or radio, and the browser tunes in to that
address. In actuality, the local browser on your machine communicates with a server somewhere on the Internet
(at the address specified in the address line) and uses a communication protocol called HTML as its language. The
webpage displayed on your local browser was first constructed on the server and then sent to you.
The original HTML was extremely spare and permitted the construction of very simple webpages. A variety of
new languages and protocols have subsequently come into existence, such as Java, Javascript, ActiveX, Flash,
and others, that allow enhancements to HTML. New browsers support interactivity, security, display of audio and
video content, and other functions. Even though the scope of topics that could be covered in discussing browser
communications far exceeds that of this chapter, certain issues deserve mention.
Cookies is the term used for short lines of text that act like laundry tickets and are used by an Internet server
(such as a Google search engine server) to remember things about the client computers with which it interacts.
Cookies allow the server to keep track, for example, of the items that you have put in your virtual shopping cart as
you shop ( Fig. 4-9 ). Although cookies are not inherently risky, there are other risks to the use of a browser.
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Figure 4-9 Cookies are used by a website, for example, to keep track of the items that a user has put in the shopping cart.
Like a television, the browser acts like a window on the Internet, and for a long time it was safe to think of that
window as being made of one-way glass. Unfortunately, many of the new innovations that allow us to function
interactively with websites also have built-in flaws that permit malicious programmers to gain access to your
computer. The best way to protect a computer involves timely application of all updates and patches issued by
software manufacturers and the use of antivirus software with up-to-date definitions.
Computers and Computing in Medicine
Hospital Information Systems
Modern hospital information systems invariably fall somewhere on the spectrum between a monolithic single
comprehensive system design, wherein a single vendor provides all of the components of the system, and a bestin-breed model consisting of multiple vendor-specific systems interacting through interfaces or, more typically,
an interface engine. [11] [12] [13] [14] The monolithic system has the advantage of smooth interoperability, but
some of the component elements may be substantially inferior to those offered by best-in-breed vendors.
Component elements of a hospital information system include administrative, clinical, documentation, billing, and
business systems. [15] [16] [17] Medical information technology is increasingly subject to governmental regulation,
security concerns, and standards. Standards are essential for interoperability among systems and to ensure that
systems use uniform terminology. [18]
Health Level 7 (HL7) is an accepted set of rules and protocols for communication among medical devices. Clinical
Context Management Specification (also known as CCOW) is a method to enable end users to seamlessly view
results from disparate back-end clinical systems as though they were integrated. Some of the common medical
terminologies or vocabularies include the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) and the
International Classification of Diseases (the ICD family of classifications). [19]
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Modern complicated medical information systems often weave a host of disparate systems at geographically
dispersed locations into an extended intranet. A core hospital, for example, may share an intranet with a
geographically remote outpatient practice, or several hospitals in the same health system may coexist within the
same intranet. Some of the elements may be physically connected ( Fig. 4-10 ) along a network backbone,
whereas others may use virtual private network (VPN) connections that allow the user to appear to be part of the
network while at a remote location. [16]
Figure 4-10 Modern health care information systems consist of elements attached to a backbone. ADT, admission, discharge, and transfer.
Electronic Health Record
The electronic record (see Chapter 99 ) has been described variously as a computerized medical record,
computerized patient record, electronic medical record, and electronic health record (EHR). [20] [21] [22] [23] It is
clear that various settings require radically different EHRs and that EHRs will eventually need to interface
seamlessly. [24] [25]
The current evolution of software-based EHRs is recapitulating the evolution of hospital information systems as it
occurred over the 1980s and 1990s. Best-in-breed commercial systems or home-grown site-specific systems are
evolving, such as automated anesthesia EHRs [26] [27] and intensive care unit (ICU) EHRs ( Fig. 4-11 ). At the
same time, large vendors have developed generic inpatient and outpatient EHRs. Health systems will inevitably be
faced with the same choices about whether to go with monolithic or best-in-breed EHR software that they have
with clinical systems.
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Figure 4-11 Vendors have developed specialty electronic health records. ED, emergency department; ICU, intensive care unit.
The Institute of Medicine issued a recent report characterizing key aspects of an EHR, including an integrated,
longitudinal view of patient data; concurrent access to the body of knowledge pertaining both to the patient's
condition and to the rules and regulations associated with reimbursement in this age of managed care; order and
data entry; and decision support tools that provide current knowledge about diseases, treatments, drug
interactions, and risk profiles.
Ideally, the electronic record will provide tools for communication among providers. The EHR should also
provide immediate access to population-level information for administrative and research applications.
The Veteran's Health Administration of the United States is an example of a very successful EHR implementation;
however, in most hospitals, orders, notes, and reports are still maintained on paper. Additionally, very few smallpractice environments have undergone any degree of computerization because the barriers to computerization are
formidable.
Technical obstacles to computerization of the medical record are relatively obvious, but there are also
organizational, financial, and policy obstacles. [28] [29] [30] Adoption of an EHR implies a fundamental
reorganization of the way that medicine is practiced in a clinical environment. [31] [32] For example, many older
physicians have had little occasion to use a computer and are likely to be slowed in their performance of formerly
routine tasks, which is a major barrier at a time when demands for efficiency are increasing substantially ( Fig. 412 ).
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Figure 4-12 Various barriers to adoption of electronic health records.
Despite the barriers, governmental and private stakeholders are developing incentives, bonuses, and low-cost
capital to encourage use of the EHR. Providers may eventually mandate EHR systems as a condition of
participation in certain U.S. insurance plans, such as Medicare.
The EHR is designed to automate the medical record, but once that process occurs, a number of follow-on
opportunities become available, such as enhanced patient care delivery, improved efficiency of support processes
(e.g., laboratory, radiology, housekeeping, transport), and automated administrative functions (e.g., billing and
reimbursement). The EHR can also be used as a vehicle for education, provider regulation, research, public
health, and policy support (see Fig. 4-12 ).
The core functions expected of EHRs fall into eight general categories. The first is management of patient health
information and data. Second is presentation of results acquired from patient testing. The third function of EHRs
is computerized order entry (CPOE). A fourth key benefit of EHRs is decision support, whereby automatically
generated reminders and prompts are used to inform the behavior of clinicians. EHRs may be equipped with
communication tools. Patient support tools such as pamphlets describing a disease or discharge directions can be
generated automatically. Administrative processes can be integrated into EHRs, including scheduling systems,
billing management, and insurance validation. Finally, internal and external reporting requirements can be
simplified by using reporting systems built into EHRs.
The concept of a universal medical record deserves specific attention. It has always been desirable for providers in
one location to have access to data from a medical record generated at another location, and although there are
many models of a universal medical record, such as a record owned and kept by the patient on a piece of
hardware such as a flash drive, there are a variety of problems with this approach. A more practical approach is
currently being deployed by large vendors such as Microsoft and Google, which now offer patient medical
vaults that are maintained on line and over which the patient has read-write and access control.
Computerized Order Entry
CPOE systems have begun to gain a foothold in the provision of care at many hospitals, although 50% of
American hospitals still lack one. Prescribing errors are the most common source of adverse drug event, and
CPOEs, with or without decision support tools, are widely viewed as being integral to reduction in errors and
formulary control. CPOEs came into the spotlight after the Institute of Medicine's 1999 report To Err Is Human:
Building a Safer Health System, in which 44,000 to 98,000 deaths per year were attributable to medical errors;
however, although CPOE has great potential, poorly designed or deployed systems will either not be adopted or
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potentially cause errors.

Broadly, the term CPOE is used to refer to computer-based ordering systems designed to automate the ordering
process, be it for drugs or for requesting pathologic or radiologic tests. Benefits include the output of
standardized, complete, legible orders consistent with the hospital's formulary and automatically sent to the
pharmacy ( Fig. 4-13 ). CPOE is also almost invariably associated with a decision support system (DSS), which will
be discussed in more detail in the next section.
Figure 4-13 Various benefits of a computerized order entry (CPOE).
Successful deployment of CPOE will occur only when the system is deployed as part of a fundamental redesign in
the delivery of patient care. The organizational aspects of CPOE deployment have been described by a recent
consensus panel from the American Medical Informatics Association in which nine elements of successful systems
were highlighted. The first is the development of a clear understanding of all of the institution-specific drivers for
implementation of a CPOE system, be they regulatory, regional competition for patients, or internal. A second
critical element is sustained internal leadership-level support during implementation of the CPOE system. Third,
the CPOE system must be adequately funded in all respects, including training of personnel. A fourth and critical
element is prospective understanding of the way in which CPOE will affect workflow at all sites in the
organization ( Fig. 4-14 ). A corollary to this element is the fifth, which is ensuring a positive cost-benefit ratio
for each of the providers who use the system by the creation of time savers such as order sets. The sixth element of
successful CPOE systems is the selection of an appropriate deployment strategy, whether it be an all-at-once or a
staged approach. The seventh consideration relates to the technical details of CPOE implementation, such as the
replacement of legacy systems. Training and support must be comprehensive and is the eighth element. The ninth
and final critical aspect is the design of a plan for continuous quality improvement after implementation of the
system.
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Figure 4-14 Integration of computerized order entry (CPOE) into the workflow of an organization.
Decision Support Systems/Artificial Intelligence
Decision support tools integrated into the EHR and CPOE can provide immediate access to current medical
knowledge, institutional best practices, billing compliance information, and administrative functions and can
facilitate cost control. Although there is a wide range of architectures, DSSs fall somewhere on the spectrum
between expert systems, in which rules developed by domain experts are used to drive decision support, and
autonomous systems that have the ability to learn and make observations about large data sets. An example of
the latter might be a system that automatically culls through a physician's orders to develop a profile of
prescribing patterns.
A DSS can act in one of three ways. It may be a passive system that responds with information when asked.
Alternatively, it may be semiactive and provide alerts or alarms only when certain conditions are met. Finally, a
system may be active and autonomous and generate an order set or manage a medical process automatically, such
as automated weaning of mechanical ventilation according to built-in rules.
Clinicians want certain functions from a DSS, such as access to national consensus guidelines when available,
concurrent presentation of relevant patient information when ordering, intelligent alerts, reminders to engage in
patient-specific activities (such as immunizations), and the ability to measure their performance versus that of
peers in a way that results in continuous improvement in performance.
HIPAA and Data Security
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Enacted in 1996, the HIPAA was initially designed to protect workers from losing their health insurance
(portability) during job transition and to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of their medical
information (accountability). HIPAA covers three critical aspects of automated health care information: privacy,
universal coding formats, and security. [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]
The target of the privacy element is what is known as protected health information, and the bill ensures a patient's
right to control the use of that information as it relates to health care, the business of health care, and research.
The HIPAA mandates the creation of universal code sets that cover, for example, the classification of diseases and
describes both a national provider and national patient identification number. There are a variety of concerns
about the latter that have prevented its adoption to date. The security aspect of the legislation relates to the
physical and electronic aspects of ensuring the protection of patient health information ( Fig. 4-15 ).
Figure 4-15 Security aspects of the HIPAA legislation relate to the physical aspects protecting unauthorized access to protected health information.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine and telehealth are the application of health care services across space, time, and social and cultural
barriers. Telemedicine has been demonstrated in a variety of disciplines, including surgery, emergency medicine,
cardiology, dermatology, ophthalmology, neurology, gastroenterology, rehabilitation, and critical care
medicine. [26] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] However, although telemedicine has already had an
enormous impact on the ability of patients to access medical information, there are a variety of barriers to
widespread implementation of clinical care at a distance, including licensure, credentialing, malpractice, and
reimbursement.
Telemedicine holds great promise as a means of making medical care available to underserved areas, providing
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access to specialists at remote locations, and allowing patients to receive medical attention in their home when
physical contact is not a critical element of an encounter. In addition, new technologies are currently under
development, including teleimmersion and telepresence. Teleimmersion permits geographically dispersed people
to collaborate in a shared virtual space, whereas telepresence refers to a system in which the human practitioner
may have visual and mechanical actuators and sensors permitting them to see, feel, and move objects in a
remote environment ( Fig. 4-16 ).
Figure 4-16 Telepresence relates to the ability to be virtually present at a patient's bedside.
Telesurgery demonstration projects have been done, for example, with both laparoscopic and robotic instruments
to operate at a distance. A number of other demonstration projects are under way in various fields of medicine,
and reimbursement agencies are beginning to develop methods of reimbursement for telemedicine-based
activities. In addition, there are a few commercially available models for delivery of telemedicine, including
remote radiographic interpretation, in some cases from appropriately credentialed radiologists interpretation
from international locations, and critical care coverage from remote, virtual ICUs.
Telemedicine will eventually change the way that medicine is practiced in many fundamental ways. It is equally
certain that the speed of technologic change will outstrip that of regulatory, reimbursement, and legislative
change. [51]
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19.. Rosenbloom ST, Miller RA, Johnson KB, et al: Interface terminologies: Facilitating direct entry of clinical
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20.. Mehta NB, Partin MH: Electronic health records: A primer for practicing physicians. Cleve Clin J
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21.. Menachemi N, Brooks RG: Reviewing the benefits and costs of electronic health records and associated
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40.. Brignell M, Wootton R, Gray L, et al: The application of telemedicine to geriatric medicine. Age
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49.. Sood S, Mbarika V, Jugoo S, et al: What is telemedicine? A collection of 104 peer-reviewed perspectives and
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51.. Anderson JG: Social, ethical and legal barriers to e-health. Int J Med Inform 2007; 76:480-483.
5 Quality Improvement
Eugenie S. Heitmiller,
Elizabeth A. Martinez,
Peter J. Pronovost
Key Points
1.
Quality is a characteristic of the system in which care is delivered, and every system is perfectly designed
to achieve the results that it achieves. If we want to improve the quality of care that we provide, we need
to reorganize the way that we work.
2.
The growing demand for improved quality and safety in health care from patients, providers, insurers,
regulators, accreditors, and purchasers calls for anesthesiologists to evaluate the quality of care that they
provide.
3.
Improving quality of care entails measuring performance. However, health care providers have limited
ability to obtain feedback regarding performance in their daily work, in part because of a lack of
information systems and lack of agreement on how to measure quality of care.
4.
The goal of measurement is to learn and improve. The measurement system must fit into an improvement
system; caregivers must have the will to work cooperatively to improve, they must have ideas or
hypotheses about changes in the current system of care, and the team must have a model for testing
changes and implementing those that result in improvements.
5.
Previous efforts to measure performance have focused predominantly on outcome measures, including inhospital mortality rates. Although important, hospital mortality alone provides an incomplete picture in
that it does not provide insight into all domains of quality. A balanced set of structures (how care is
organized), processes (what we do), and outcome measures (results we achieve) is needed to obtain a more
accurate picture of the quality of care.
6.
Future efforts to improve quality of care in the field of anesthesiology should focus on the development of
valid, reliable, and practical measures of quality.
7.
Developing a quality measure requires several steps: prioritize the clinical area to evaluate; select the
type of measure; write definitions and design specifications; develop data collection tools; pilot-test data
collection tools and evaluate the validity, reliability, and feasibility of measures; develop scoring and
analytic specifications; and collect baseline data.
8.
One of the greatest opportunities to improve quality of care and patient outcomes probably will not come
from discovering new therapies but from discovering how to better deliver therapies that are known to be
effective.
9.
Strategies that have been used successfully in the aviation industry to improve performance include
interventions to reduce complexity and the creation of redundancies in the system to ensure that critical
processes occur. These strategies have not been fully evaluated in the practice of anesthesia.
10. Health care providers can organize their patient safety and quality improvement efforts around three key
areas: translating evidence into practice, identifying and mitigating hazards, and improving culture and
communication. Although each of these areas requires different tools, they all help health care
organizations to evaluate progress in patient safety and quality.
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Quality improvement (QI) programs have become a compelling force in virtually all branches of medicine. The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission have put forth regulatory policies
to further ensure that patients receive interventions that are evidence based and are broadly accepted as the
standard of care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the health services research arm of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, maintains a website that contains information on clinical
practice guidelines and QI initiatives along with data to support their use. These guidelines and initiatives are
increasingly being used to maintain accreditation of facilities, achieve optimal reimbursement, and provide quality
patient care.
The goal of this chapter is to present a practical framework for developing and implementing QI programs in
anesthesiology and critical care medicine that are both scientifically sound and feasible. To accomplish this goal,
we review the science of QI, present measures that help evaluate whether QI programs are valid, and offer
examples of successful QI efforts.
What Is Quality?
The word quality is used to describe the degree or grade of excellence of a trait or characteristic of a system. It is a
key word used ubiquitously by many professions and businesses. Quality is job one was once the well-known
slogan of the Ford Motor Company. It implied that they got it right. However, the recalls on their cars and trucks
revealed that such was not always the case. In health care, our recall was the 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM)
report To Err Is Human. [1] By estimating the number of preventable deaths per year caused by medical errors,
the report showed that the need to improve quality in health care was substantial. It still is.
The medical profession has been working for more than a century to improve health care quality. In the early
1900s, Dr. Ernest Codman, a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, began his lifelong pursuit of tracking
patient outcomes to serve as a foundation for improving the care of future patients. [2] He went on to lead the
founding of the American College of Surgeons and its Hospital Standardization Program, which has become what
is known today as The Joint Commission. Over time, quality assurance programs were developed whereby
selected indicators were monitored by retrospective chart review to measure compliance with recommended
practices. However, we learned that this did not necessarily ensure quality and that it led to fears of punitive
action for the health care worker. The intention of monitoring quality of care was, and still is, to learn and
improve, not to judge or punish. With this realization, quality assurance became quality improvement. Today, the
focus of health care quality is on continuous QI programs.
QI is better facilitated when an interdisciplinary group of health care providers and administrators regularly
reviews performance, designs interventions to improve, and creates a team to implement the interventions. [3] It is
common to describe quality improvement in terms of patient safety. At times, it is difficult to separate the
two. The 2001 IOM report Crossing the Quality Chasm classified safety as a component of the broader concept of
quality. [4] However, the boundaries between the two remain poorly defined. Among the domains of quality,
patient safety generally includes efforts to translate evidence into practice, identify and mitigate hazards, and
improve safety culture and communication.
A growing demand continues for improved quality and safety in health care from patients, providers, insurers,
regulators, and accreditors. This demand is warranted; evidence suggests that safety and quality of care in
hospitals can be improved. [5] [6] [7] Improvement is not limited just to programs developed to prevent mistakes of
commissionthings we do to patientsbut also includes programs to prevent mistakes of omission, whereby
patients do not receive the therapies that they should. [8]
Historical Methods of Quality Assessment
Before QI, there was quality assurance. Review of adverse events or defectspeer review, morbidity and
mortality conferences, isolated liability claims, and incident reportshas been used historically for quality
assurance programs. However, the information provided by these sources is often haphazard and biased.
Typically, these adverse events are rare for any given practitioner and are not linked to denominators, thereby
limiting the ability to estimate rates and risk, nor do they necessarily reflect quality of care or progress made by
QI programs. Moreover, these efforts generally focus on assigning blame (who made the error) rather than on
how to reduce the risk for future patients (learning from the mistake).
In an effort to encompass a larger group of adverse events, the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) began a
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Closed Claims Database in 1985. [9] Closed malpractice claims against anesthesiologists provided an enriched
environment for collecting information about rare but often catastrophic events. The database provided an
opportunity to examine a large set of rare events that might reveal hazards that were common in hospitals and
insights that would be otherwise difficult to discern. To be certain, these events represent a biased sample. Most
adverse events do not result in claims, and many claims are not the result of preventable adverse events. [10] The
information derived from the ASA Closed Claims Database was the impetus for development of QI safety and
educational programs with the goal of reducing risk to patients. As an example, a review of adverse respiratory
events in the Closed Claims Database, published by Caplan and colleagues in 1990, [11] was followed by
organization of an ASA taskforce that established practice guidelines for the difficult airway, [12] [13] founding of
a Difficult Airway Society in 1995 (http://www.das.uk.com
) with its difficult airway guidelines, [14] and
development of multidisciplinary difficult airway programs. [15]
Voluntary incident reporting that identifies hazardous systems has been used successfully to improve patient care
and foster QI programs. [16] As the potential of voluntary incident reporting is being realized in health care,
reporting has become less punitive and more focused on systems rather than individuals. Voluntary incident
reporting, when appropriately applied, helps identify hazards to patients, which can then become the focus of QI
efforts that seek to mitigate these hazards. [17] Unlike other methods that evaluate harmed patients, voluntary
incident reporting provides the potential to also learn from near missesincidents that did not lead to harm but
could have. Although voluntary reporting systems are growing rapidly, most of the effort has been focused on
encouraging the actual reporting of events; even more important is the need to focus on learning from these events
and reducing risks to patients.
The Intensive Care Unit Safety Reporting System (ICUSRS) project is an example of such an incident reporting
system. [18] In the ICUSRS, researchers and caregivers created a web-based, anonymous reporting system that
sought to uncover unsafe conditions that could lead to patient harm. They partnered with the Society for Critical
Care Medicine to provide expert analysis and feedback to members on lessons learned regarding how to improve
patient safety. The ICUSRS has assembled a large community of intensive care units (ICUs) across the United
States and is realizing the potential for incident reporting to improve patient care. [19] [20] This type of reporting
system could be widely applied by anesthesiology to develop QI programs and evidence-based practice.
Measures of Quality Improvement
Key to improving quality in patient care is the ability to measure the progress made. Health care currently has few
scientifically sound, feasible measures, and significant effort is necessary to further develop such measures. Health
care has borrowed tools from other disciplines (e.g., organizational psychology, sociology, and human-factors
engineering) that have developed basic quality and safety-related principles. As Brennan and coworkers noted,
other disciplines can be considered the basic science of quality. [21]
At the end of World War II, W. Edwards Deming, an American statistician, introduced the concept of QI in
industry, thereby heralding the advent of the modern-day science of improvement. Deming's work helped improve
productivity in the United States but made an even bigger impact in Japan, where implementation of his QI
methods resulted in Japan becoming renowned for producing innovative, high-quality products. [22] Deming's
components for improvement were summarized by Langley and associates [23] as (1) appreciation of a system
(people, procedures, equipment), (2) understanding of variation (is a change in outcome a result of a change in
practice or simply due to luck?), and (3) theory of knowledge and psychology of change (how people react to
change, why they resist, and how to overcome the resistance).
Japan's increased productivity, plus the subsequent adoption of these techniques globally, was a clear measure of
the validity of Deming's methods. These methods are rooted in science and depend on robust evaluation.
Developing similar measures of quality in health care was (and still is) a challenge. Although patient care cannot
necessarily be equated with industry, some similarities exist. Avedis Donabedian was one of the masters of
designing measures of health care improvement programs. In the 1980s, Donabedian proposed that we measure
the quality of health care by observing its structure (the attributes of the settings where care is delivered), process
(whether good medical practices are being followed), and outcome (the impact of the care on health status); this is
known as the Donabedian Quality-of-Care Framework. [24] [25] This framework may be applied to the clinical
setting as follows: First, caregivers must have the will to work cooperatively to improve. Second, the group must
have ideas or hypotheses about making changes in the current system of care that are based on scientific fact or
expert consensus. Third, the team must have a model for testing changes and implementing those that result in
improvement. [23] This ability to measure change in terms of improvement is fundamental to any QI program. [26]
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Process and Outcome Measures
As stated earlier, QI measures can be an outcome (morbidity, mortality, length of stay, quality of life, or
perceptions of care), a process (-blockers for patients with coronary artery disease), or a structural measure
(ICU physician or nurse staffing ratio). [27] [28] Each of these measures has advantages and limitations. [29]
Process measures are readily accepted by health care providers because they demonstrate the degree to which
caregivers can influence a process, with the intention of improving patient outcomes. Providers generally feel
more accountable for the process of care than for its outcomes because outcomes may be affected by many other
variables. [29] An obstacle to using process as a measure of quality is sustainability; frequent updating is required
as the science of medicine advances.
Process measures that evaluate how care is delivered may be easier to measure and implement and can provide
important insight into care. [30] Process measures can provide immediate feedback regarding performance,
thereby allowing rapid improvements in care. Additional important advantages of evaluating process measures
are (1) that they generally have face validity for providers, which means that providers believe that they can use
the data to improve care, and (2) because risk adjustment is less important, broad implementation is feasible.
Moreover, joint efforts among providers, professional societies, and external government or payer agencies have
made them more feasible. [30]
To be valid, process measures should have causal links to important outcomes; a change in the process should
produce a desired change in outcome. One of the greatest opportunities to improve patient outcome may well
come from discovering how to deliver therapies (processes) that are known to be effective in producing a desired
outcome. [31] For example, prior hand washing and application of chlorhexidine to sterilize the skin site before
insertion of a central venous catheter (CVC) are two of five processes known to reduce catheter-related
bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). [32] Process measures such as these are indicators of whether patients reliably
receive evidence-based interventions known to prevent complications.
When measuring processes, it is essential to remember that patient factors, bias in measurement, and
interventions already in place as part of standard practice all play a role in outcomes. The linkage of process to
outcomes must be previously demonstrated scientifically or must be widely accepted by peers, although the latter
risks being accepted but wrong. In general, a balanced set of process and outcome measures helps to inform
improvement efforts and provides evidence that such efforts have made a difference in the lives of patients.
The need for risk adjustment and long-term follow-up is complex. If an outcome occurs infrequently, it will take
considerable time before providers can obtain meaningful feedback. For example, evidence of improved rates of
CRBSI (an outcome measure) may require 3 months of data (because infections develop in few patients), whereas
improved adherence to evidence-based practices to reduce infections (process measures) may be observed within a
week (because all patients can be evaluated to determine whether they received the intervention). Nevertheless,
consumers and employers are increasingly requesting outcome measures. The relative focus on outcome and
process measures will depend on finding the balance between collecting data that are scientifically sound yet
feasible.
Analysis of Quality Improvement Data
The QI team must decide how the data will be analyzed and how clinical and statistical significance will be
determined. A common feature of a well-run QI project is correlation of several measures over time. The
horizontal (x) axis can represent time in days, weeks, or months, and the vertical (y) axis can represent the
performance measure ( Fig. 5-1 ). The analyst annotates the plots with the timing of the interventions or other
significant events such as, in this example, implementation of an educational program for the appropriate timing
of administering antibiotics preoperatively.
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Figure 5-1 Example of a plot of a performance measure over time. The horizontal (x) axis represents time in months, and the vertical (y) axis represents the
performance measurepercent compliance with the timing of administration of preoperative antibiotics.
Although analysis of rates or proportions is generally clear, analysis of continuous data, such as time, is less clear.
There is often uncertainty regarding the unit of analysis when plotting data over time (commonly called a control
chart). Should the unit of time be days, weeks, months, or years? The unit of analysis should be selected so that
learning is optimized; it is influenced by sample-size requirements and by the frequency with which the
investigator plans to provide feedback or launch interventions, or both. [33] In general, feedback regarding process
measures can be provided more frequently than feedback for outcome measures can. Scales and units of measure
should be chosen to optimize learning of the user. [34] Therefore, the user of the information should be involved in
deciding which unit of measure to use.
Time series consisting of data from small samples collected continually over time is the standard for QI work. It is
less costly to implement than measurements associated with the large, one-time data collection of controlled trials.
Study of the patterns of variation in the measures over time determines the performance of the system and its
stability. The patterns in time series data contain important information; other methods that rely on averages or
other summary statistics can hide this information (e.g., comparing results across the arms of a randomized,
controlled trial).
Uncontrolled observational measurement holds higher risk for unrecognized bias and incorrect conclusions about
cause and effect than more rigorous designs do. However, unlike these designs, in which measurement ends when
the researchers leave, in a health care setting, time series measurement continues to determine whether the
perceived improvement is sustainable. This is contingent on having a system to collect, analyze, and report back
data. Incorrect claims of improvement that result from faulty inference become apparent in time.
Periodic measurement can be built into daily work and allows the clinical team to continually evaluate
performance. Any decline in performance is evident, and a clinical team can quickly respond. If properly planned
and coordinated, such local outcomes tracking, when combined with descriptions of evolved systems of care, can
enhance learning at both the local and regional level, as well as the national level. This widespread learning and
improvement are consistent with the call for action issued in 1997 by Lundberg and Wennberg. [35]
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Examples of Quality Improvement Programs and Tools

Voluntary Incident Reporting
Providers who are given a readily available means of reporting incidents can be an excellent source of information
for the development of QI programs. However, data from these voluntary reporting systems should not be
interpreted as rates or be used to evaluate progress in patient safety. The following is an example of a self-reported
medication error and the actions that were taken after a detailed (root cause) analysis of the factors that led to the
error.
An ICU patient was administered Zosyn (piperacillin/tazobactam) intravenously despite a documented allergy to
penicillin. On cursory review, the physician who wrote the order and the nurse who administered the medication
appeared to be at fault because they failed to note the penicillin allergy. An in-depth investigation of this
medication error was undertaken, with appropriate scrutiny to identify the system failures that resulted in this
error. First, we will review the circumstances that led to the error through the eyes of the caregivers involved.
The patient was exhibiting signs of pneumonia. The physician was interrupted (distracted) while writing the order
for Zosyn and failed to review the patient's allergies. The bedside nurse did not realize that Zosyn contained
piperacillin and was contraindicated for a patient with an allergy to penicillin. The bedside nurse did know that
administering the antibiotic within 1 hour of the diagnosis of pneumonia would dramatically improve the patient's
outcome and that the 1-hour rule was a core measure for pneumonia therapy. On further discussion with staff,
investigators discovered that the nurse's concern over administering the antibiotic quickly was perpetuated by a
broken fax machine and a nonfunctioning pneumatic tube transport system. Orders were normally faxed to the
pharmacy, and medications were then dispensed through the pneumatic tube system for a quick turnaround.
Because the system for quickly obtaining medications failed, the nurse borrowed the Zosyn from floor stock.
This case is a powerful example of how each step aligned to achieve a catastrophic outcome. By borrowing the
antibiotic from floor stock, a crucial safety check of potential medication allergies by the pharmacist was
bypassed. The root-cause analysis demonstrated the frontline caregivers commitment to quality, uncovered
several defects that resulted in the event (the drug name Zosyn was unfamiliar and did not indicate that the drug
contained piperacillin, the fax machine was broken, the pneumatic tube transport system was broken, and the
pharmacy safety check was bypassed), and provided solutions to fix the problem (ongoing preventive maintenance
to ensure the functionality of equipment, electronic provider order entry, and possibly hiring staff for transport
backup to ensure that medications come from the pharmacy and not floor stock).
It is important to recognize that QI projects often require resources. In this case example, a QI project was
undertaken by senior leaders in the organization to intensively evaluate the pneumatic tube used for transport to
identify sources of malfunction and reduce defects, develop protocols for handling transport capsules, and
determine whether adding staff for transport backup was needed. A plan for electronic order entry was being
developed. Each step required measurement and analysis, with the understanding that changes made in a system
may introduce new hazards that must be guarded against.
Collaboratives
A collaborative involves the participation of multidisciplinary care providers within a clinical area, across clinical
areas, or across multiple health care organizations to improve care. It incorporates a structured program with a
shared goal. The team leading the collaborative will (1) determine the evidence-based interventions to be used and,
if none are available, generate interventions based on local and broad expert consensus and (2) establish the data
collection approach (define measures, collection methods, and feedback mechanisms).
As with all successful QI projects, baseline compliance and change over time are key data points to collect.
Collaboratives are successful when they involve a sharing process of interventions and obstacles. Through group
discussions (meetings, conference calls), teams can learn about best practices and innovative methods used by
other teams to approach a problem. In addition, collaboratives bring a shared momentum that can increase
sustainability. [26] [36]
Multicentered and single-hospital projects can fail because of inadequate resources, lack of support by leadership,
vague expectations and objectives for team members, poor communication, complex study plans, inadequate
management of data collection, and wasted effort to reinvent the wheel rather than adopting practices proven to
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be effective. Successful collaboratives require a local culture (the set of values, attitudes, and beliefs of the group)
that is ready for change and participants with a shared view of safety, who understand the science of patient
quality and safety (i.e., the technical components of how care is organized and delivered). Pronovost and
colleagues reported the reproducible success of a collaborative that has adhered to the following steps, which have
been validated in several large collaborative efforts. [37] [38]
1.
Identify evidence-based interventions associated with improved outcome through review of peer-reviewed
publications.
2.
Select goal-oriented interventions that have the biggest impact on outcomes and transform them into
behavior. In selecting behavior, focus on interventions with the strongest treatment effect (lowest number
needed to treat) and the lowest barrier to use.
3.
Develop and implement measures that evaluate either the interventions (processes) or the outcomes.
4.
Measure baseline performance and establish databases to facilitate accurate data management and timely
feedback to teams.
5.
Ensure that patients receive evidence-based interventions through four basic steps: engagement,
education, execution, and evaluation ( Table 5-1 ).
Table 5-1 -- Four Steps to Ensure That Patients Receive Evidence-Based Interventions through a Collaborative
As Illustrated by the Example of Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections
Step
Action
Example
Engage
Make the problem real
Share information of the local CRBSI rate vs. the national

rate
Educate
Develop an educational plan to reach all

members of the caregiver team
Present evidence-based practices at Grand Rounds and

multidisciplinary team meetings
Present plans to improve care and measure outcome
Develop a safety culture

Reduce complexity of the processes
Execute
Introduce redundancy in processes
Hold regular team meetings
Develop a culture of intolerance for CRBSI

Make certain that all equipment and supplies for sterile
CVC insertion are in one place and easily available
Use checklists that identify key steps to reduce CRBSI
Focus on 1-2 tasks per week and identify team member
responsible for the tasks
Evaluate Measurement and feedback
Develop a data collection plan and database to track

progress
Give staff real-time feedback; post the progress in a highly
visible location
Identify causes of defects
CRBSI, catheter-related bloodstream infection; CVC, central venous catheter.
Comprehensive UnitBased Safety Program: A Strategy To Learn from Mistakes and Improve Culture
The Comprehensive UnitBased Safety Program (CUSP) is a six-step program that has been tested and
successfully used to improve quality and safety in ICUs ( Table 5-2 ). [39] [40] It provides a structured approach to
improve safety culture and mitigate hazards (i.e., learn from mistakes). [39] [41]
Table 5-2 -- Six-Step Comprehensive UnitBased Safety Program
Step
Description
1. Measure safety culture
Assess safety culture by all staff members in each clinical area

through the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire
2. Present educational material
Educate staff on the science of safety though lectures and other

educational material
Ask the following questions:
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Complete forms identifying patient

safety issues
How will the next patient be harmed?

How can this harm be prevented?
Establish voluntary incident reporting
Assign a senior executive responsible

for a specific area
The senior executive meets with all staff members of the clinical area
to:
Help prioritize safety efforts
Remove barriers for system changes
Provide resources
Demonstrate hospital commitment to patient safety
Foster relationship between senior leadership and staff
5. Implement projects
Focus on two to three safety issues

Keep goals simple:
Reduce complexity in the process
Create independent redundancies to ensure that critical steps are
being accomplished
6. Repeat measure of safety culture
Remeasure safety culture; determine whether scores improve
Safety culture is assessed in the first step of CUSP and reassessed after 1 year to evaluate the impact of the
program. The Safety Attitudes Questionnairevalid, reliable, and widely recognizedis the survey tool used to
assess safety culture. [42] [43] The initial measure provides a baseline assessment of staff perceptions of safety
culture in their clinical areas and their perceptions of the organization's commitment to patient safety.
Education is a crucial aspect of CUSP; it provides staff with a new set of lenses through which to identify hazards
and recommend system changes to improve care. The objectives of these educational efforts are to ensure that
staff members (1) understand that safety is a system property, (2) learn concepts for reliable health care design,
and (3) understand the basics of change management. After an educational lecture on the science of safety, staff
members are requested to identify patient safety hazards in their clinical areas and suggest interventions for
improvement. For this phase, staff members review incident reports, liability claims, and sentinel events from
their unit. In addition, two questions are asked: How do you think the next patient will be harmed? and How
can we prevent it from happening?
After completion of the survey and educational component, a senior leader of the institution (e.g., hospital
president, vice-president, director) is partnered with a unit or clinical area and attends monthly rounds on the
unit with the staff to help them prioritize safety efforts, ensure that they have the resources to implement
improvements, and hold staff accountable for evaluating whether safety has improved. Staff members are asked to
learn from one defect per month and implement one tool per quarter that is designed to improve delivery of care,
such as a daily goals sheet (see later) to improve communication and teamwork. [44] [45]
Our institution pilot-tested CUSP in its ICUs and subsequently implemented it throughout the hospital. In the
pilot test, a patient safety team that consisted of staff from the clinical area was responsible for oversight of the
program. To be most effective, this team included the ICU director as the ICU physician safety champion, the
nurse manager, another ICU physician and nurse, a risk manager or patient safety officer, and a senior executive
from the institution. We found that the program worked best if the physician and nurse who led the program
dedicated at least 20% of their time to improving patient safety and QI. The first unit was the beta site;
subsequent teams from other clinical areas would learn from their successes and failures. The ultimate goal was to
have every area in the hospital organizing and managing safety through CUSP.
CUSP has been associated with significant improvements in safety culture. The proportion of staff members
reporting a positive safety climate increased from 35% before CUSP to 60% after CUSP. [39] [41] In addition,
teams identified and mitigated several specific hazards through CUSP. As a result of asking staff how the next
patient will be harmed, the ICU created a dedicated ICU transport team, implemented point-of-care pharmacists,
put into practice a daily goals sheet, clearly labeled epidural catheters to prevent inadvertent intravenous
connection, and standardized the equipment in transvenous pacing kits. [46] Moreover, the use of CUSP was
associated with a reduction in patient length of stay and nurse turnover.
In summary, CUSP provides several benefits for improving safety culture and is a primer for compliance of staff
in implementing any safety or QI intervention or project. It provides enough structure to convert the often vague
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goals of improving safety into a focused strategy yet is malleable enough to allow units to work on issues most
important to them. CUSP provides a venue to introduce rigorous research methods, acts as a learning laboratory
to identify and mitigate hazards, and has the potential to improve patient outcomes.
Quality Improvement Tools
Efforts in QI and patient safety have produced tools with which to reorganize the way that care is delivered. Some
of these tools are described briefly in the following sections.
Daily Goals Sheet
The daily goals sheet has been used since July 2001 during multidisciplinary rounds in the ICU at Johns Hopkins
to improve communication. [44] A one-page checklist, this tool is completed every morning to establish the care
plan, set goals, and review potential safety risks for each patient ( Fig. 5-2 ). The goals sheet stays with the patient,
is updated as needed, and is used as an information sheet for all staff involved in the patient's care. It can be
modified for use in other nursing units or during operating room sign-out or emergency department rounds.
Figure 5-2 Example of an intensive care unit (ICU) daily goals sheet. CXR, chest radiograph; d/c, discharge; DVT, deep venous thrombosis; ECG,
electrocardiogram; GI, gastrointestinal; HOB, head of bed; HR, heart rate; ICUSRS, ICU self-reporting system; ND, nasoduodenal; NPO, nothing by mouth;
OOB, out of bed; PEG, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy; PUD, peptic ulcer disease; RR, respiratory rate; SIRS, severe infectious respiratory syndrome;
temp, temperature; TPN, total parenteral nutrition; vent, ventilator; WBC, white blood cell count.
On initial survey it was found that care team members were unable to answer two simple questions after rounds at
each patient's bedside: Do you understand the patient's goals for the day? and Do you understand what work
needs to be accomplished on this patient today? The team's inability to answer these questions became the
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impetus to develop the daily goals sheet. Before implementation of the daily goals sheet, a survey showed that
fewer than 10% of the residents and nurses knew the care plan for the daya finding that is not surprising
because traditional bedside rounds tended to focus on teaching staff about the disease rather than the work that
was necessary to treat the patient. Approximately 4 weeks after implementing the daily goals sheet, 95% of the
residents and nurses understood the goals for each patient. Moreover, after implementing the daily goals sheet,
length of stay in a surgical ICU at Johns Hopkins Hospital decreased from a mean of 2.2 days to just 1.1 days. [44]
Briefings and Debriefings
Similar to the daily goals sheet, briefing and debriefing tools are designed to promote effective interdisciplinary
communication and teamwork. Both have been used in the operating room, in sign-out from the ICU nursing staff
to the intensivist, and between operating room nursing and anesthesia coordinators. [45] [47] [48] A briefing is a
structured review of the case at hand for all team members before the start of an operative procedure. A
debriefing occurs after the procedure; the team reviews what worked well, what failed, and what could be
accomplished better in the future ( Fig. 5-3 ).
Figure 5-3 Example of a checklist for operating room (OR) briefing and debriefing. DVT, deep venous thrombosis; H&P, history and physical examination; ID,
identification.
An example of an operating room briefing includes introduction by name (first and last) and the role of each team
member; confirmation of the correct patient, site/side, and procedure (time-out); and verbal assurance that all
team members agree that they understand the procedure and what is required to ensure its success. A check of all
necessary equipment (e.g., electrocautery), medications (e.g., appropriate antibiotic), and blood availability is
performed. The question If something were to go wrong, what would it be? is asked, and plans to mitigate or
respond to the potential hazard are discussed.
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Checklists
Checklists have been used in health care and in industry in an effort to ensure that important steps in a process
are not forgotten. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that a checklist be used when performing
checkout and inspection of an anesthesia machine before use to ensure that the equipment and monitors are
functioning properly. [49] As part of a QI project to reduce CRBSI, a checklist was one of several interventions
implemented to reduce complexity and introduce a redundant safety check. The checklist, typically completed by
a nurse, was attached to the CVC insertion cart to ensure compliance with the best practices for CVC placement.
The nurse was empowered to stop the procedure if the checklist was not followed or if sterile technique was
compromised. This intervention resulted in a 66% reduction in the overall CRBSI rate, with the median rate
reduced from 2.7 per 1000 catheter-days before the intervention to 0 by month 3 and through month 18 of the
postintervention period. [50] [51] In general, these QI tools seek to standardize communication and technical work.
Sources of Quality Improvement Information
Multiple sources of QI data that span both the clinical and administrative arenas include evidence-based medicine
and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, alerts from accrediting agencies and nonprofit safety
organizations, standards and guidelines put forth by medical specialty associations, and administrative (such as
those maintained by CMS) and claims databases. U.S. governmental agencies, including AHRQ, CMS, and the
National Quality Forum (NQF), promote the development and reporting of health care quality measures. [52]
Peer-reviewed journals have published the results of studies that support evidence-based clinical practice
guidelines, as well as individual QI programs, and can be a rich source of ideas to improve clinical decision
making and patient care by incorporating the best available evidence with patient values and provider
preferences. [53] [54] In anesthesiology and critical care medicine, guidelines and protocols have been successful in
improving performance in some care processes. Sedation and ventilator weaning protocols in ICUs have been
shown to decrease the duration of mechanical ventilation and length of stay in the ICU. [55] [56] Moreover,
individual QI programs have been used to improve delivery of care and have been shown to have a positive effect
on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. [57]
National Programs in Quality Improvement
A growing number of regional and national organizations are developing initiatives that are driving the reporting
of specific evidence-based practices and outcomes and determining the local selection of areas for QI ( Table 5-3 ).
Table 5-3 -- Nonprofit and Government Quality Improvement Organizations Pertinent to Anesthesia
Quality Improvement
Website
Description
Organization
Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality
(AHRQ)
www.ahrq.gov
Lead federal agency charged with improving the

quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health
care
American Health Quality

Association (AHQA)
www.ahqa.org
Represents quality improvement organizations and

professionals working to improve the quality of
health care
Anesthesia Patient Safety

Foundation (APSF)
www.apsf.org
Promotes investigations and programs that will

provide a better understanding of anesthetic injuries
Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC)
www.cdc.gov
One of the major operating components of the

Department of Health and Human Services
Emergency Care Research

Institute (ECRI)
www.ecri.org
Uses applied scientific research to discover which

medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are
best
Institute for Healthcare

Improvement (IHI)
www.ihi.org
Health care improvement organization based in

Cambridge, Massachusetts
Institute for Safe Medication

Practices (ISMP)
www.ismp.org
The nation's only 501(c)(3) organization devoted

entirely to prevention of medication errors and safe
medication use
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Medicare Quality
Improvement Community
(MedQIC)
www.medquic.org
A national knowledge forum for health care and

quality improvement professionals
National Quality Forum
www.qualityforum.org
Created to develop and implement a national strategy

for health care quality and reporting
National Patient Safety

Foundation (NPSF)
www.npsf.org
An independent 501(c)(3) organization, the mission of

which is to improve the safety of patients
The Joint Commission has developed quality measures for several areas (www.jcaho.org
). Their ORYX
initiative was developed to integrate performance measurement data into the accreditation process and to permit
rigorous comparison of the actual results of care across hospitals. In 2004, The Joint Commission partnered with
CMS to align measures common to both organizations, called Hospital Quality Measures. These measures are
also endorsed by the NQF.
The NQF is a private, nonprofit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy
for health care quality measurement and reporting (www.qualityforum.org
). One of its functions is to endorse
certain quality and safety measures (consensus standards), which are then incorporated into other national quality
initiatives. The goal is for NQF-endorsed standards to become the primary standards used to measure the quality
of health care in the United States. Anesthesia programs are increasingly focusing on standards that are relevant
to them because facilities are being evaluated on their compliance and are required to report their performance
regarding these standards to the governing bodies.
The Surgical Care Improvement Project
The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), a national collaborative of public and private entities that has
outlined perioperative QI goals (www.medqic.org
) and is in partnership with The Joint Commission and CMS
national initiative, was initiated in 2003. This multidisciplinary group uses both process and outcome measures
( Box 5-1 ) to focus on key clinical areas that include preventing surgical-site infections, perioperative myocardial
infarctions, venous thromboembolism, and mortality and readmission, as well as increasing the use of fistulas in
providing hemodialysis for Medicare beneficiaries with kidney failure.
Box 5-1
Process and Outcome Measures of the Surgical Care Improvement Project
Infection
Prophylactic antibiotics:
Received within 1 hr before the surgical incision
Appropriately selected for surgical patients
Discontinued within 24 hr after the surgical end time (48 hr for cardiac
patients)
Cardiac surgery patients with controlled 6 AM postoperative serum glucose
Postoperative wound infection diagnosed during the index hospitalization (outcome)
Surgery patients with appropriate hair removal
Colorectal surgery patients with immediate postoperative normothermia
Cardiac
Noncardiac vascular surgery patients with evidence of coronary artery disease who received blockers during the perioperative period
Surgery patients who had already received a -blocker before arrival and then during the
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perioperative period
Intraoperative or postoperative acute myocardial infarction diagnosed during the index
hospitalization and within 30 days of surgery (outcome)
Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)
Surgery patients with recommended VTE prophylaxis ordered
Surgery patients who received appropriate VTE prophylaxis within 24 hr before surgery to 24 hr
after surgery
Intraoperative or postoperative pulmonary embolism diagnosed during the index hospitalization and
within 30 days of surgery (outcome)
Intraoperative or postoperative deep venous thrombosis diagnosed during the index hospitalization
and within 30 days of surgery (outcome)
Respiratory
Number of days ventilated surgery patients had documentation of the head of the bed being elevated
from the recovery end date (day 0) through postoperative day 7
Patients in whom postoperative ventilator-associated pneumonia is diagnosed during the index
hospitalization (outcome)
Number of days ventilated surgery patients had documentation of stress ulcer disease prophylaxis
from the recovery end date (day 0) through postoperative day 7
Surgery patients whose medical record contained an order for a ventilator weaning program (protocol
or clinical path)
Global
Mortality within 30 days of surgery
Readmission within 30 days of surgery
Vascular Access
Proportion of permanent hospital end-stage renal disease vascular access procedures that involve
autogenous arterial venous fistulas
Private Insurers
Many private insurers now collect data on certain quality elements. The Leapfrog group is one such entity. The
Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey assesses hospital performance according to four evidence-based
safety practices: (1) use of computerized physician order entry, (2) evidence-based hospital referral, (3) ICU
physician staffing, and (4) a Leapfrog Safe Practices score, which is based on the level of performance of other
NQF-endorsed practices (www.leapfroggroup.org
). Leapfrog not only reports the results and rankings of its
survey but also uses them as a basis for their selection of hospitals to be covered by the plan for the employees of
participating companies.
Pay for Performance
Public and private insurers are demanding increased accountability as a result of rising health care costs and
threatened budgets. In response, pay for performance (P4P) has been proposed and implemented as a means of
improving quality based on successful examples in business. P4P has been defined as the use of incentives to
encourage and reinforce the delivery of evidence-based practices and health care system transformations that
promote better outcomes as efficiently as possible. Measures that are incorporated into P4P must be evidence
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based, consistent with national goals, and based on consensus in the absence of evidence
(www.jointcommission.org
). Furthermore, it is important that measures be reliable, valid, and feasible and
that the programs be voluntary. Although the strategy of P4P is to align quality of care and payment, the impact
of P4P on quality of care has thus far been modest.
The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative is a program in which anesthesiologists can earn a 1.5% bonus from
CMS by reporting their compliance with appropriate timing of perioperative antibiotics. Initial steps in this
program are payment for participation, with the ultimate goal that successful compliance with the clinical
measures will be the basis for bonus payments. The ASA has identified five quality incentives or P4P measures
to date (www.asahq.org
, accessed September 9, 2007):
1.
Timely administration of antibiotic prophylaxis
2.
Maintenance of normothermia
3.
Comprehensive planning for chronic pain management
4.
Prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia
5.
Prevention of CRBSIs
All but the chronic pain measure are adaptations of national quality measures. The chronic pain measure was
drafted by the ASA Committee on Pain Medicine and subsequently endorsed by five additional specialty
organizations representing pain physicians. Additional measures are being evaluated, and the methods by which
they will be incorporated into national initiatives or P4P (or both) will continue to evolve. [51] [58]
The Future: Research, Education, and Ethics
Much remains to be accomplished in QI research and practice. The opportunity to improve patient care is
substantial, and the pressure to improve the quality of perioperative care will continue to increase. Improving
quality of care requires the ability to measure and improve performance. Research is needed to develop measures
of quality that clinicians believe are valid and to learn how to ensure that all patients reliably receive the
recommended interventions. Innovation is needed to develop information systems that can be used by multiple
disciplines. Anesthesiologists and professional societies may need to partner with experts in quality measurement
to develop and implement quality measures. Future efforts should balance the feasibility and validity of quality
measures and develop integrated approaches to improving quality, including strategies to develop care bundles,
decrease complexity, and create independent redundancies.
Providers need to be educated in the skills necessary to improve quality. Health care will cross the quality chasm
only when all view quality and safety as what they do primarily rather than as an added activity and when health
care organizations provide the infrastructure to monitor and improve performance. Frontline caregivers must
understand the science of quality and safety and evaluate safety risks with lenses that see hazardous systems, not
incompetent people.
Anesthesiologists need to train providers in the methodology of improvement. Integral to this goal is the education
of our anesthesia resident trainees. Continuous QI has been touted in anesthesia residency training programs for
well over a decade. [59] In recent years, residents in training were presented with six core competencies to master,
as mandated by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), [60] and the IOM put forth
their six Aims for Improvement [4] ( Table 5-4 ). In an effort to link these two sets of goals and apply them to the
clinical setting for training purposes, Bingham and associates developed a framework called a Healthcare
Matrix that can be used as an educational tool and a research tool for improvement. [61]
Table 5-4 -- Six Core Competencies of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education and Six Aims
for Improvement of the Institute of Medicine
ACGME Core Competencies
IOM Aims for Improvement
1. Patient Care
Safe
2. Medical Knowledge
Timely
3. Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Effective
4. Professionalism
Efficient
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Equitable
6. Practice-based Learning and Improvement Patient centered

With the increasing amount of intellectual focus and health care resources being directed toward QI programs,
the ethics of QI have come to light. QI projects have generally been exempt from the rigorous review of human
subject research. However, a Hastings Center Report on the ethics of using QI methods to improve health quality
and safety suggests that some QI projects may involve risk to patients and should undergo a formal review. [62]
This report lists QI initiatives that may trigger the need for a review, such as those with a randomized design,
novel treatments, involvement of researchers, or delayed feedback of monitoring or those funded by external
sources. Reporting of QI activities should be encouraged, and requiring approval by an internal review board in
addition to having a standardized format for reporting the results supports the premise that delivery of quality
care is a science as well as an art.
Summary
Health care organizations need a systematic approach to three areas of patient safety: (1) translating evidence into
practice, (2) identifying and mitigating hazards, and (3) improving culture and communication. The underlying
principle for all of the approaches discussed is that to improve the quality of care that they provide, providers
must be able to measure their performance. Health care providers have traditionally had limited ability to obtain
feedback regarding performance in their daily work, in part because of a lack of information systems and lack of
agreement on how to measure quality of care. [63] As a result, many in health care do not have access to
performance data and consequently do not know the results that they achieve (or fail to achieve). As consumers,
payers, regulators, and accreditors require evidence regarding quality of care, the demand for quality measures
will probably grow. To meet these demands, anesthesiologists must be able to evaluate the quality of care that they
provide with valid measures and implement evidence-based best practices in the perioperative care of patients.
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6 Human Performance and Patient Safety

Marcus Rall,
David M. Gaba,
Steve K. Howard,
Peter Dieckmann
Key Points
1.
Clinical excellence is not achieved by the use of sound medical knowledge alone. Human factors and the
interaction of team members, as well as organizational conditions in the system of care, also play major
roles. Therefore, the study of human performance and related organizational matters is very important.
2.
The health care system in general and clinical institutions in particular must provide appropriate
organizational characteristics to allow and foster safe patient care practices (e.g., improve safety culture,
integrate effective incident reporting and analysis systems).
3.
High-reliability organization theory describes the key features of systems that conduct complex and
hazardous work with very low failure rates. Errors do occur in such organizations, but their systems
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make them more impervious to errors and their sequelae (resilience).

4.
In dynamic domains such as anesthesia, continuous decision-making, as described in the cognitive process
model, is critical to achieving safe patient care.
5.
Several error mechanisms have been demonstrated through human factors research. Understanding
these psychological traps (for example, fixation errors) can help anesthetists avoid or mitigate them.
6.
The introduction and spread of crisis resource management training, including the application of realistic
simulation exercises, is likely to improve patient safety in anesthesia and other acute care domains.
7.
Like all human beings, the performance of individual anesthetists can be adversely influenced by
performance-shaping factors, including noise, illness, aging, and especially sleep deprivation and
fatigue.
8.
A particular technique of human factors research called task analysis has been useful in understanding
the work of anesthetists.
9.
Observation of anesthetists during routine operations or in the handling of adverse events (using realistic
patient simulators) has improved our knowledge of critical decision-making and team interactions.
10. Future progress on patient safety in anesthesia will require interdisciplinary research and training,
improvements in systems safety and organizational learning, and the involvement of all levels of the
health care industry.
Impact of Human Performance on Patient Safety
The most important component of every anesthetic regimen is the human performance of the anesthetist and its
relationship to patient safety. More than 70% of accidents are due to human factors. Because the performance
of the anesthetistembedded in a larger system of careis such a critical and most determining aspect of patient
safety, education and training of health care professionals in this area need improvement. This chapter aims to
provide an overview of the importance of human performance and systems safety in anesthesia and to provide
start-up knowledge of key safety factors and methods.
Anesthesia is an intrinsically hazardous undertaking, but as hazardous activities go, its track record is indeed a
model of patient safety for the rest of health care. [1] [2] The Institute of Medicine (IOM) asserts: Anesthesia is an
area in which very impressive improvements in safety have been made. [3] [4] However, the theory of
organizational safety teaches us that safety is a never-ending process; any patient harmed by an anesthetic is one
patient too many (in concert with the zero vision statement of the U.S. Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation
[APSF]: That no patient shall be harmed by anesthesia). Cooper and Gaba [1] wrote: Anesthesiologists should
remain aware of the hazards they still face, take pride in having been the leaders in patient safety efforts, and stay
motivated to continue the pursuit of no harm from anesthesia with the passion it still demands.
Because most of the work on human performance (and also on simulation) has been started and has focused on
anesthesiology in the operating room (OR), this chapter deals primarily with aspects of performance and safety in
the OR setting. Nevertheless, most of the same principles and issues are relevant to the postanesthesia care unit
(PACU), the intensive care unit (ICU), emergency medicine, and to a lesser degree, pain therapy and other
domains of importance to anesthesiologists. For readers with a special interest in the ICU, a selection of references
is given as a starting point. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
Safe conduct of anesthesia depends on the appropriate application by skilled anesthetists of knowledge concerning
surgical procedures, the physiology of patients during and after anesthesia, the characteristics of anesthetic and
adjuvant drugs, and the means of monitoring the patient and the life support equipment throughout the
perioperative period. In this chapter the term anesthetist refers to any anesthesia professional taking care of a
patient, whether a physician, certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), or anesthesia assistant.
Traditionally, an adequately trained anesthetist automatically was assumed to perform appropriately. Deviations
from optimal outcomes were understood to be due to imperfections in the art and science of anesthesia, which led
to heavy emphasis on the scientific and technical aspect of anesthesia training and care. More rarely, adverse
outcomes were ascribed to negligence or incompetence on the part of the anesthetist. Today, there is a more
complete understanding that anesthetists themselves, both as a profession and as individuals, have strengths and
vulnerabilities pertaining to their work environment. The performance of human beings is incredibly flexible and
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powerful in some aspects, but is very limited in others. They are vulnerable to distractions, biases, and errors. This
chapter surveys some of the human characteristics that define the performance of anesthetists. These
characteristics (also termed human factors) are by no means constant; for example, a person may communicate
very effectively in one instance and fail to close the loop in the next challenging communication role.
The domain of the anesthetist is very challenging; it is as difficult or more so than other domains that more readily
capture the public's imagination, such as aviation. The past 25 years has seen new research on the nature and
limitations of professional judgment and decision-making in this dynamic and complex world. Chapter 7 ,
Patient Simulation, explores developments in the methods of using simulations and simulation technologies that
have contributed to this research and that may open new opportunities to prepare anesthetists to handle the
challenges that they face in their work.
The literature related to human performance and patient safety is vast (standard reference works are
available [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] ), and this chapter samples only a portion of it as it most closely relates
to the work of anesthetists. Moreover, this chapter does not deal to any great extent with human-machine
interactions and the physical design of the work environment. These aspects of human factors, or ergonomics, in
anesthesia have considerable importance in their own right. The reader is referred to several publications that
review these issues in detail. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]
Nature of the Operational Domain of Anesthesiology
The operational domain of anesthesia is a complex, dynamic world that presents a cognitive profile common to
many real-world task domains. Analysis of complex dynamic worlds in the last decade has departed sharply from
previous conceptions of decision-making. [39] Classic decision-making approaches, such as decision theory and
multi-attribute utility theory, are mathematical techniques that were traditionally used as the dominant
framework for understanding human performance. They worked well in simplified laboratory experiments on
decision-making and action, yet a number of investigators had significant difficulty in applying them to real-world
decision and action settings. [39] Orasanu and colleagues [39] identified eight factors that characterize such
naturally occurring complex dynamic worlds. They apply to anesthesia as follows:
1. Ill-structured problems. Unlike traditional decision experiments, there is not just a single decision to be
made. Rather, a variety of interrelated decisions must be made by the anesthetist and surgeon. The
patient's physiologic behavior is not an independent random variable but is causally linked to previous
decisions and actions.
2.
Uncertain dynamic environment. Dynamism stems from the frequency of routine and anomalous changes
or events, the rapidity with which they evolve, and the unpredictability of the patient's physiology and
response to interventions. An anesthetized patient is in a constant state of change during surgery, with
many events outside the anesthetist's control. Although preventive measures can reduce the likelihood of
some events, others cannot be avoided because they are inevitable side effects of medically necessary
procedures (e.g., surgical blood loss). Unpredictable and dynamic occurrences compete with the
preplanned aspects of the case and drive the anesthetist's actions. The true state of the patient cannot
usually be measured directly. It must be inferred from ambiguous patterns of clinical observations and
data from electronic monitors. These data are imperfect because unlike industrial systems that are
designed and built with sensors in key areas to measure the most important variables, patients are
typically instrumented to measure the variables that are easiest to monitor, predominantly with the use of
noninvasive methods. Most physiologic functions are observed indirectly through weak signals available
at the body surface and thus are prone to various types of electrical and mechanical interference. Invasive
measurements are also vulnerable to artifacts and uncertainties of interpretation. Even if the anesthetist
knew the exact state of the patient, the patient's response to interventions would be unpredictable.
3.
Time stress. Because the OR is a scarce resource, there is an incessant overall time pressure to use it
efficiently. There is an even more intense immediate time stress within each case generated by dynamic
situations that evolve rapidly and must be dealt with in timely fashion.
4.
Shifting, ill-defined, or competing goals. Multiple goals of case management (e.g., hemodynamic stability,
good operating conditions for the surgeon, rapid emergence from anesthesia) may compete with each
other. The surgeon's goals may sometimes compete with those of the anesthetist. All these goals shift as
the patient's situation changes dynamically throughout the procedure.
5.
Action/feedback loops. The time constants of actions and their effects are very short, on the order of
seconds to minutes. There is complete intermixing of decision-making and action; these functions are not
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performed in separate cycles. Most decisions and actions are implemented and evaluated incrementally,
with the effect of one cycle assessed before deciding on further possible actions.
6.
High stakes. The stakes are high because even for elective surgery in healthy patients, there is an everpresent and very real risk of injury, brain damage, or even death. A catastrophe is often the end result of
many pathways that begin with seemingly innocuous triggering events. Each intervention, even if
appropriate, is associated with side effects, some of which are themselves serious. Some risks cannot be
avoided. Unlike an event such as a commercial flight, which can be delayed or aborted if a problem
occurs, during an event in the OR this is not usually possible, and immediate surgery may be necessary to
treat a medical problem that is itself life threatening. Analogous to military aviation, balancing the risks
of action (anesthesia and surgery) against those of inaction is often extremely difficult.
7.
Multiple players. Anesthesia domains involve multiple players from different professional backgrounds.
Each individual has a set of goals, abilities, and limitations. In some situations, interpersonal interactions,
among anesthesia personnel and between them and other OR team members, will dominate the work
environment.
8.
Organizational goals and norms. The anesthetist works within the stated and unstated norms of the OR
suite, the anesthesia department, the institution, and the profession as a whole. Decisions are sometimes
made to conform to these norms even though they are not wholly subscribed to by the anesthetist.
Although many of these features apply to other domains of medicine, anesthesiology is unique in that all eight
factors are prominent. In particular, what sets anesthesia apart from clinic- or ward-based medicine is the
intensity of the dynamism, time pressure, and uncertainty, with danger lurking just below the surface.
Safety Culture of the Operating Room and Intensive Care Environment (See Chapters 99-101 [Chapter 99] [Chapter 100]
[Chapter 101] )
Analyzing the Anesthetist's Domain: The Operational World Versus the Organizational World
Psychologists and cognitive engineers who study real work environments describe each field as a domain. Each
domain has specific characteristics that set it apart from others, including the nature of the tasks to be performed,
the relationships among the tasks, the time scale over which they must be executed, and the criteria for their
successful performance. This chapter deals mainly with the operational domains in which anesthesia care is
delivered, primarily the OR, the PACU, and the ICU. However, as pointed out by Reason, [40] [41] [42] [43] as well
as by Cook, Woods, and McDonald, [44] what goes on in the operational domain is extensively shaped by the
organizational and managerial environment in which it is located, even to the point that operational personnel
believe themselves to be the victims of problematic decisions further back in the system.
In everyday practice, these distinctions are hidden or blurred. The positive and negative contributions of the
organizational and management elements are often so embedded in the normal routine that they are difficult to
isolate. Interesting information about the system often comes from considering abnormal situations, accidents, or
near misses instead of normal events. For example, investigation of the loss of the space shuttle Columbia revealed
a variety of latent errors within the procedures and safety culture at the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA):
The accident was probably not an anomalous, random event, but rather likely rooted in NASA's history and
the space flight program's culture. [45]
The report placed as much weight on these factors as on the direct technical causes of the accident. Traditionally,
one speaks of errors arising in decisions and actions that lead to a mishap. However, the term error is
increasingly considered an inappropriate way to categorize behavior (being a judgment of attribution and blame)
and should be thought of merely as a way to identify behavior at the locus of a critical situation. In this context it
must be understood that errors are not the cause of an accident. Rather, errors are usually the consequence of a
combination of several underlying factors. Beyond that, errors must combine with other circumstances to result in
an accident or adverse outcome. [46] This concept is illustrated in Figure 6-1 . Some errors are actively produced
in the operational domain, whereas others are introduced by the organizational environment. James Reason, a
psychologist at the University of Manchester, England, described the latter by using the concept of latent
errors [46] :
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errors whose adverse consequences may lie dormant within the system for a long time, only becoming
evident when they combine with other factors to breach the system's defenses. [They are] most likely to be
spawned by those whose activities are removed in both time and space from the direct control interface:
designers, high-level decision makers, construction workers, managers and maintenance personnel.
Figure 6-1 Relationship between errors (E) and adverse events. A, Errors are not the cause of accidents but in rare cases they lead directly to the adverse event.
Multiple root causes (C1, C2, C3) lead to the error (B). For the most part, additional contributing factors (CF4, CF5) are necessary to allow the error to evolve
into an adverse event. Incident reporting systems should try to identify as many of the root causes and contributing factors before an accident happens and try to
influence these factors in such a way that no accident will happen. (Adapted from Rall M, Manser T, Guggenberger H, et al: [Patient safety and errors in medicine:
Development, prevention and analyses of incidents.] Ansthesiologie, Intensivmedizin, Notfallmedizin, Schmerztherapie 36:321-330, 2001, with permission.)
Latent errors probably exist in all complex systems, and Reason adopted a medical metaphor to describe them as
resident pathogens. Like microorganisms in the body, the resident pathogens remain under control until sets of
local circumstances combine with these resident pathogens in subtle and often unlikely ways to thwart the
system's defenses and bring about its catastrophic breakdown ( Fig. 6-2 ). This threat and error model has also
been articulated by the noted aviation-oriented psychologist Robert Helmreich at the University of Texas ( Fig. 63 ). [47]
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Figure 6-2 James Reason's model of the causation of accidents. Latent failures at the managerial level may combine with psychological precursors and event
triggers at the operational level to initiate an accident sequence. Most accident sequences are trapped at one or more layers of the system's defenses. The
unforeseen combination of organizational or performance failures with latent errors and triggers may lead to breach of the system's defenses and allow the
accident to take place. The diagram should be envisioned as being three-dimensional and dynamicwith shields moving around and holes in the defense's
opening and closing. (Redrawn from Reason JT: Human Error. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1990.)
Figure 6-3 University of Texas threat and error model. This model, which illustrates the evolution of errors, is used in the analysis of incidents and accidents (a
detailed example is available at http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/misc/bmj.320.7237.781/sld001.htm
).
A variety of latent failures can exist in the anesthesia environment. They may include such issues as how surgical
cases are booked, how cases are assigned to specific anesthetists, what provisions are made for preoperative
evaluation of outpatients, and what relative priority is given to rapid turnover between cases or avoiding
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cancellation of cases as opposed to avoidance of risk. Latent errors can also result from the design of anesthesia
equipment and its user interfaces, which in some cases lead clinicians to err or are unforgiving of errors.
Manufacturing defects and routine maintenance failures are also types of latent failure.
Investigation of untoward events must address both latent and active failures and both the organizational and
managerial environment and the operational domain. One risk of focusing solely on active failures is that
operational personnel may be victims of the system in a Catch-22type situation and be pushed to maximize
production while admonished to be safe. Addressing only their actionsand not the latent pressures under
which they must workcan make them defensive and uncooperative. Cook, Woods, and McDonald [44] pointed
out that if one looks at the chain of events in an accident sequence, one can always find a failure on the part of an
operator. If the analysis stops at this point, the operator (i.e., the anesthetist) may be wrongly blamed for a failure,
the real roots of which go back to latent failures in the organization. If the underlying latent errors are never
identified or never fixed, they remain in the system and will probably induce another accident chain in the future.
This is visualized in Reason's accident trajectory, shown in Figure 6-2 .
Asymmetry Between Safety and Production
An additional difficulty in achieving optimal safety is an inherent asymmetry of information and concern about
safety versus production ( Table 6-1 ). [46] Investments for production are easy to plan for and measure; feedback
about production is easy to obtain and to interpret. Investments for safety are harder to plan for, and the costs are
harder to measure. Most importantly, feedback about safety is inherently weak and ambiguous. How can one
measure the accidents that could have occurred but did not? Only after a catastrophe takes place do the costs of a
safety failure become apparent.
Table 6-1 -- Asymmetry of Signals of Safety Versus Signals of Production
Production
Safety
Feedback about production is easy to measure reliably and Traditional measures of safety are indirect and
nearly continuously (revenue,earnings,expenses) and discontinuous, thus making them noisy and
indicates success in a positive fashion
difficult to interpret or even deceptive
Success is indicated positively (e.g., increasing earnings),
is obviously reinforcing, and has high salience (the bottom
line is the bottom line for a firm)
Feedback is provided negatively (fewer accidents

or incidents) and has little reinforcement value in
itself. High salience is achieved only after an
accident or a scary near miss
Even when interpreted correctly, the relationship

between application of resources and safety goals is
relatively uncertain, thus making it hard to use the
feedback
Adapted from Reason JT: Human Error. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
The relationship between the application of resources
(money, effort, time) and production goals is relatively
certain, thus making it easy to use feedback
Organizational Safety
Over the last few years there have been many landmark publications and activities concerned with patient safety
and the organizational aspects of reducing errors. [3] [25] [42] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] The report of the IOM in 1999,
To Err Is Human, [3] was a highly publicized awakening in the United States about the problems of patient
safety. Summarizing the primary literature, the report stated that tens of thousands die each year from errors in
their care and hundreds of thousands suffer or barely escape from nonfatal injuries that a truly high-quality care
system would largely prevent. The most important recommendations of this report, which led to nationwide
activities to promote patient safety, are shown in Box 6-1 .
Box 6-1
Recommendations of the Institute of Medicine Report To Err Is Human
Make patient safety a declared and serious aim.

Provide strong, clear, and visible attention to safety.
Implement nonpunitive systems for reporting and analyzing errors.
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Incorporate well-understood safety principles, such as standardizing and simplifying equipment,

supplies, and processes.
Establish interdisciplinary programs to improve teamwork and communication by using modalities
proven in other industries, including simulation.
The subsequent report of the IOM Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, titled Crossing the Quality
ChasmA New Health System for the 21st Century, [48] took a systematic approach to improvement of the
entire health care system. It stated that between the healthcare we have and the care we could have, lies not just a
gap, but a chasm because the health care system today harms too frequently yet routinely fails to deliver its
potential benefits. The report concluded: The current care system cannot do the job. Trying harder will not
work. Changing the systems of care will. In the following text we consider the organizational and systems aspects
of anesthesia care and patient safety.
There are several schools of thought about organizational safety in highly hazardous activities. Two theories,
normal accident theory (NAT) and high-reliability organization theory (HROT), have dominated the discussion of
safety in many domains and have been applied individually to health care with increasing frequency over the last
20 years. [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [60] NAT was originally promulgated by the sociologist Charles
Perrow [57] in the wake of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and has been applied by him and others to such
diverse fields as commercial aviation, maritime transport, and the handling of nuclear weapons. HROT was
promulgated initially by a group of researchers at the University of California at Berkeley. It has also been
applied to diverse domains, including aircraft carrier flight decks, offshore oil platforms, air traffic control,
nuclear power production, and the financial transaction industry (personal communication, Karlene Roberts).
These workers complementary views of organizational safety are summarized briefly here and in Table 6-2 .
Table 6-2 -- Complementary Views of High-Reliability Organization Theory (HROT) Versus Normal Accidents
Theory (NAT)
HROT
NAT
Accidents can be prevented through good
organizational design and management
Accidents are inevitable in complex and tightly coupled

systems
Safety is the priority organizational objective
Safety is one of a number of competing objectives
Redundancy enhances safety; duplication and

Redundancy often causes accidents because it increases
overlap can make a reliable system out of unreliable interactive complexity and opaqueness and encourages risk
parts
taking by social-shirking and cue-taking behavior
Decentralized decision-making is needed to permit
prompt and flexible field-level responses to
surprises
Organizational contradiction: decentralization is needed to

handle the distributed complexity, but centralization is
needed to manage tightly coupled systems
A culture of reliability will enhance safety by

A military model of intense discipline, socialization, and
encouraging uniform and appropriate responses by
isolation is incompatible with democratic values
field-level operators
Continuous operations, training, and simulations
can create and maintain high-reliability operations
Organizations cannot train for unimagined, highly

dangerous, or politically unpalatable operations
Trial-and-error learning from incidents (through

Denial of responsibility, faulty reporting, and biased
effective incident reporting) can be effective and
reconstruction of history frequently cripple learning efforts
supplemented by anticipation and simulations
Modified from Sagan SD: The Limits of Safety. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1993.
Normal Accident Theory (NAT)
NAT focuses primarily on two features of a system: (1) the complexity of interactions among the system's elements
and (2) the presence of tight coupling among the system's elements. A system is tightly coupled when a change in
one part of the system rapidly alters other parts of the system. For example, some physiologic systems are buffered
from changes in others, whereas certain core components, such as oxygen delivery and blood flow, are tightly
coupled together and interact strongly. The patient's physiology may become tightly coupled to external systems
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such as ventilators and infusions of hemodynamically active drugs. When complexity and tight coupling coexist,
abnormal sequences of events can sometimes be hidden and have complex or unpredictable consequences.
Typically, active errors in the system do not result in an accident because they are trapped at some point by the
system's multiple layers of checks and defenses (see Fig. 6-2 ). Even a minor perturbation can cause normal system
behavior to be out of control when there are complex interactions and tight coupling. Perrow called this a normal
accident because the perturbations are common and arise out of otherwise normal system operations. [57] He
suggested that attention should be directed at strengthening the recovery pathways by which small events can be
properly handled before they evolve into a serious accident.
Complexity and Tight Coupling: Latent Errors in Anesthesia
Clearly, the anesthesia domain involves complex interactions with tight coupling. [58] The complexity stems to
some degree from the variety of devices in use and their interconnections, but these are, in truth, vastly simpler
than those found in an oil refinery, a 747 aircraft, or a space shuttle. A more important source of complexity is the
uncertainty complexity of the patient. [58] The human body is an incredibly complex system containing
numerous components, the interactions of which are only vaguely understood. Because many body systems affect
each other, the patient is a major site of tight couplings. Furthermore, the anesthetic state tends to ablate the
buffers between some of these interconnected systems, thereby strengthening the coupling between them and
between the patient and external mechanical supports. Galletly and Mushet [59] studied anesthesia system
errors and observed tight coupling associated with the use of neuromuscular blocking drugs, the presence of
cardiorespiratory disease, certain types of surgical procedures, and the effect of general anesthetic agents. Looser
coupling was observed with the use of high concentrations of oxygen and air mixtures, preoxygenation, and
spontaneous breathing techniques.
According to the NAT view, we delude ourselves by believing that we can control our hazardous technologies and
forestall disaster; in reality, many of the efforts we make at management and design tend to only increase the
opacity and complexity of the system (making more holes in the barriers), thereby increasing the likelihood of
accidents. The combination of these factors provides fertile ground for the occurrence of accidentsindeed,
according to NAT it makes it inevitable that some of the normal everyday faults, slips, and incidents will evolve
into tragic accidents. NAT is often considered a pessimistic view of the ability of organizations to conduct highly
hazardous operations without harmful errors.
The very concept of risk is constructed and negotiated. This was perhaps expressed most clearly by Dianne
Vaughan in her powerful analysis of the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle:
Risk is not a fixed attribute of some object, but constructed by individuals from past experience and present
circumstance and conferred upon the object or situation. Individuals assess risk as they assess everything
elsethrough the filtering lens of individual worldview.
Vaughan's main thesis is that the Challenger exploded not because risk-taking managers broke the rules but
because the system evolved to make excessive risk a part of following the rules. This happened because the
system had a culture of production with ingrained production pressure; it was a regular occurrence that
aberrant findings be explained away (normalization of deviance), and structural secrecy was enforced
between departments, between manufacturers and NASA, and between engineers and managers. Sadly, many of
these same phenomena occurred yet again and led to the Columbia accident. [45] Unfortunately, each of these
system characteristics is also operative in perioperative settings.
High-Reliability Organization Theory
In contrast to these rather pessimistic views of the organizational challenges to safety is the HROT view that
although not easy, proper organization of people, technology, and processes can handle complex and hazardous
activities at acceptable levels of performance. Even though accidents can never be totally eliminated, highreliability organizations (HROs) must be judged by the benefits that we derive from their activities and their small
absolute risk of failure. This view seems particularly appropriate in anesthesiology because forgoing surgical
treatment is not a viable option for many patients and challenges to safety must often be met head-on. Although
the concepts of HROT have varied over the years, the core characteristics of HROs are shown in Boxes 6-2 and 63 [0050] [0060].
Box 6-2
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Elements of a Culture of Safety (part of HROT in Box 6-3 )
Values
Safety as the most important goal, overriding production or efficiency
Preoccupation with possible failures rather than past successes
Necessary resources, incentives, and rewards provided for optimal safety, not only for optimal
production
Beliefs
Safety must be actively managed
Processes and routines of care are as (or more) important to safety as individual dedication, skill, or
effort
Openness about safety and errors is essential; learning from normal and adverse events should be
thorough
Norms
Low-ranking personnel raise safety issues and challenge ambiguity regardless of hierarchy or rank
Calling for help is encouraged and occurs frequently, even (or especially) by experienced personnel
Explicit communication is frequent
The hierarchy is flatleaders listen to juniors; juniors speak up; and calling for help is routine
regardless of rank
People are rewarded for rationally erring on the side of safety, even when their credible concerns turn
out to be wrong
Adapted from Weick KE: Organizational culture as a source of high reliability. Calif Manage Rev 29:112-127,
1987.
Box 6-3
Key Elements of a High-Reliability Organization (HRO) in Medicine
Established Culture of Safety (see Box 6-2 )

Optimal Structures and Procedures
Decision-making rests with those with greatest knowledge or experience about specific issues
regardless of rank or job type.
The unit integrates crews from different departments (e.g., cardiac surgery, cardiac anesthesia, OR
nursing, perfusion, ICU) into a coherent clinical team. Teamwork and resiliency are emphasized.
There are formal procedures to maximize transfer of information to all team members before a case
(e.g., briefings or time-out procedures).
Schedules are designed to keep work hours and duty periods at reasonable levels to avoid undue
fatigue. Personnel under excessive stress are supported or replaced as needed.
Standardized procedures, techniques, and equipment are adopted whenever possible so that similar
tasks or operations are performed similarly regardless of the personnel involved; conversely, when
necessary (in an emergency or adverse event), the team is resilient and responds as needed to the
situation without slavish dependence on standard routines.
The use of preplanned algorithms, checklists, and cognitive aids is actively encouraged.
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Easy access to current information systems is available at all times and all locations.
Training and Practice in Routine Procedures and Simulations
Debriefings are conducted after each case.
Nonpunitive assessment instruments are used on a regular basis to provide current feedback and
identify elements requiring special training.
There is initial and recurrent simulation-based single-discipline and multidisciplinary training in crew
resource management (see Chapter 7 ).
Actual clinical crews and teams conduct periodic drills or simulations of critical situations in the real
OR, PACU, and ICU.
Resident training uses a guided curriculum; training goals and the level of responsibility assigned to a
resident match the current proficiency level of the trainee with the complexity of the procedure.
Organizational Learning
Robust mechanisms are in regular use for organizational learning, both prospectively (considering in advance
how to optimize protocols and procedures, such as failure mode and analysis of effects) and retrospectively
(from analyzing reports of adverse events, near misses, or problems such as root cause analysis).
Problems are analyzed primarily to determine what can be improved rather than whom to blame. Altered
procedures are assessed and adopted as appropriate. Process changes reflect appropriate analysis.
ICU, intensive care unit; OR, operating room; PACU, postanesthesia care unit.
A key aspect of HROT is that of a culture of safety (or safety culture). Since publication of the reports from the
IOM, health care has begun paying attention to certain elements of culture. However, most of the attention has
been devoted to the culture of blame in a system whereby problems are addressed largely in terms of who is to
blame rather than what can be done to prevent them. Safety culture goes beyond these issues by dealing with how
individuals and groups conduct their work. Culture is made up of values (what is important), beliefs (how things
should work), and norms (the way things work). These elements are shown in Box 6-2 . It is equally important that
the culture is highly uniform throughout the organization and be continually reinforced by peers, more so than by
enforcement of rules.
High-Reliability Organization Theory in Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology has traditionally been strong at some elements of an HRO, particularly in redundancy and
technical safety measures. There is a growing movement in anesthesia to more fully implement HRO philosophies
and techniques. [60] In fact, anesthesiologists have not only been promoters of the patient safety movement in
general but have also been leaders at applying HROT principles to health care. In 2003, the APSF began
initiatives in high-reliability perioperative health care (see Special Issue of APSF Newsletter, Summer 2003, at
www.apsf.org
). Box 6-3 summarizes key elements of an HRO adapted to health care.
Teams and Communication
Unlike teams in aviation, the military, and police and fire services, the OR team is unusual in that the command
structure is ambiguous. Physicians (surgeon and anesthesiologist) are nominally superior to nursing and technical
staff, but physicians are coequally responsible for the patient during the immediate perioperative period. Surgeons
were historically considered the captain of the ship, with even a legal doctrine giving them responsibility for the
actions of all other OR team members. Although this legal doctrine has formally fallen by the wayside, remnants
of it still remain in aspects of the organizational structure and culture of OR environments. Nonetheless, when
both an anesthesiologist and surgeon are caring for a patient, they are coequally responsible, which can lead to
complex issues of command authority, hierarchy, and control.
Each physician, as well as the nurses and technicians, has a primary territory of knowledge, skill, and
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responsibility, but there is considerable overlap among them.

Strictly speaking, a team is defined as a distinguishable set of two or more people who interact, dynamically,
interdependently, and adaptively toward a common and valued goal/objective/mission, who have each been
assigned specific roles or functions to perform, and who have a limited life-span of membership. A team is
distinct from a group in that a group is an ad hoc collection of individuals without a specific mission and without
specific roles. In the OR, all team members have the common goal of a good outcome for the patient. However,
there can be considerable disagreement about how to achieve this goal and which elements of patient care have the
highest priority. These differences are probably traceable to the fact that the OR team is itself made up of several
crews (i.e., surgery, anesthesiology, nursing, perfusionist, radiology), each of which has its own command
hierarchy, its own global properties (professional standing, culture, traditions, and history), and its own set of
local goals and objectives for management of the patient. The differences among the crews can be so striking that
some investigators refer to them as separate tribes (transcript of Conference on Human Error in Anesthesia,
Asilomar, CA, 1991).
Each crew has one or more members who must work effectively together, and crews combine to form a team. A
critical component of the success of this process is the establishment and maintenance of a shared mental model of
the situation. To the degree that this can be accomplished, the different individuals will be able to tailor their
efforts toward a common goal. Experience working together as a crew or team will improve the likelihood of
generating a shared mental model.
Cooke and Salas [61] [62] made some interesting statements on teams and team knowledge ( Box 6-4 ). In their
view, team knowledge is more than the sum of individual team members knowledge, and they demonstrate the
need for new methods to elicit team knowledge (e.g., a collective holistic approach). In team knowledge they
distinguish between team mental model and team situation model. To judge team knowledge, information is
also needed on the broader aspect of team cognition, which involves team knowledge itself, team decisionmaking, team situation awareness, and team perception. Figure 6-4 reflects these components of team cognition
and team knowledge. [61]
Box 6-4
Teamwork Principles
Team leadership matters.

Team members must have clear roles and responsibilities.
Shared understanding of the task, teammates, and objectives goes a long way.
Take time to develop a discipline of prebriefing, performance, and postbriefing.
Teamwork effects matter.
Clinical expertise is necessary but insufficient for patient safety; cooperation, communication, and
coordination skills matter.
Teams must have clear and valued visions.
Learning from mistakes, self-correction, and adaptability are the hallmarks of high-performance
teams.
From Salas E, Rosen MA, King H: Managing teams managing crises: Principles of teamwork to improve patient
safety in the emergency room and beyond. Theoret Issues Ergonomics Sci 8:381-394, 2007.
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Figure 6-4 Components of team cognition and team knowledge.
Status and Hierarchy Effects
Status and hierarchy effects are important in team performance. Especially in crisis situations, the lower-status
crew member tends to defer to the higher-status individual, even if that individual is performing poorly. In
aviation, some airplane crashes have occurred in which overbearing captains were combined with unassertive
subordinates (first officer copilot and flight engineers). The team was not able to respond effectively, even when
the subordinates knew that something was wrong.
In aviation, as in academic anesthesia, training is an ongoing activity in the domain. Although the captain is in
charge of the flight, the captain and the first officer (who is essentially in training to become a captain)
traditionally alternate the roles of pilot flying and pilot not flying on each leg of a flight. Each of these roles is
carefully defined and involves separate but interrelated tasks (the pilot flying handles the flight controls, whereas
the pilot not flying handles radio communications and other tasks). In anesthesiology, the roles of the trainee and
the faculty member during patient care are rarely made explicit. The trainee is often expected to do all tasks with
only occasional assistance from the supervisor (part of a training method known as cognitive scaffolding). The
exact responsibility for different tasks in a crisis is not predefined. It is interesting that two factors frequently
found to be associated with critical incidents in anesthesia have been teaching in progress and inadequate
supervision. [63]
A particular issue of hierarchy is known as cue giving and cue taking, in which people give off cues (often
without even knowing it) that are taken up by others. [64] Those not at the top are very sensitive to cues emitted by
their superiors. The cues sent by high-status personnel can inhibit action or even questions from lower-status
people. One effect of this phenomenon is that dyads and teams that expect to have redundancy from multiple sets
of eyes on a patient may not achieve this goal because the views of a single person dominate the thinking of the
group.
Production Pressure
The social and organizational environment may also act as a source of production pressure on anesthetists.
Production pressure encompasses the economic and social pressures placed on workers to consider production,
not safety, their primary priority. [57] In anesthesiology, this typically means keeping the OR schedule moving
speedily, with few cancellations and minimum time between cases. In principle, safety and efficiency can go hand
in hand. Many aspects of high reliability, such as standard operating procedures, preprocedure briefings, and
flattening the hierarchy, may smooth operation of the system, as well as make it safer. Frequently, however, the
pressure for throughput can erode safety.
For example, when anesthetists succumb to these pressures, they may skip appropriate preoperative evaluation
and planning or they may fail to perform adequate pre-use checkout of equipment. Even when preoperative
evaluation does take place, overt or covert pressure from surgeons (or others) can cause anesthetists to proceed
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with elective cases despite the existence of serious or uncontrolled medical problems. Production pressure can
cause anesthetists to choose techniques that they otherwise believe to be inadvisable.
Gaba and associates [65] reported on a randomized survey of California anesthesiologists concerning their
experience with production pressure. They found that 49% of respondents had witnessed a situation in which
patient safety was compromised by pressure on the anesthesiologist. Thirty percent reported strong to intense
pressure from surgeons to proceed with a case that they wished to cancel. Notably, 20% agreed with the statement
that If I cancel a case, I might jeopardize working with that surgeon at a later date.
Production pressure also leads to haste by the anesthetist, a psychological precursor to the commission of unsafe
acts. In the survey, 20% of respondents answered sometimes to the statement that I have altered my normal
practices in order to speed the start of surgery, whereas 5% answered often to this statement. Twenty percent
of respondents rated pressure by surgeons to hasten anesthetic preparation or induction as strong or intense.
Repeated exposure to these conflicts can cause the anesthetist to internalize pressures; 38% of survey respondents
felt strong to intense internal pressure to get along with surgeons, and 48% reported strong internal pressure to
avoid delaying cases. Anesthetists may then feel impelled to go ahead with cases against their better judgment,
even in the absence of overt pressure.
Investigating these aspects of the work environment is difficult because such relationships are driven by economic
considerations, as well as by the complex organizational and interpersonal networks linking the different medical
cultures. Changing the environment will be equally challenging.
Assessing Risk Factors in Anesthesia
An innovative attempt was made by a team of engineers and anesthesiologists to apply a technique called
probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) to model cascading risks and the effects of different types of organizational
interventions. [66] [67] PRA has been used extensively in nuclear power and other highly hazardous industries (for
example, it was used for analysis of the risks to the space shuttle from thermal tile failure). Complete PRA models
are very complex and extensive. In the anesthesiology study, a highly simplified PRA model was used to assess the
feasibility of applying this technique to health care. The PRA analysis of organizational changes in anesthesia
suggested that patient risk could be reduced best by closer supervision of residents, the use of patient simulators
for training and periodic recertification, and regular medical examination of anesthetists for fitness for duty. As
yet it has not been possible to develop comprehensive PRA models of anesthesia risk because the number of
decision and action elements is very large and knowledge of the probability of success or failure for each of the
decisions or actions is very limited. The PRA approach might be a useful heuristic to help clinicians lay out critical
decision-making and therapy issues, but it may never make any meaningful contribution as a quantitative safety
management technique.
There has been growing interest in applying process-oriented systems analysis to patient care flows and processes.
For example, a group in Tbingen, Germany, performed a process-oriented systems analysis at a medical
university hospital to assess the anesthesia work system's ability to regulate variances and disturbances in the
work process. [68] These investigators showed that the internal work process can be regulated well but that the
high interdependence of the anesthesia work system with other systems requires extensive coordination activities.
Characteristics of Successful Incident Reporting Systems
Incident Reporting Systems for Learning from Problems
An important strategy for improving patient safety (and a core tenet of HROT) is organizational learning. Such
learning can be both prospective (deliberating in advance of process changes how they might affect safety) and
retrospective (learning from events that have already transpired). Most high-hazard and high-reliability
industries have made special efforts to create systems for retrospective organizational learning, often
concentrating on the reporting, investigation, and analysis of both frank accidents or errors and near-miss events
with no negative outcome. [25] [46] [47] [69] [70] [71] [72] The details of successful incident reporting systems (IRSs)
are covered in a number of publications. [5] [7] [42] [52] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88]
[89] [90]
Historically, investigation of errors in the health care system has been hindered by a culture of blame [90] [91]
[92] in which naming, blaming, and shaming are the main features of event reporting and review rather than
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analysis by experts and focus on the development of systematic countermeasures. A culture of blame in which it is
posited that errors, accidents, and near misses are due primarily to a lack of knowledge, a bad attitude, or a lack
of commitment to patients leads to a heavy burden on those involved in adverse events. It may also compound
internalized negative feelings over having contributed to patient harm. [92] [93]
Anesthesiology as a specialty has played a leading role in the attempt to turn this culture of blame into a safety
cultureputting safety first [1] [2] and trying to understand how errors, incidents, and adverse events evolve. [5]
[25] [42] [60] [72] [73] [75] [76] [94] [95] [96] [97] [98] [99] [100] [101] [102] [103]
Errors Per Se Are Not the Cause of Accidents
Only a minor fraction of errors lead to a negative patient outcome. However, the harmless error may well point
to a systematic weakness (latent problem) in the system, which if investigated further can lead to a systematic
change. Unfortunately, the reverse is often true. The lack of a negative outcome is interpreted as success of the
system, and the underlying vulnerabilities are ignored. In most cases, errors in complex systems are not the sole
causes of accidents and rarely lead inevitably to an adverse event (see Fig. 6-1A ). In actuality, first hand there are
probably underlying reasons (C1 to C3 in Fig. 6-1B ) that someone commits an error, and then additional
contributing factors (CF4, CF5) are needed to allow an accident to develop. The main idea of modern IRSs is to
identify the factors that make errors more likely to occur, as well as additional factors that allow a negative
outcome to ensue. By reporting and analyzing factors C1 to C3 and CF4 and CF5 in Figure 6-1 regardless of the
outcome, it might be possible to eliminate or reduce the probability or the harm potential of the accident long
before it ever happens.
If reporting is safe and provides useful information from expert analysis, it can measurably improve safety. [80]
IRSs, if well structured and operated, can make substantial difference in system safety ( Fig. 6-5 ). The present
knowledge about weaknesses and strengths of the health care system that is out there already can finally be
extracted and made available for others. IRSs are often referred to as learning systems, similar to the National
Reporting and Learning System of the National Patient Safety Agency in the National Health Service of the United
Kingdom.
Figure 6-5 Process model of an incident reporting system that is constructed as a complete system. The data need to be collected, saved securely, analyzed
independently, and the results need to be visualized in a relevant way, distributed to stakeholders in an applicable way, and result in concrete action by the
reporting organization. It should be possible to report all incidents and errors, independent of the outcome. Innovative systems should even include positive
reports. (Figure by P. Dieckmann.)
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Effective IRSs allow insights into the health care system that are otherwise very hard to acquire. In this sense IRSs
can open windows to the system. [94]
Merely having a reporting form or a database of information does not constitute an effective reporting system.
They can be effective only when they are constructed, established, and maintained as an entire system ( Fig. 6-6 ;
also see Fig. 6-5 ) and are successfully embedded in the organization or industry. Omission of or faults in any of
the requirements in Box 6-5 will limit the success of the system. [88]
Figure 6-6 Data handling in a modern incident reporting system with de-identification. The incoming reports are first completely de-identified by a trained deidentifier. Only after this step is the report ready to be analyzed. It is important that the reports are analyzed by a multiprofessional team and that
recommendations be fed back to the management of the organization from which the report came. The analysis and feedback should be transparent for all
stakeholders.
Box 6-5
Important Characteristics of Effective Incident Reporting Systems
Integration of the incident reporting system into the organization and full support by management
No negative sanctions for reporters and people involved
Confidential or anonymous reporting option, with active de-identification (domain expertise required)
Legal protection and state-of-the-art data security
Independence of the organizational hierarchy: reports are sent to a trusted subunit outside the
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hierarchy of the organization or outside the organization (external trust center, e.g., NASA for the
ASRS)
Orientation to a system that enables all stakeholders of patient safety to easily file reports, including
physicians, nurses, and technicians
Easy and fast reporting
Training of stakeholders to file valuable reports (e.g., focusing on human factors issues, as well as
medical-technical aspects)
Timely feedback about reception of the report, its analysis, and proposed measures to be taken from it
Analysis of each report by experts (a multiprofessional team that has a background not only in the
medical domain but also in issues of human performance and analysis methods)
Deep analysis of selected cases using root cause analyses or failure modes and effect analyses with the
aim of improving systems safety in the future
Timely implementation of improvements to confirm the reactivity of the system and to make a
difference
Evaluation of improvements and special care to avoid improvements for the worse (quick fixes
without improving the underlying latent dangers)
Organizational support of reporting and analysis of cases, as well as the implementation of
improvements
Supports continuous improvement of the positive proactive safety culture in the department (systems
perspective!)
ASRS, Aviation Safety Reporting System; NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Data from references 25 , 77 , 80 , 104 .
What Should Be Reported?
Uncertainty about what should be reported is one of the barriers for an IRS. [105] In aviation, it has been necessary
to create a reporting system for incidents (without negative outcome) that is distinct from systems for reporting
or analyzing accidents. Of course, in aviation the occurrence of an accident is usually known immediately, and
such events are never supposed to happen. Yet in health care every human being will get sick and will die; in
fact, most people will die in proximity to medical care. Thus, negative outcomes are inherent to the progression of
disease, so determining what outcomes are due to errors or accidents is much harder in health care settings.
For this reason many believe that for health care event reporting systems, it should be possible to report all critical
incidents, with or without a negative outcome. In fact, the system may also solicit reports of positive events in
which the outcome was good despite challenging clinical circumstances. In general, the invitation to report should
be very broad and cast a wide net to find all interesting occurrences.
What Should Report Forms Look Like?
Reporting systems that rely primarily on an array of checkboxes for the reporter to choose from regarding the
causes of the incident have not proved to be useful. In fact, it is thought in the Aviation Safety Reporting System
(ASRS), for example, that Counting incidents is a waste of time (quote from Charles Billings, a founder of the
ASRS). In a voluntary reporting system one has no way to estimate the true number of specific problems.
Similarly, trend analysis is not feasible because the frequency of events and the frequency of reporting are
confounded. A free-text description of the reported incident has been more helpful in identifying what can be
learned from the report. This view is also supported by the World Health Organization's Guidelines for Incident
Reporting [77] :
However, much of what promotes learning in patient safety lacks crisply defined data elements, so most
authorities believe it is important for reports to include narrative to convey meaning. Narrative reports
provide the opportunity to capture the rich context and storyline that allow the conditions that contributed to
the error to be explored and understood.
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Indeed, some believe that only narrative reports are capable of providing information that provides
meaningful insight into the nature of the underlying systems defects that caused the incident (Richard Cook,
personal communication).
Clearly, no reporting system can detect all the problems in a clinical institution, even ones that create a severe
vulnerability. For one thing, it is known that between 50% and 96% of critical incidents are not reported [106]
[107] with current systems, although new thrusts in incident reporting hope to increase the fraction of events that
are reported.
Legal Issues of Reporting Systems
Especially in jurisdictions for which medical liability litigation is common, there will be a number of legal issues
that affect reporting systems. First, for some kinds of events in some settings there will be legal requirements to
report the event to a governmental body. This is true in the United States for certain kind of adverse drug events
or for certain failures of medical devices. Moreover, some states have started mandatory reporting programs
about so-called never events that are thought should never occur in the absence of a systems failure. In general,
voluntary IRSs operate completely in parallel with any other types of reporting systems.
An important question for most reporters is whether the report will be confidential or anonymous and whether
the report will confer any immunity to the reporter. Anonymous reporting provides maximum protection for
reporters but limits the amount of information that can be acquired about any given event and the cogency of that
information. Confidential reporting can allow confidential interaction between analysts and the reporter to
acquire all the information and context needed concerning the event, but the linkage between the report and the
identity of the reporter exposes a risk even if confidentiality is formally provided. Of note, the ASRSon which
many reporting systems have been modeledoperates as a confidential system but with subsequent deidentification of the reports to make them anonymous. Furthermore, the ASRS was able to offer limited immunity
from administrative actions for those who filed a report. This was a major incentive for reporting events. In health
care, physicians largely fear malpractice litigation, and it is not possible to offer immunity from litigation to
reporters, although offering immunity from administrative action (e.g., an official reprimand) within the hospital
itself could be an incentive to report.
Statutory Protection
In the United States there is now both federal and state statutory protection (shield) from discovery of any
voluntary event reports that may be available (depending on the locale and many other circumstances). In the
United States, Congress passed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-41). This
authorized the Department of Health and Human Services to certify patient safety organizations (PSOs) to collect
confidential reports about events and to analyze the information. The act provides strong legal protection
(privilege) from any compelled release of the information, as in the process of discovery in a lawsuit. At the time of
this writing, rules were in the process of being formulated to govern the certification process for PSOs, so no data
have yet been collected that are protected under the act.
Internal reporting systems within hospitals may be protected as quality improvement activities in states that
provide privilege from discovery of such reports and deliberations. State laws vary widely on this matter. In
addition, the quality improvement protections are often questioned during litigation, and whether the privilege
will be applied depends on the ruling of a judge in each individual case.
Reporting systems in other countries have used other strategies. For example, the Center for Patient Safety and
Simulation, which runs a national IRS in Germany called PaSOS, has constituted itself as a press
office (informing the anesthesia public as a journal would); this then brings it under the protection of the free
press act and rights and makes it almost impossible to use its data in litigation.
De-identification before Information
A common strategy of confidential reporting systems is to quickly convert the data to anonymous status by deidentification. To do this, it is necessary to edit the reports and delete all information that might be used to
identify persons or organizations. Systems vary by what stage of analysis they conduct de-identification and where
they set the balance between acquiring needed information versus deleting possibly identifying data. One issue in
all reporting systems, especially in health care, is that the key facts of many events might be relatively unique and
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thereby lead to a high risk of intrinsic identification even when all objective identifiers are stripped.
There are now IRSs in many countries with various designs and operational processes (see Appendix 1 ). [5] [7] [42]
[52] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88] [89] [90] Many systems are installed locally, but
more and more national systems, or at least systems with a national common data set, are being installed. [108] Box
6-6 shows some of the features of and lessons learned from the national anesthesia system PaSOS (available at
www.pasos-ains.de
) in Germany, which is directed by one of this chapter's authors (M.R.).
Box 6-6
Characteristics of the German National Anesthesia and Intensive Care Incident Reporting System PaSOS (www.pasos-ains.de)
The system is provided by the two German anesthesia societies and run by a professional interdisciplinary
group.
Every anesthesia department and ambulatory anesthesia unit in Germany is entitled to take part. The basic
functionality, software, server storage, and updates are free of charge (a service by the societies).
The system is Web-based with an anonymous secure login (SSL). No data are stored locally in the hospitals,
but users work directly on the central secure server with php technology.
The reports are primarily sent outside one's own institution for de-identification by our independent and
interdisciplinary patient safety group (TuPASS), which increases trust of employees in the safety of the system.
All reports undergo a professional four-eye active anonymization and de-identification process by domain
experts trained in incident reporting and using checklist protocols to prevent any lapses in de-identification.
After de-identification, most reports can be read in full text by all employees. This is meant to sensitize all by
reading all the cases and to stimulate discussion about patient safety in the department and to report your own
cases. It also provides very powerful feedback to the reporter, who can read his report in the Web.
Every department gets a unique department login that is provided to all employees (physicians, nurses,
technicians, etc). This login allows you to separate your reports from the national reports. So every
department has its own local incident reporting system inside the big national system. There are no personal
logins because the system is anonymous.
Most reports are readable in the national IRS, open to all anesthesiologists. This should contribute to the
national spread of important critical safety information. Of course, on this level, nobody can see where the
reports came from. (You can select your reports with your department login, but you cannot identify the
origin of reports once they are in the national database).
All reports are manually tagged with key words for meaningful search results; they are classified according to
the U.K. NHS NPSA contributory factors framework [52] [94] [95] and also categorized with the CRM key
points (see text). [60] [109]
A local de-identifier does not exist and can therefore not be interviewed by any legal authorities.
An optional module, feedback and analysis suggestions, is available on request; it provides expert feedback
about every report from the IRS provider team back to the organization's risk management, including systems
safety analysis and suggestions for countermeasures.
Several organizational prerequisites need to be fulfilled by departments to take part (organizational
embedding before starting to report). For example, all departments have to send their PaSOS representatives
to an initial workshop to get briefed about the do's and don'ts of IRS. They also get a set of slides and
information material to spread the messages in their local departments (snowball effect).
Departments that do not comply with the minimal requirements, especially prerequisites such as the written
no-blame assurance to their employees, are not allowed to take part or may even be excluded from the
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system.
IRS, incident reporting system.
Data from references 60 , 104 , 108 , 110 .
Human Factors
This part of the chapter deals with human factors in the broadest sense of the meaning. In contrast to the previous
part of the chapter, which covered aspects of the health care system and organizational matters, the human
factors portion is related to the performance of individuals and teams and to factors influencing their performance
and promoting or preventing active or passive errors. Because more than 70% of all errors in medicine can be
attributed to problems with human factors rather than problems with knowledge or practical skills, the impact of
human factors cannot be overestimated. On this basis perhaps human factors should take 70% of the whole book!
Given that this chapter cannot deal with human factors in a comprehensive way, many topics can be touched on
only briefly, and the reader is directed to the available literature. We focus on the most important aspects of
human factors that are directly relevant to practicing anesthetists.
Nontechnical Skills in Anesthesia
Over the last 20 years, the health care professions have become more aware of the importance of nontechnical
skills in the delivery of safe, high-quality medical care. This recognition has brought an increased need for
assessment, evaluation, and training of these skills. Patient simulators were perhaps the first opportunity to show
and train these skills under realistic stressful conditions. [109] [111] [112] [113] The introduction of simulators and
the associated training concepts accelerated understanding of these human factors by the medical community. [2]
Some of the needed crisis management skills [20] [114] can be trained without the use of simulators, as shown in
other domains (aviation, oil platforms, military). [71] [115] [116] [117] The baseline level of crisis resource
management (CRM) performance is somewhat low. [118] Helmreich states that as a first step in establishing error
management programs, it is necessary to provide formal training in teamwork, the nature of error, and the
limitations of human performance. [47]
There are different ways to group the nontechnical skills that are at the heart of CRM training. One approach is
to distinguish between two categories of nontechnical skills: (1) cognitive and mental skills, including decisionmaking, planning, and situation awareness ( Table 6-3 ), and (2) social and interpersonal skills, including aspects
of teamwork, communication, and leadership. Another approach is to split nontechnical skills into five major
groups as shown in Figure 6-7 .
Table 6-3 -- Nontechnical Skills in Anesthesia: Classification, Markers, and Teaching Points
Key Teaching Points in
Anesthesia Nontechnical Skills
Performance Markers Anesthesia Crisis Resource
(Fletcher et al. [146] )
(Gaba et al. [130] )
Management (Gaba et
al. [147] [148] )
Concepts
Elements
Categories
Markers
Cognitive and
mental skills
Planning and
preparing
Task
management
Orientation to case
Reminders
Anticipate and plan
Know your environment
Prioritizing
Leadership (also a social

and interpersonal skill)
Providing and
maintaining standards
Planning
Use cognitive aids
Workload distribution
Distribute the workload
Identifying and using

resources
Gathering information
Exercise leadership
Set priorities dynamically
Mobilize all available

resources
Situation
awareness
Anticipation
Use all available

information
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Recognizing and
understanding
Vigilance
Anticipating
Identifying options
Anticipate and plan

Decisionmaking
Balancing risks and

selecting options
Preparation
Re-evaluation
Re-evaluating
Social and
interpersonal
skills
Allocate attention
Coordinating activities
with team
Team
working
Exchanging
information
Prevent and manage

fixation errors
Re-evaluate repeatedly
Inquiry/assertion
Communicate effectively
Teamwork
Communication
feedback
Using authority and

assertiveness
Group climate
Exercise leadership and

followership
Assessing capabilities
Followership
Exercise followership
Supporting others
Overall
assessment
Not applicable
Assessments are made
only at the element and
category level
Overall nontechnical
performance of the
primary anesthetist
Overall nontechnical
performance of the whole
team
Teamwork!
Concentrate on what is
right, not who is right
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Figure 6-7 Five main groups of nontechnical skills. In this approach, effective communication is like the glue that holds all the other components together.
Crisis Resource Management

What Exactly Is Crisis Resource Management?
Cockpit (later crew) resource management was introduced in aviation in the mid-1980s and is considered to be
successful in that industry and other industrial and military settings (although admittedly, there is not what
evidence-based medicine would call level 1 evidence for this success). [24] [25] [41] [119] [120] [121] [122] Crew
resource management is now taught systematically to crew members of all major U.S. airlines and at many
airlines around the world. [123] A similar program in anesthesiology was first developed by Gaba, Howard, and
associates at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford School of Medicine [4] [105]
[109] [113] [124] originally as anesthesia crisis resource management (ACRM). The ACRM curriculum and its
variants have since been adopted by training centers worldwide. A detailed description of the ACRM course is
provided.
In overview, CRM means to coordinate, use, and apply all available resources to protect and help the patient as
best as possible. Resources include all the personnel involved, along with all their skills, abilities and attitudes
albeit also with their human limitations. Machines, devices, and information sources, including cognitive aids, are
also critical resources.
Though termed crisis management, CRM principles actually also apply before a crisis ensues. CRM includes
preventing and intercepting threats and errors and minimizing their negative consequences to the patient.
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The key points of CRM as they apply to anesthesia care have been steadily updated and expanded over time (see
Box 6-7 ). Some of the principles might seem obvious or self-evident. However, from our experience in simulation
training, it is in fact not trivial to actually apply these principles whether during routine work or during crises.
More theoretical background on the principles can be found in the textbook on ACRM by Gaba, Fish, and
Howard, [125] as well as in related safety literature. [25] [41] [43] [46] [47] [70] [71] [72] [126] [127] [128] [129] [130]
Box 6-7
CRMKey Points in Healthcare
1.
Know the environment.
2.
Anticipate and plan.
3.
Call for help early.
4.
Exercise leadership and followership with assertiveness.
5.
Distribute the workload (10-seconds-for-10-minutes principle).
6.
Mobilize all available resources.
7.
Communicate effectivelyspeak up.
8.
Use all available information.
9.
Prevent and manage fixation errors.
10. Crosscheck and double-check (never assume anything).

11. Use cognitive aids.
12. Re-evaluate repeatedly (apply the 10-seconds-for-10-minutes principle).
13. Use good teamworkcoordinate with and support others.
14. Allocate attention wisely.
15. Set priorities dynamically.
Adapted from Rall M, Gaba DM: Human performance and patient safety. In Miller RD (ed): Miller's Anesthesia,
6th ed. Philadelphia, Elsevier Churchill Livingstone, 2005.
Like nearly all principles of sound human factors, application of CRM key points to patient care must be
supported by top leadership and reinforced in the actual work environment. It is of no worth to study these
principles (or even practice them in simulations) only to find that the pressures and culture of the real OR make
them impossible to implement for real patients. Fully integrating these key points into the structures and processes
of clinical practice has proved to be a significant challenge.
Know the environment! (CRM key point 1)
CRM begins before the crisis starts. One of the prerequisites for CRM is to know the available resources and the
details of the specific working environment. Resources are personnel, equipment (software, hardware, or cognitive
aids), and supplies. It is important to know who can be asked for help, who is available at different times of the
day, how to call those helpers quickly, and how long it will take them to arrive. Regarding equipment, it is
necessary to not only know what is available and where to find it but also how to operate it. The anesthesiologist is
responsible for being well versed in the operation of all relevant equipment and should also use manuals and other
cognitive aids to learn to use the gear and as a backup source of information during patient care.
Anticipate and plan (CRM key point 2)
Anticipation is key for goal-oriented behavior. Anesthetists must consider the requirements of a case in advance
and plan for the key milestone. They must imagine what could go wrong and plan ahead for each possible
difficulty. Savvy anesthetists expect the unexpected, and when it does strike, they then anticipate what could
happen next and prepare for the worst. People often talk about staying ahead of the game or, conversely,
falling behind or being behind the eight ball.
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Call for help early (CRM key point 3)
Knowing one's own limitations and calling for help is a sign of a strong character and a competent person. Trying
to handle everything alone or toughing out a critical situation is dangerous and unfair for the patient, who should
not suffer to protect the anesthetist's pride or ego. In case of an emergency or even a suspected emergency, help
should be called early rather than late. Some typical triggers for calling for help that apply to any anesthetist at
any level are (1) when there are too many tasks to do, (2) when the situation is already catastrophic (e.g., cardiac
arrest, difficulty securing the airway), (3) when serious problems are getting worse or not responding to the usual
maneuvers (or both), and (4) when you do not know what is going on. It is important to know in advance who is
available and how to call for help and to plan for how best to use the help when it arrives.
Exercise leadership and followership with assertiveness (CRM key point 4)
A team needs a leader. Someone has to take command, distribute tasks, collect information, and make key
decisions. Leadership rarely means knowing more than everybody else, doing everything alone, or putting other
people down. Leadership is about planning, deciding, and distributing tasks by clear communication.
Followership is also an important skill. Followers are key members of the team who listen to what the team leader
says and do what is needed. However, it does not mean shutting off their own brains. Followers should be assertive
if they think that the team leader is making wrong decisions. It is their responsibility to make sure that the leader
is aware of their concerns. Whenever people work together, conflict can ensue; anyone on the team may need to
diffuse conflicts to focus the team on care of the patient. Get everyone to concentrate on what is right, not on who
is right.
Distribute the workload 10-seconds-for-10-minutes principle (CRM key point 5)
One of the main tasks of a team leader is distribution of the workload. Someone is needed to define the necessary
tasks and ensure that they are fulfilled properly and that everything fits together. If possible, the team leader
should remain free of manual tasks to observe, gather information, and delegate tasks. Team members should also
look actively for things that need to be done. It is not a good team if the team leader has to express every idea and
nothing is done before it is explicitly ordered.
A corollary is known as the 10-seconds-for-10-minutes principle, which posits that if a team can slow its
activities down just a little, it can gain more than enough benefit in rational decision-making and planning to
offset the delay. The need to slow down appears to be greatest in critical situations such as the beginning of the
diagnosis and treatment planning or when the team feels stuck because the usual treatment is not working ( Fig.
6-8 ).
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Figure 6-8 The 10-seconds-for-10-minutes principle. When making a diagnosis or feeling stuck, perform the 10-second team timeout and check to see what the
biggest problem is (the most dangerous aspect right now) (Problem). Clarify this with all available team members (Opinions). Gather the information available
(Facts). Plan the treatment, including the desired sequence of actions. Distribute the workload by assigning tasks and responsibilities. Check with all team
members about any further concerns or suggestions.
Mobilize all available resources (CRM key point 6)
Everyone and everything that could help deal with the problem at hand should be mobilized, including humans
and technology embedded in organizational processes. On the human side, the anesthetist's knowledge and skills
(mitigated by knowledge of one's human deficiencies) are the most important resource, complemented by the
human helpers who can be brought to bear. Equipment and supplies are the means by which knowledge is
translated into action. Some equipment will be readily available, but others will need time to be mobilized.
Communicate effectivelyspeak up (CRM key point 7)
Communication is key in crisis situations. Good team work depends on everybody being on the same page and
coordinating their efforts; communication is the glue that holds the disparate members together (see Fig. 6-7 ).
Effective communication is challenging to accomplish. Several aspects make communication difficult sometimes;
for example, saying something is meaningful communication only if the messages are received and understood
( Fig. 6-9 ).
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Figure 6-9 Model showing the importance of proper communication. When dealing with complex situations under time pressure, people tend to mean a lot but
say little. It is important to let other team members know what you think (mental model). Not everything that is said is necessarily heard by those who should
hear. This is often not the fault of the receiving end; acoustic hearing and mental understanding are not the same. It is important for the sender and receiver of
a message to close the communication loop. Some tasks need time to be completed and may fail. Let the team know.
Use all available information (CRM key point 8)
Anesthesiology is particularly complex because information must be integrated from many different sources.
Every bit of information can assist in understanding a patient's status better and arriving at the correct diagnosis.
Information sources include those immediately at hand (the patient, monitors, the anesthesia record), secondary
sources such as the patient's chart, and external sources such as cognitive aids (see later) or even the Internet.
Prevent and manage fixation errors (CRM key point 9)
Human actions are based on an instantaneous mental model of the current situation. If the model of the situation
is erroneous, the actions will probably be wrong.
The term fixation error describes a model that is persistently faulty despite sufficient evidence to correct it. A
fixation error is the persistent failure to revise a diagnosis or plan in the face of readily available evidence
suggesting that a revision is necessary. This type of error is extremely common in dynamic situations. There are
three main types of fixation errors. [131] [132]
One type of fixation error is called this and only thissometimes also called cognitive tunnel vision. In this
type of error, attention is focused on only one possibility and other (possibly or actually correct) alternatives are
not taken into account. Another fixation error is everything but this, the persistent search for irrelevant
information and failure to treat a probable cause with serious consequences.
Perhaps the most insidious fixation error is the persistent claim that everything is OK, in which all information
is attributed to artifact and possible signs of a catastrophic situation are otherwise dismissed. Another form of
everything is OK is the failure to transition from routine mode to emergency mode when the situation
demands it.
One principle of managing fixation errors is to get a new viewa second opinionon the situation from someone
unaware of the faulty previous assumptions. Although it is appropriate to brief the new person on the situation, it
is best to avoid biasing the person with the conclusions already drawn. Even when working alone the anesthetist
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can deliberately change perspectives (physically or mentally) and look for information not fitting the picture of the
situation, as though entering the room for the first time.
The aforementioned 10-for-10 principle (CRM key point 5) might also be helpful in managing fixation errors.
More information on fixation error is provided later in the section Core Process.
Crosscheck and double-check(never assume anything) (CRM key point 10)
Crosschecking means to correlate information from different sources. There are often three independent sources
of information about the patient's heart rate (electrocardiogram [ECG], pulse oximetry, and blood pressure
monitor), for example, and two about the rhythm (ECG and pulse oximetry).
Another aspect of crosschecking involves reviewing the status of actions that have been done or are under way.
Human memory about actions performed is vulnerable, especially when interruptions have occurred. Moreover,
although we often attempt to check things at a glance, such fleeting observations are prone to error. Checking
numbers and settings on equipment by actually touching them and looking carefully may be worth the effort. In
general it is best to never assume anything; make sure and double-check important information.
Use cognitive aids (CRM key point 11)
Cognitive aidssuch as checklists, handbooks, calculators, and advice hotlinescome in different forms but serve
similar functions. They make knowledge explicit and in the world rather than only being implicit, in
someone's brain. Memory and cognitive functioning are vulnerable to error or complete failure, especially in
stressful situations. Cognitive aids offload memory and safeguard the recall of critical items. They also help ensure
the use of current best practices because during a crisis, people sometimes revert to what they originally learned
as the best, not what is the latest recommendation. The use of cognitive aids rather than memory alone is another
sign of strength.
Re-evaluate repeatedly (apply the 10-seconds-for-10-minutes principle) (CRM key point 12)
Acute medicine is dynamic. What is correct now might be wrong in the next minute. Some parameters might
change slowly over time, and subtle changes can be hard to perceive. Trend monitoring can be helpful to detect
slow, but insidious changes.
Furthermore, the dynamic nature of critical events makes it necessary to repeatedly re-evaluate the situation. Box
6-8 shows a set of questions that should be raised repeatedly to check whether one is still treating the most serious
problem most effectively.
Box 6-8
Re-Evaluation QuestionsMaintaining Situation Awareness
Was the initial assessment of the situation or diagnosis correct?

Did the actions have any effect? (e.g., did the drug reach the patient?)
Is the problem getting better, or is it getting worse?
Are there any side effects resulting from previous actions?
Are there any new problems or other problems that were missed before?
What further developments can be expected in the (near) future?
Implement principles of good teamworkcoordinate with and support others (CRM key point 13)
Teamwork in multidisciplinary teams is at the heart of much patient management in the OR and ICU. Key
principles of teamwork in dynamic situations have been delineated, especially in the work of Eduardo Salas and
colleagues at University of Central Florida (see Fig. 6-4 ). Coordination within a team ideally begins before a team
gathers. If all members know about the tasks to be done and their roles during these tasks, coordination is easier.
Short briefings at the beginning of a task are common in aviation and are worth the time spent. During the acute
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phase of a crisis situation, it is worth a small amount of time to coordinate the team's activities (see 10-for-10
earlier in CRM key point 5). Dream teams support each other continuously, with everybody looking after each
other.
Allocate attention wisely (CRM key point 14)
Human attention is very limited and multitasking is very difficult. Attention must be dynamically allocated where
it is needed. One can develop rhythms and scan patterns to do this. The ABC equals airway, breathing,
circulation mnemonic is based on this principle. Other strategies are to alternate between focusing on details and
focusing on the big picture and to offload certain responsibilities, tasks, or information streams to other qualified
team members, provided that they periodically update the team leader about the situation.
Set priorities dynamically (CRM key point 15)
Dynamic situations demand dynamic measures with decisive, purposeful preliminary decisions and actions that
are constantly re-evaluated and modified as new information becomes available or the results of treatment are
apparent. What was not a right move at one time may become the right move at another. In addition, having one
solution to an obvious problem does not guarantee that it is the best solution to the one problem or that there is
only that one problem to deal with. However, one priority is always paramountensuring adequate oxygenation
and perfusion of critical organs.
How Can CRM Skills Be Learned and Trained
CRM is taught in many different ways. Seminar-based training on human factors and CRM principles has
become popular in health care (e.g., programs called MedTeams, Medical Team Training, LifeWings), [133]
[134] [135] [136] [137] [138] [139] [140] although the role of such activities versus simulation-based CRM approaches has
not yet been fully delineated. Seminars use didactic sessions, group exercises, and sometimes discussion and
analysis of trigger videos. Such training is probably useful for first learning about CRM principles and
articulating how they might apply to anesthetists work environments. Given the experience in the airline
industry, it is likely that to completely address CRM skills for both trainees and experienced personnel, a
combination of seminars and simulation-based exercises will be needed.
We believe that to really practice the execution of CRM skills requires exposure to challenging clinical situations
in realistic simulation scenarios, followed by detailed group debriefings (often using video of the simulations) to
analyze what transpired. As detailed in Chapter 7 , such CRM-oriented simulation training may be available in
dedicated simulation centers or as in situ simulation training in actual work environments. Many simulation
centers also offer mobile training, which means that they can bring the simulator and everything else needed
(e.g., audio/video equipment) to any facility to train the staff in institutions that do not have a simulator or staff
capable of conducting the training.
How Can CRM Skills Contribute to Patient Safety
Although 70% of all errors in anesthesia may be attributable to human factors, interventions to improve this
picture have only partially penetrated the fabric of the industry. CRM-oriented training is one component of a
comprehensive approach to addressing human factors issues in anesthesia safety, but it is not yet a standard part
of clinical training. There is not yet definitive evidence that CRM training in anesthesia improves patient
outcomes, and many believe that it may be functionally impossible to acquire such evidence. Nevertheless, CRM
training is an integral and accepted part of training in aviation, nuclear power, and other industries in which
human errors can lead to catastrophic events. There is no reason to assume that doctors would be less error prone
or would benefit less from human factorsbased CRM training than the professionals in other high-hazard
industries.
Assessing Nontechnical Skills Is More Subjective Than Assessing Technical Skills
A study by Morgan and Cleave-Hogg concluded that the simulator environment is somehow unique and allows
different behaviors to be assessed. [141] As Glavin and Maran stated, Any scoring system that attempts to
address the assessment of clinical competence clearly has to address both technical and non-technical skills [142] ;
consequently, there is still a long road ahead in measuring performance.
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Two research groups (VA-Stanford and the University of Basel) have studied adaptations of the anchored
subjective rating scales developed by the NASA/University of Texas Aerospace Crew Performance Project. The
VA-Stanford group published preliminary data reviewing the inter-rater reliability of subjective ratings of
behavior on five-point anchored scales. [130] [143] Using a fairly stringent test of inter-rater reliability (the topic is
quite complex in the statistical literature), they found only moderate reliability when five trained raters used a
five-point scale to score 14 anesthesia teams, each managing two different complex critical events in the simulator
(malignant hyperthermia and cardiac arrest). Despite some difficulty in agreement on the operational definitions
of each type of behavior, the investigators stated that the largest problem in achieving agreement was the high
variability of each behavior over the course of a simulation. For example, an anesthesia crew could show evidence
of good communication at one instant, only to be shouting ambiguous orders into thin air at the next instant.
Aggregating such behavior into a single rating was extremely difficult, even for bounded time segments of the
scenario. These data demonstrate the importance of evaluating performance by more than one rater, who no
matter how well trained, may produce scores that differ significantly from another single rater. The investigators
suggested combining scores from a minimum of a pair of raters inasmuch as it was shown that the mean of scores
from two raters had a very low probability of differing from the mean of five raters by more than a single rating
point.
The behavioral markers of their score are shown in Table 6-3 and compared with Fletcher's anesthesia
nontechnical skills (ANTS) score and the ACRM key teaching points (see Box 6-7 ).
The ANTS System
Fletcher, from the Industrial Psychology Group of Aberdeen (headed by Rhona Flin) and working with clinicians
from the Scottish Clinical Simulation Centre (Glavin and Maran), performed an in-depth review of the role of
nontechnical skills in anesthesia. Fletcher stated that nontechnical skills have not been explicitly addressed in the
traditional education and training of anesthesiologists, even though they have always been demonstrated and used
during clinical work. The group analyzed incident reports and observations of real cases, as well as attitude
questionnaires and theoretical models. [144] Like others, they recognized that simulation offers the opportunity to
identify, develop, measure, and train nontechnical skills in a safe learning environment, so they also included
significant observations during realistic simulations. [145]
Incident reports proved very limited because they did not provide the finer-grained level of information
necessary to understand where the skills broke down. [146] They defined nontechnical skills as attitudes and
behaviours not directly related to the use of medical expertise, drugs or equipment. Although nontechnical skills
can be seen under the heading of human factors, it is preferred that they be addressed as nontechnical skills,
which is more specific.
As in the ACRM instructional paradigm, [109] [147] [148] Fletcher and colleagues identified two categories of
nontechnical skills:
Cognitive and mental skills, including decision-making, planning, and situation awareness
Social and interpersonal skills, including aspects of team working, communication, and leadership
Fletcher's ANTS scheme is shown in Table 6-4 , along with the behavioral markers of Gaba's team and the ACRM
key teaching points. A description of the ANTS categories and elements, including examples of good practice and
poor practice, is presented in Table 6-4 .
Table 6-4 -- Example of a Description of the Anesthesia Nontechnical Skills System (ANTS SystemV1.0)
Task Managementskills for organizing resources and required activities to achieve goals, be they individual
case plans or longer-term scheduling issues. It has four skill elements: planning and preparing, prioritizing,
providing and maintaining standards, and identifying and using resources.
Planning and preparingdeveloping primary and contingency strategies in advance for managing tasks,
reviewing these tasks, and updating them if required to ensure that goals will be met; making necessary
arrangements to ensure that plans can be achieved.
Behavioral Markers for Good Practice
Behavioral Markers for Poor Practice
Communicates plan for case to relevant staffReviews case plan in
Does not adapt plan in light of new

informationDoes not ask for drugs or
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equipment until the last minute

Does not have emergency/alternative drugs
availableFails to prepare postoperative
management plan
Prioritizingscheduling tasks, activities, issues, information channels, etc., according to importance (e.g.,
because of time, seriousness, plans); being able to identify key issues and allocate attention to them accordingly;
and avoiding being distracted by less important or irrelevant matters
Discusses priority issues in case
Becomes distracted by teaching trainees
Negotiates sequence of cases on list with surgeon
Fails to allocate attention to critical areas
Conveys order of actions in critical situations
Fails to adapt list to changing clinical

conditions
Providing and maintaining standardssupporting safety and quality by adhering to accepted principles of
anesthesia; following, when possible, codes of good practice, treatment protocols or guidelines, and mental
checklists
Follows published protocols and guidelines
Does not adhere to emergency protocols or

guidelines
Cross-checks drug labels
Does not check blood with patient and

notes
Checks machine at beginning of each session
Breaches guidelines such as minimum

monitoring standards
Fails to confirm patient identity and

consent details
From Fletcher GCL, Flin R, Glavin RJ, Maran NJ: Framework for Observing and Rating Anaesthetists NonTechnical SkillsAnaesthetists Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) System V1.0, 22nd version. Aberdeen, Scotland,
University of Aberdeen, 2003.
Maintains accurate anesthetic records
The structure of the new ANTS scheme was derived from a system of behavioral markers that had been developed
for aviation in an European project called NOTECHS, which itself was an evolution of the UT-Markers of the
University of Texas (Helmreich). A summarized comparison of the aviation systems and explanations about using
nontechnical markers for training and evaluation can be found in the downloadable documentation of the Group
Interaction in High Risk Environments created by an international group of human factors specialists (available
at http://www2.hu-berlin.de/gihre/Download/Publications/GIHRE2.pdf
). Several comments about the ANTS
approach are appropriate.
ANTS intent is to score only those skills that can be identified unambiguously through observable behavior. Such
restriction may enhance the reliability of the scoring but could exclude relevant personal factors such as selfpresentation, stress management, and maintaining perspective. ANTS assumes that communication is included
or even pervades all other categories and does not score communication as a separate skill. This approach is in
contrast to that of others who believe that communication is a specific skill that should be rated separately. [115]
[149] The category task management of the ANTS includes the element providing and maintaining standards,
which might be a point of discussion if it can be an observable behavior not directly related to medical expertise
as stated in the definition. In addition, there might be a problem because there are not so many well-accepted
standards in medicine (in strong contrast to, e.g., aviation).
Flin's group, meanwhile, adapted nontechnical skills scoring systems for several other medical fields, such as for
surgeons and ICU care. [25] [72] [123] [128] [129] [130] [150] [151] [152] They have not yet made adaptations that fully
describe multidisciplinary crews and teams.
Not all nontechnical skills will be expected to be observed during every scenario or clinical situation. It is
important to delineate between required behaviors in a given scenario and the generic set of behaviors. If a
required behavior is not observed, the rating system advises that one rate that behavior as poor nontechnical
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skills, whereas the absence of a given nontechnical skill behavior otherwise has no particular meaning and should
be rated as not observed. As in all subjective nontechnical performance systems, training plus calibration of
raters is necessary.
Fletcher and coworkers evaluated ANTS by using scripted videotapes taken in a realistic simulator. Fifty
consultant anesthetists were given 4 hours of training as raters and then rated eight test scenarios ranging from 4
to 21 minutes each. They rated performance at the level of specific elements and also at the broader level of
category (see Table 6-3 ) by using a four-point scale (they could also enter not observed). Three investigator
anesthetists also rated the scenarios and agreed on a reference rating to be used as the benchmark for the study.
In questionnaires the ANTS system was evaluated by raters as relatively complete, possibly with superfluous
elements. Raters found that nontechnical skills were usually observable, and most thought that it was not difficult
to relate observed behavior to ANTS elements. The inter-rater reliability, accuracy, and internal consistency of the
ratings were good to acceptable and are presented in Table 6-5 .
Table 6-5 -- Results of an Evaluation Study of Anesthesia Nontechnical Skills by Fletcher and Colleagues
Measure
Score
Range
Max/Min
Element/Category
Inter-rater agreement
Element level
Category level
0.55-0.67
0.56-0.65
Highest
element
Identifying/using resources
Lowest
element
Recognizing/understanding
Highest
category
Task management
Team working
% within 1
point
88%-97%
Accuracy relative to the

reference rater's score
Mean absolute
deviation
0.49-0.84, depending
on elements
Lowest
category
Situation awareness
Highest
element
Identifying options
Lowest
element
Assessing capabilities
Highest
element
Authority/assertiveness
Lowest
Provide standards
element
From Fletcher R, Flin P, McGeorge R, et al: Anaesthetists non-technical skills (ANTS): Evaluation of a behavioural
marker system. Br J Anaesth 90:580-588, 2003.
Although well performed, there are some caveats about these data. Because scripted videos were used as the basis
for ratings, it is possible that the observability or scorability of the desired sets of behavior was greater than in
actual simulation scenarios. The scripted scenarios were rather short (4 to 21 minutes), which perhaps made it
relatively easy to remember certain aspects of the performance and reduced the likelihood of raters encountering
the problem of aggregating a score from fluctuating behavior over time. The window of accuracy as 1 point
on a 4-point scale seems to be rather wide.
On the whole, the ANTS system appears to be a useful tool to further enhance assessment of nontechnical skills in
anesthesia and other medical fields, and its careful derivation from a current system of nontechnical assessment in
aviation (NOTECHS) may even allow some interdomain comparisons.
Performance-Shaping Factors
With a few exceptions, the foregoing discussion of the performance of skilled anesthetists has assumed that they
are normally fit, rested, and acting in a standard working environment. Experience in human performance in the
laboratory and other domains suggests that internal and external performance-shaping factors exert profound
effects on the ability of even highly trained personnel. The degree to which performance-shaping factors affect the
overall performance of anesthetists and the outcome of patients is highly uncertain. In extreme cases, such as
profound fatigue, there is no question that these factors can result in severe degradation of the anesthetist's
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performance or even complete incapacitation. However, these extreme conditions are quite unusual, and it is
unclear whether the levels of performance decrement likely to be induced in typical work situations have any
significant effect. Although the practice of anesthesia does require an attentive and skilled individual, it does not
require peak human performance. It would be unrealistic to expect peak performance for every anesthetic
regimen because on the order of 60,000 anesthetic regimens are administered each day in the United States by a
total of approximately 40,000 to 60,000 anesthetists. Although it is unrealistic to expect peak performance for
every case, society expects anesthesiologists to come to work preparednot impaired. As stated in the American
Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) guidelines for the ethical practice of anesthesiology, anesthesiologists have
ethical responsibilities to themselves. The guideline goes further by stating that the practice of quality anesthesia
care requires that anesthesiologists maintain their physical and mental health and special sensory capabilities. If
in doubt about their health, then anesthesiologists should seek medical evaluation and care. During this period of
evaluation or treatment, anesthesiologists should modify or cease their practice.
With these caveats in mind, however, there are several performance-shaping factors that are potentially of
sufficient magnitude to be of concern. Ambient noise, music, fatigue and sleep deprivation, aging, illness, drug use,
and attitudes are discussed later. Several other issues that are not discussed include the level of illumination and
environmental temperature. These factors can be shown to have a performance-shaping effect in the laboratory,
but it is uncertain how much they affect performance in the OR. Currently, the responsibility for ensuring fitness
for duty rests solely with the individual clinician. In HROs, the institution implements measures to mitigate
performance-shaping factors.
Ambient Noise and Music in the Operating Room
The OR is a relatively noisy work environment. [153] [154] [155] [156] Mean sound levels are considerably higher
than in most offices or control rooms (continuous movement of air through an open surgical suction tip is a
common source of continuous noise), and peak sound levels can be quite high. Some sources of noise are
uncontrollable, such as surgical drills, monitor alarms, and inadvertently dropped instrument pans; other sources
are controllable, such as conversation and music (see later). There is evidence in the general literature that noise
can adversely affect human performance. [153] Furthermore, studies by Murthy and colleagues [157] [158]
demonstrated that volume-accurate replay of recordings of OR noise significantly interfered with the speech
discrimination ability of anesthesia residents during laboratory testing. The OR noise also caused a significant
reduction in residents performance on psychometric tests of mental efficiency and short-term memory. [157] The
potential interference of noise with communication and situation awareness among personnel in the OR is
particularly worrisome to those concerned with optimizing teamwork in this complex work environment.
The use of music in the OR is now widespread. Many health care professionals believe that music enlivens the
workday and can build team cohesiveness when all team members enjoy the music. A controversial study by two
social psychologists, Allen and Blascovich, [159] suggested that surgeon-selected music improved surgeons
performance on a serial subtraction task and reduced their autonomic reactivity (i.e., relaxed them) when
compared with control conditions consisting of experimenter-selected music or no music at all. The methodology
of this study has been criticized. [160]
In response to Allen and Blascovich, several anesthesiologists challenged the notion that the surgeon's preference
for the type or volume of music can or should override the needs of other members of the team. [160] [161] This
issue generated considerable controversy among surgeons and anesthesiologists. In a reply to some of the letters to
the editor commenting on their study, Allen and Blascovich [162] stated: The letters here suggest that not
everyone on the surgical team always appreciates the type of music chosen by the surgeon, and anesthesiologists in
particular appear to prefer silence in surgery. When we asked the surgeons in our study about this issue, we were
told that the environment of surgery does not lend itself to the democratic process, and music was part of the
environment in which they felt most comfortable.
Murthy and colleagues studied the effect of OR noise (80 to 85 dB) and music on knot-tying ability in a
laparoscopic skill simulator. They found no difference in time or knot quality in the conditions tested and
concluded that surgeons can effectively block out noise and music. Invited commentary that accompanied the
article brings up important issues: what impact does noise have on other members of the surgical team, how does
noise affect communication between team members, does noise affect judgment, and other unanswered questions.
There is no simple answer to the question of the proper role of music in the OR. Clearly, optimal patient care is
the primary goal. Some surgical and anesthesia personnel explicitly forbid any type of music in the OR. A more
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common approach of many OR teams is to allow any team member to veto the choice or volume of music if they
believe that it interferes with their work.
Reading in the Operating Room
The observation that some anesthetists were observed to read journals or books casually during patient care led to
a vigorous debate of the appropriateness of such activity. [163] Although it is indisputable that reading can distract
attention from patient care, there are no data at present to determine the degree to which reading does distract
attention, especially if the practice is confined to low-workload portions of a case. Furthermore, many anesthetists
pointed out that reading as a distraction is not necessarily any different from many other kinds of activities not
related to patient care that are routinely accepted, such as idle conversation among personnel. Many comments
about the issue were related not to the actual decrement in vigilance induced by reading but rather to the impact
of the negative perception of the practice (and of those who do it) by surgeons and by patients (if they were aware
of it).
A noted researcher on human performance in anesthesia, Matt Weinger, was asked to comment on the practice of
reading in the OR. [164] [165] He pointed out that reading can combat boredom, which can be a significant
distractor in its own right. He concluded that in the absence of data specifically on the topic, it is unscientific to
condemn the practice outright, but that readinglike all other distractionsshould not be allowed to impair
vigilance and patient care.
In our training course on ACRM, we teach that the anesthetist is responsible for modulating all controllable
distractionsfor example, allowing music during routine work (if all agree) but eliminating it when the situation
becomes complex or urgent. Similarly, although our own institutions do not have a policy against reading in the
OR (or against casual conversation for that matter), we do expect the anesthetist to terminate all incidental
activities when necessary and to have a very low threshold for abandoning potential distractions.
Sleep Deprivation and Fatigue *
* This section was co-written by Steven K. Howard, M.D., staff anesthesiologist, Veterans Administration Palo Alto Health Care System, and associate professor,
Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
General Principles
Scientists are discovering the importance of adequate sleep to allow normal human performance. A consensus
report [166] by leaders in the field of sleep medicine stated the following:
[we] evaluated scientific and technical reports on the distribution throughout the 24-h day of medical incidents
(such as heart attack and stroke) and performance failures (such as vehicular accidents and human errors in
industrial and technical operations that can affect public safety). We found that these events occur most often
at times of day coincident with the temporal pattern of brain processes associated with sleep. It thus appears
that the occurrence of a wide range of catastrophic phenomena are influenced by sleep-related processes in
ways heretofore not fully appreciated.
This report goes on to give many examples of catastrophes that have occurred at least in part because of the effects
of sleep deprivation and fatigue.
Investigations in other complex industries (aviation, nuclear power, maritime, long-haul trucking) have identified
fatigue as the probable cause of or a contributing factor in many accidents. Unlike health care, the transportation
industries have a bodythe National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)that actively evaluates accident
causation, including performance-shaping factors such as fatigue and sleep deprivation. By formal analysis,
fatigue has been implicated in many famous accidents. For example, fatigue was a contributing factor in the
Exxon Valdez grounding, the nuclear disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, and the decision-making
process that led to explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. We have no such mechanism for evaluating fatigue
causation in medical error, so what is not looked for will not be found.
Based on these findings, however, it is likely that chronic sleep deprivation, circadian rhythm abnormalities, and
fatigue can be blamed for some iatrogenic adverse patient outcomes. As previously mentioned, the IOM report
published in 1999 revealed that thousands of patients are harmed each year by preventable error. Some of these
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errors may have fatigue as a causative factor, and this should be an area of active study. However, it is difficult to
determine the degree to which this is true because there is no blood test equivalent for level of impairment
secondary to fatigue. Although these factors have long been minimized or ignored by health care professionals, an
understanding of them is critical to maximize patient safety, as reflected in recently published reviews. [167] [168]
Normal Sleep
Carskadon and coworkers [169] referred to sleep as a reversible behavioral state of perceptual disengagement from
and unresponsiveness to the environment that is usually accompanied by postural recumbency, quiescence, closed
eyes, and other indicators commonly associated with sleeping. Sleep can be thought of as a physiologic drive state
similar to hunger or thirst and is necessary for maintenance of alertness, performance, and overall well-being. The
intensity of this drive can be inferred by noting how quickly an individual falls asleep. Just as eating and drinking
satiate hunger and thirst states, sleeping reverses the desire to sleep.
The amount of sleep required by any individual is genetically determined and is the amount that allows that
individual to be awake and alert throughout the day. The average sleep time for young adults is 7 to 8 hours per
24-hour period, with an approximately 15% inter-individual variation. These sleep requirements do not change
with age, and humans can do little to train their physiology to function optimally on less sleep than what is
required.
Sleep Debt
If adequate sleep is not obtained for whatever reason, daytime sleepiness and impaired performance ensue. Sleep
loss is cumulative and results in what is referred to as sleep debt. An individual who has obtained an optimal
amount of sleep is better prepared to perform long periods of sustained work than one who is operating from a
sleep debt.
Because of the additive effects of chronic partial sleep loss, even minor sleep restriction on a nightly basis can
insidiously accumulate into a substantial sleep debt. [170] It is important that the only way to pay back a sleep debt
is with sleep.
Sleep debts are commonplace in our culture. The National Sleep Foundation's annual survey continues to reveal
that Americans chronically undersleep by 60 to 90 minutes each day (website:
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.3933533/
). Shift work, long and irregular work hours,
and the demands of family and recreation lead to irregular sleep patterns and prevent restful sleep. This is
particularly true for physicians, who often work in shifts, have long duty periods, and must frequently care for
patients for long periods.
Circadian Rhythms
Rhythms that fluctuate on a 24-hour time scale are known as circadian rhythms. The biologic clock that is
responsible for these rhythms is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the human brain. The best-known
circadian rhythms are those of body temperature, hormone secretion, metabolism, and the sleep/wake cycle. The
circadian system is synchronized to the 24-hour day by external stimuli referred to as zeitgebers, the most
influential of which is the light/dark cycle of day and night.
The circadian system is biphasic in that it produces a state of increased sleep tendency and decreased performance
capacity during two periods throughout the 24-hour dayfrom 2 AM to 6 AM and from 2 PM to 6 PM. These
periods are sometimes referred to as circadian lulls. The circadian clock is very resistant to alterations, and it does
not adjust rapidly to changes such as those produced by jet lag or shift work. Disruption of the normal circadian
rhythm or incomplete circadian adaptation leads to acute and chronic sleep deprivation, decreased alertness,
increased subjective fatigue, and decreased physical and mental performance. [171]
Sleepiness and Alertness
Sleepiness and alertness are at opposite ends of a continuum. Daytime sleepiness is the most obvious effect of
failing to obtain adequate sleep. Healthy adults are maximally alert by midmorning. This is sequentially followed
by a circadian lull in the early afternoon (causing some cultures to incorporate an afternoon siesta), increased
alertness in the early evening, and finally increased sleepiness that normally results in falling asleep at night.
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The most extreme periods of sleepiness become manifest when one is out of sync with the circadian clock (either
staying awake and working when our clock is pressuring sleep or attempting to sleep when our clock is pressuring
wakefulness). Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation reveal that the greatest number of single-vehicle
accidents takes place during the early morning hours when people are at a circadian lull of alertness. These
accidents are thought to be due to inadvertent lapses in driver attention brought about by extremes of sleepiness.
[172]
Determinants of Sleepiness
The major factors causing sleepiness are decreased quantity of sleep, poor quality of sleep (sleep fragmentation
resulting from multiple awakenings or abnormal progression of sleep states and stages), disrupted circadian
rhythms, and the use of certain medications. The amount of sleep obtained is directly related to daytime
sleepiness. If sleep is restricted in healthy adults, daytime sleepiness can be demonstrated the following day. [170] If
one is allowed to extend sleep beyond the usual sleep time, increased alertness can be demonstrated in the
laboratory. [4] Sleep quality is affected by many factors. Sleep fragmentation affects the elderly and patients with
sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and periodic limb movements. Sleep fragmentation commonly occurs in
physicians who are awakened from sleep to care for patients while in the hospital.
Caffeine [173] and other stronger stimulants are known to reduce nocturnal sleep if ingested close to bedtime,
hence decreasing sleep quantity and quality. Potent stimulants such as amphetamines do produce increased
alertness and performance, but they have significant side effects and are not an option for health care personnel
(e.g., the individual must undergo a substantial amount of recovery sleep [crash] after their effect is gone).
Newer, nonamphetamine alertness-enhancing drugs (e.g., modafinil) are currently under study and being used in
shift workers, including health care workers (see Fatigue Countermeasures).
Mood
Long work hours, fatigue, and sleep deprivation have also been shown to bring about consistent and dramatic
changes in mood and emotions. [174] [175] Depression, anxiety, irritability, anger, and depersonalization have all
been shown to increase during testing of chronically fatigued house staff. These emotions are an obvious source of
stress between anesthetists and their coworkers, patients, and families. The relationship of mood, performance,
and patient safety has yet to be determined.
Vigilance
Vigilance, the centerpiece of the ASA logo, is defined as alert watchfulness. Vigilance is critical, although studies
of the performance of anesthesiologists make it clear that vigilance is not the only key characteristic of careful
anesthesiologists. Vigilance is a necessary, but not sufficient condition to permit the safe passage of a patient
through the perioperative period. If vigilance and other aspects of decision-making are impaired by performanceshaping factors such as sleep deprivation and fatigue, there is a greater likelihood of an adverse patient outcome.
Monitoring of slowly changing stimuli is a classic vigilance task that makes up a significant proportion of the
anesthetist's work. This type of task is most sensitive to the degrading effects of sleepiness and fatigue. During the
performance of lengthy vigilance tasks, the most common types of decrements include increased reaction time,
lapses (transient periods of unawareness), and a reduction in the probability of detecting an alarm. This type of
performance impairment has been documented after as little as 30 minutes of time on a task, and the decrement is
even more pronounced if the individual is physiologically sleepy at the beginning of the task.
Microsleep Events
The most extreme cause of impaired vigilance is the occurrence of actual sleep episodes (microsleeps) encroaching
into periods of wakefulness. Microsleep events typically last a few seconds to a few minutes. They are intermittent
in onset, and their impending occurrence is difficult for the individual to predict. Most individuals underestimate
their level of sleepiness when they can be objectively shown to be extremely sleepy, thus making this problem even
more insidious. In other words, one can fall asleep and not be perceptually aware of it. This has significant
meaning in the workplace and when driving home after long work periods. Microsleep episodes are the probable
cause of many single-vehicle crashes.
Microsleeps are a sign of extreme sleepiness and are harbingers of the onset of longer sleep periods. Typically,
they occur during periods of low workload or stimulation and when an individual is maximally sleepy. In addition,
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an individual's performance between microsleep episodes is impaired. Frequent and longer microsleeps increase
the number of errors of omission.
Driving while drowsy may be less forgiving than practicing medicine while drowsy. It is easy to imagine that if a
driver has a microsleep for only seconds while traveling at 60 miles per hour, there is a high likelihood of an
accident. Although the anesthetist's work environment does not (usually) evolve as fast as that of the driver, the
safety implications of falling asleep while providing care are similarly obvious. [176]
Scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center studied the occurrence of microsleep episodes in pilots during
transmeridian flights. [177] These flights involve multiple time zone changes with long, irregular work schedules
and resultant disruption of circadian rhythms. This situation causes fatigue, sleepiness, and decreased
performance, which are believed to have an impact on flight safety. This particular protocol compared two pilot
groups flying equivalent flights: a control (non-nap) group and a nap group. Electroencephalographic monitoring
of the pilots was performed to determine the extent of microsleep episodes and also to document whether pilots
were actually able to nap if given the opportunity. In brief, the study revealed that (1) crew members were able to
nap seated in the cockpit if given the opportunity, (2) the non-nap crew had significantly more microsleep episodes
during critical phases of flight than the crew that had napped did, and (3) performance on a standardized test of
visual reaction time was worse in the non-nap group than in the group that had napped. This study demonstrated
that microsleeps do occur even in a work environment in which sleep is strictly forbidden and in which work
hours are tightly regulated. Napping appears to be a reasonable countermeasure to decrease the likelihood of
microsleeps and improve performance. Other work on napping supports these conclusions.
Do anesthetists suffer microsleep events? The answer almost certainly is yes. Anecdotal evidence, as well as
unpublished reports from our own surveys, suggests that these events do occur from time to time. Microsleeps
occurred in a study of anesthesiologists performing work in a simulated environment. [178]
Shift Work
From a practical standpoint, shift work will remain a common method to provide 24-hour care in the hospital
setting. [179] [180] [181] Workers and managers should learn how circadian factors, sleep-related factors, and social
factors affect the lives of workers and their families. Hospital organizations should make it a priority to establish
that workers are appropriately rested, just as they try to ensure that workers are not impaired by drugs or alcohol
on the job. Given current knowledge concerning shift work and the many factors that affect an individual's ability
to cope, there is no single best schedule for shift work. Some workers tolerate systems that others find
excessively onerous. If given a choice, many workers choose suboptimal shift work rotations when doing so gives
them increased pay or more time off work.
Methodologies for Assessing Sleepiness
There are various methods for assessing an individual's level of sleepiness, including behavioral indicators,
subjective measures, and physiologic measures. Behavioral indicators of sleepiness include yawning, ptosis,
decreased social interaction, and microsleep events. Many of these behaviors are difficult to quantify.
Subjective measures include various types of numeric or visual analog scales that attempt to measure how sleepy
the individual feels. These methods are used frequently in studies of sleepiness because they are very easy to
implement; however, subjective feelings of fatigue and sleepiness are often underestimated by individuals in
comparison to their level of physiologic sleepiness. Both behavioral and subjective sleepiness can be masked by a
stimulating environment, even though the individual remains physiologically sleepy. When environmental stimuli
wane, physiologic sleepiness manifests itself as an overwhelming propensity to fall asleep. A person who is
physiologically alert does not experience sleepiness as environmental stimuli decrease. For example, without
physiologic sleepiness, an individual may become bored during a lecture but does not fall asleep.
Physiologic (objective) measures of sleepiness have been used extensively in sleep research and sleep medicine.
Carskadon, Dement, and colleagues [182] [183] developed the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), which is now
the standard method for quantifying daytime sleepiness. The MSLT tests the propensity of an individual to fall
asleep in a sleep-inducing environment during the daytime. A short sleep latency (i.e., falling asleep quickly) is a
sign of increased sleepiness, whereas a long sleep latency is a sign of decreased sleepiness. A normal MSLT score is
greater than 10 minutes, whereas pathologic daytime sleepiness is defined as 5 minutes or less. Pathologic levels
correspond to the daytime sleepiness typically seen in patients with narcolepsy or sleep apnea or in healthy
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individuals deprived of sleep for 24 hours.

Evaluation of Physiologic Sleepiness in Anesthesia Residents
Using the MSLT, Howard and colleagues [168] [184] evaluated the physiologic daytime sleepiness of anesthesia
residents under three different conditions: (1) baseline (daytime shift, no on-call duty period in the previous 48
hours), (2) post-call (immediately after a 24-hour work and in-house on-call period), and (3) sleep extended.
In the sleep-extended condition, residents were told to maximize sleep and were allowed to arrive for work at 10
AM (3 to 4 hours later than normal) for 4 consecutive days before testing. They were not on call during this time.
The sleep-extended condition was included to provide a true control state of maximal rest and optimum alertness.
In this study, anesthesia residents had an MSLT score of 6.7 5.3 minutes in the baseline condition and 4.9 4.7
minutes in the post-call condition, both scores revealing the nearly pathologic levels of daytime sleepiness seen
in patients with narcolepsy or sleep apnea. The baseline group slept an average of 7.1 1.5 hours per night,
whereas the post-call group reported an average of 6.3 1.9 hours of sleep during their night on call. Ironically,
although the on-call periods occurred during rotations that often have very busy call nights, only a few subjects
were, in fact, awake most of the night. In the sleep-extended condition, the subjects extended their sleep to an
average of more than 9 hours per night, and MSLT scores were in the normal range (12.0 6.4 minutes). These
results clearly demonstrate that medical personnel who have not been on call cannot be assumed to be rested
when compared with fatigued post-call residents. These data also indicate that under normal working
conditions, the resident physicians studied were physiologically sleepy to nearly pathologic levels. This finding
documents a previously unknown level of chronic sleep deprivation in this population. Notably, these data cast
substantial doubt on previous studies of the performance of medical personnel that have relied on the assumption
that individuals working under normal conditions are truly rested.
Evaluation of Subjective Sleepiness
In the previously discussed study, Howard and colleagues also investigated the degree of discrepancy between the
residents subjective sleepiness (how sleepy they felt) and their physiologic sleepiness (how easily they fell asleep).
Subjective sleepiness was measured with a validated numeric scale (Stanford Sleepiness Scale); physiologic
sleepiness was measured with the MSLT, as described earlier. Subjects self-reported sleepiness immediately
before each sleep opportunity during the MSLT did not, in general, correlate with their MSLT score. As in
previous studies, subjective sleepiness correlated better with physiologic sleepiness when subjects were extremely
alert or extremely sleepy.
The authors also found that subjects demonstrated little ability to determine whether they had actually fallen
asleep during the MSLT sleep opportunities. For example, in 51% of trials in which the
electroencephalographic/electro-oculographic measurements showed that the subject had fallen asleep, the
subjects thought they had remained awake throughout the test. These results support the contention that medical
personnel are physiologically vulnerable to degraded alertness yet are unable to perceive this decrement. Thus, an
anesthetist could, in fact, fall asleep during a case, awaken, and be totally unaware of the lapse in vigilance.
Sleep Deprivation and Fatigue in Medical Personnel
Human error represents a significant risk to hospitalized patients, [3] and it has been estimated to play a role in
more than 70% of anesthesia mishaps. [185] This is similar to the error rate seen in cognitively similar work
environments such as aviation. [186] Clearly, the physiologic capabilities and limitations of the human operator in
complex work environments remain central to safe and productive performance. The 24-hour demands of medical
care parallel the physiologic challenges present in other operational domains; nevertheless, minimal data are
available to quantify the fatigue-related risk to performance and alertness in medical personnel.
Providing quality health care requires physicians to attend to details critical for life, such as monitoring of
changing vital signs, administering the correct type and dose of medications, and in general, making crucial
decisions to achieve optimal patient care. Physicians, like other workers, are affected by all the physiologic,
psychological, and behavioral demands that characterize work environments requiring continuous, around-theclock operation. However, whereas much of the health care system (e.g., nursing) relies on multiple work shifts to
cover the 24-hour day (which is also not a perfect system), physicians more typically work long duty periods and
frequently experience sleep loss, circadian disruption, and fatigue. Even minimal levels of sleep loss (for example,
obtaining as little as 2 hours less sleep than an individual requires) can lead to lapses in performance, increased
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physiologic sleepiness during the daytime (including microsleeps), and altered moods. [187] This level of degraded
performance and alertness almost certainly contributes to medical error and health care mishaps. [167]
Work Hour Regulations
In July 2003, The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in the United States instituted common
duty hour requirements for all accredited residency training programs. The requirements can be found at
www.acgme.org
and are as follows:
Eighty hours per week, averaged over a period of 4 weeks (including all in hospital call)
One day (continuous 24-hour period) in 7 free of all duties (clinical and educational) averaged over a 4week period
In-hospital call occurring no more frequently than every third night averaged over 4 weeks
In-hospital call not to exceed 24 hours; residents may remain on duty for 6 additional hours to participate
in educational activities, transfer care of patients to another team, conduct outpatient clinics, and
maintain continuity of care
No new patients accepted after 24 hours of continuous duty
Provision of a 10-hour period between all daily duty periods and after in-hospital call
Moonlighting hours to be included as part of the 80-hour limit
Exceptions: a residency review committee may grant exceptions for up to a 10% increase in the 80-hour
limit to individual programs on a case-by-case basis
Training programs were given little direction on how to accomplish the work hour restrictions, but most
anesthesiology training programs have been able to successfully adopt them. Interestingly, there are no work hour
restrictions for practitioners or any other care providers beyond residency training. There is no proof that the
change has had a positive or negative impact on patient or provider safety, although pundits continue to debate
both sides of the issue. [188] [189] Recent studies show that the number of hospital-wide adverse drug events
remained constant after the limitations [190] and that postoperative outcomes were not affected in the programs
studied. [191]
Compliance rates for the common program requirements have been tracked by Landrigan and coworkers. [192] In
a survey of interns, they found that more than 80% reported some kind of work hour violation during 1 or more
months of the study. Average work duration decreased and sleep time increased when compared with an
equivalent time before duty hour limits. Reporting of compliance by individual residents is complicated by many
factors, so the true amount of work being performed is not known. Many surgical programs have requested and
been given a 10% work hour extension, but it is not known how many of these requests have been turned down.
European and Australian Regulations
Work hours regulations in the European Union and in Australia/New Zealand are much more stringent than they
are for trainees in the United States. In 2009, the maximum hours that junior medical staff in the National Health
Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom work will be reduced from 58 to 48 under European law. This is a major
challenge for the health service and will require new ways of working to be adopted. The NHS National
Workforce Projects has been appointed as the lead organization to help support the NHS in finding and
implementing solutions to the changes in the work environment (http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/
).
The results of these restrictions on patient and provider safety are still being evaluated, and these findings may
have an impact on any further restrictions that may occur in the U.S. system. Empirical studies documenting the
effect of the European Union changes are lacking, although there are several argumentative pieces for and against
the directive. [193] [194]
Harvard Work Hours, Health, and Safety Group Studies
A series of interesting studies has been published recently by a group from the Brigham and Women's
Hospital. [195] [196] The investigators conducted a randomized study comparing interns working in an ICU on a
traditional schedule (every third night on call with shifts longer than 24 hours in duration) and an intervention
schedule that reduced work shift duration (to less than 17 hours) and the number of hours worked per week.
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Interns made 35.9% more serious medical errors and had twice as many attentional failures (microsleeps) during
the traditional schedule. Those on the traditional schedule worked more hours per week (85 versus 65 hours) and
slept less (5.8 hours), which led the investigators to conclude that elimination of long work shifts reduced errors
and decreased manifest sleepiness.
This group also conducted a monthly prospective nationwide survey of interns first postgraduate year to evaluate
the risk for motor vehicle accidents with extended work shifts. [197] They found an increased likelihood of motor
vehicle accidents and near-miss accidents after extended work shifts and an increased monthly risk with
increasing number of shifts.
Sleep and Performance
Previous studies addressed the effects of sleep deprivation and fatigue on physician performance and well-being.
Major reviews of this literature identified little consensus. [198] [199] There are several methodologic flaws in the
existing literature:
1. The degree of acute sleep deprivation of subjects was poorly defined, and no assessment of chronic fatigue
was made. Typically, studies relied on only the previous night's sleep as a level of fatigue, and subjects
could well have been chronically fatigued during baseline (control) trials, which could mask the degree of
impairment resulting from the acute fatigue of being on call. This continues to be the greatest weakness in
studies of fatigued health care providers.
2.
Measuring actual clinical performance is difficult and was not attempted. Most studies had to rely on
simple cognitive tasks that probed only short-term memory, immediate recall, and simple reaction time;
the validity of using such simple tests to probe complex performance has been challenged because these
simple tests do not assess the higher-level cognitive functions most critical to skilled medical care.
3.
Most of the performance tests were of very short duration (3 to 5 minutes). Studies have shown that if
sufficiently motivated, even fatigued subjects can perform well on short-duration tasks.
4.
Practice effects were not adequately accounted for. If subjects have not learned a particular performance
test sufficiently to achieve maximum performance, subsequent trials will almost certainly show
improvement in performance because of further learning of the task.
Some studies requiring subjects to perform sustained vigilance tasks of long duration have, in fact, shown an
impairment in the performance of fatigued physicians. Tasks of this type, which require sustained attention to
detail, are highly relevant to the anesthetist's tasks, and they are the most sensitive to the effects of sleep loss and
fatigue.
Do Anesthesiologists Perceive Fatigue As a Problem?
The survey by Gaba and associates [200] revealed that more than 50% of respondents believed that they had made
an error in clinical management that they thought was related to fatigue. In another survey of anesthesiologists
and CRNAs, the majority (61%) of respondents recalled having made an error in the administration of anesthesia
that they attributed to fatigue. [201] Data from these surveys and others [202] reveal that issues of sleepiness and
fatigue are perceived by anesthesia practitioners as being important causative factors in reducing anesthesiarelated patient safety.
Howard and colleagues [178] conducted a study of rested versus sleep-deprived anesthesiology residents using a
realistic patient simulator. Multiple measures of performance were collected during this 4-hour experiment (e.g.,
psychomotor tests, reaction to secondary task probes, response to clinical events). In the rested condition, subjects
had 4 consecutive days of sleep extension (showing up at work at 10:00 AM), whereas in the sleep-deprived
condition they had remained awake for 25 hours (during a pseudoon-call period) before performing the
simulated anesthetic. Subjects in the rested condition were able to increase their total sleep time more than 2
hours from baseline. Psychomotor tests revealed progressive impairment of alertness, mood, and performance
over the course of the pseudoon-call period, as well as on the experimental day, when compared with the wellrested condition. Secondary task probe response times were slower after being sleep deprived, although this
reached statistical significance in just one of three probe types. There was no statistical difference in case
management between conditionsin fact, subjects in both conditions made significant errors. The behavioral
alertness scores in the sleep-deprived condition were different from those of subjects who had increased their sleep
time. Even when well rested, the subjects in this experiment did not perform perfectly; however, they did not show
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any of the behavior indicative of being sleepy (e.g., head nodding, eyes closing). Sleep-deprived subjects cycled
(often rapidly) in and out of sleepy behavior, and the most impaired individuals showed such behavior for more
than 25% of the experiment (60 minutes).
Fatigue Countermeasures
Studies such as the ones described previously are establishing the true picture of sleepiness and fatigue in medical
personnel. From studies of the performance of fatigued individuals in other domains, we know that professionals
become increasingly vulnerable to the degrading effects of sleepiness as the sleep debt accumulates. It may be
difficult to determine a causal relationship between anesthetist fatigue and patient outcome. However, it is clear
that if anesthetists are not awake, they cannot possibly be aware. Such a lapse in vigilance is unacceptable.
Furthermore, anesthetists cannot prevent sleep by willpower alone because it is a fundamental physiologic drive.
Demands for clinical services must be balanced against the potential for reduced vigilance and error by seriously
fatigued practitioners, anesthetists, and surgeons alike.
Because fatigue is such a widespread and insidious problem, it is important to determine ways to counteract its
effects. Strategies that institutions or practitioners can use to minimize the negative effects of sleepiness and
fatigue on performance, include
Education
Improved sleep habits
Rest breaks at work
Strategic napping
Medications
Light therapy
Education
The first step in addressing sleepiness and fatigue of medical personnel is to educate practitioners and the
administrators of health care institutions about the impact of sleep issues on work performance, mood, job
satisfaction, and health (see Chapter 8 ). Education is a relatively simple and inexpensive countermeasure that can
be implemented immediately. Educational programs covering sleep deprivation, circadian disruption and fatigue,
and countermeasures have been enthusiastically adopted by an increasing fraction of the aviation
community. [203] [204] Similar programs should be developed for the health care community. Education alone is
sufficient for some individuals and institutions to change their work and sleep habits or their organizational and
scheduling procedures. However, it is clear at both the individual and organization level that education will not be
sufficient to address this issue fully. Other competing forces (e.g., measures of production versus safety) are very
powerful and difficult for practitioners to manage.
Improved Sleep Habits
Good sleep habits include the following: regularity of bedtime and wake-up time; sufficient time for sustained and
individually adequate sleep; restriction of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine before bedtime; and use of exercise,
nutrition, and environmental factors so that they enhance rather than disturb sleep. A regular sleep schedule is an
important part of optimal sleep hygiene, but it is often not possible for medical personnel, given the requirement
to cover clinical needs on a 24-hour basis. Medical personnel should make greater effort to maintain as constant a
sleep schedule as possible and to maximize sleep opportunities before and after periods of reduced sleep.
Social drug use can have profound effects on sleep. Physicians frequently use caffeine to stay awake during on-call
periods, but often its use could be more strategic. Strategic use (i.e., use when its alerting effects are needed) of
caffeine requires knowledge about its onset and duration of action. Besides its alerting effects, caffeine produces
an increase in awakenings and decreases the total nocturnal sleep time if ingested close to sleep opportunities.
Individuals who ingest large amounts of caffeine and who have nocturnal sleep disturbances should limit or cease
their intake of caffeine. Chronic use of caffeine, common in our culture, produces tolerance to the alerting effect of
the drug, and hence it should be avoided when using it strategically. Nicotine is a stimulant that produces effects
similar to those of caffeine. Alcohol is often used successfully to initiate sleep, but its effect on sleep architecture
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after sleep onset can be devastating. After ingestion of alcohol, frequent awakenings from sleep occur that can be
associated with increased sympathetic nervous system activity, often manifested as headache, sweating, and
tachycardia. Clearly, use of these substances should be restricted near bedtime.
Physicians often lack good nutritional habits, especially during long duty periods. Meals may be skipped or
ingested quickly whenever there is adequate time. If one is hungry before bedtime, it is best to avoid eating or
drinking heavily because this, too, can disturb sleep.
The effects of age can make optimum sleep habits difficult to achieve because sleep requirements do not change
once reaching adulthood. The number of awakenings per night rises after the age of 45 years and results in
decreased sleep efficiency (time in bed versus total sleep time). The ability to initiate sleep at any time during a 24hour day is diminished after the age of 25 years, and sleeping in to make up for lost sleep is more difficult as
individuals grow older. Sleep-related disorders such as breathing disruptions (obstructive sleep apnea) and
periodic limb movements also become more common with age.
Ideally, the sleep setting should be a dark, quiet room devoid of sources of interruption such as pets, telephones,
pagers, and children. The sleeping surface and environmental temperature should be comfortable. Psychological
stressors increase baseline physiologic arousal and can impair the quality and quantity of sleep. For example,
reviewing the previous day's events or attempting to plan tomorrow's activities while trying to fall asleep is not
conducive to sleep. Effort should be made to separate the work of the day with a period of relaxation before
attempting to initiate sleep.
Rest Breaks at Work
Although other industries have openly recognized the reality of decrements in vigilance resulting from fatigue and
sleepiness, the health care system has not. Rest breaks and rotation of task duties are mandatory for air traffic
controllers and are part of naval ship command procedures in an attempt to prevent potential lapses in vigilance.
Short breaks have been shown to increase productivity and job satisfaction, and they probably also help alleviate
boredom. In anesthesia training programs, residents are frequently given rest breaks during the daytime, but this
is often not the case with private practitioners. Private practice anesthesia typically does not provide the
mechanisms for rest breaks or task duty rotation, in part because of fiscal issues. An extra anesthetist would be
necessary to provide these opportunities on a regular basis.
The optimal timing and length of breaks are unknown, but periodic relief from duty should be taken when
possible. Cooper and coworkers [205] [206] studied the effects of intraoperative exchange of anesthesia personnel.
Although in some cases the process of relieving OR personnel caused a problem, it more frequently was associated
with the discovery of a preexisting problem. The positive effect of relief of personnel probably depends on the
quality of the handover briefing conducted by anesthetists. Studies are currently being performed to address
standardized handover of intraoperative care of patients.
If anesthetists are unable to obtain a break during long work periods, there are other measures that they can take
to remain alert. They can engage other OR personnel in conversation (although this, too, can be distracting),
thereby increasing the level of stimulation in the environment. Walking around and standing up are also
techniques that decrease subjective (but not physiologic) sleepiness. If anesthetists are having microsleep events,
which may be noticed by other personnel rather than by the anesthetists themselves, fatigue is already very severe,
and complete sleep is imminent. In such a situation the practitioner must secure additional assistance in
surveillance of the patient and, if necessary, obtain relief to allow time for sleep.
Strategic Napping
If adequate sleep during the night cannot be obtained, naps can be used to decrease sleepiness and improve
performance. The optimal nap length for most individuals is about 45 minutes; this duration acutely improves
alertness, allows improved performance, and minimizes the possibility of sleep inertia on awakening. Naps as
short as 10 minutes have beneficial effects on alertness. A nap of 90 to 120 minutes allows a full sleep cycle and can
additionally boost alertness and performance over that of shorter nap periods. Data from NASA studies of flight
crews demonstrate that on the whole, napping is a useful countermeasure to fatigue and sleep deprivation. [177]
Smith-Coggins and associates studied the effect of naps during the night shift on health care providers working in
a busy suburban university emergency department. [204] Workers were randomized to work a night shift without
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rest (as was the norm in this facility) or to receive a 40-minute nap opportunity at 3 AM. They found that a nap
taken at this time improved performance on some (but not all) measures. The most important result of this study
may be the fact that the subjects were able to (1) successfully use this strategy in the real workplace and (2)
improve alertness and performance.
Investigators in the Veteran's Hospital at Palo Alto, California, have developed a Strategic Nap Program that has
been successfully piloted at two sites within the Veterans' Administration system. This program has been
implemented in ICU settings but is equally applicable to other high-risk, dynamic domains such as the OR.
Components of the program include a formal educational program, program guidelines for the individual
practitioner and the facility, and other guidance for implementation.
There are issues that complicate the appropriate use of naps by medical professionals. Physicians have an
individual and cultural tendency to ignore or to minimize the effect of fatigue and sleep deprivation. The culture
of medicine views work breaks and naps as signs of weakness. The military has addressed similar attitudes with
the concept of power napping. Troops are strongly encouraged to take naps of 10 minutes to 1 hour when the
situation permits to increase their strength and performance. This approach appropriately presents the idea of
napping in a positive light as a sign of wisdom and strength rather than one of cowardice and frailty.
Sleep Inertia
Sleep inertia corresponds to the period of reduced ability to function optimally immediately on awakening. [190]
[207] This phenomenon usually occurs when individuals are awakened out of slow-wave sleep and is manifested as
grogginess and impaired performance lasting as long as 15 to 30 minutes after awakening. Sleep inertia can also
occur after being awakened from normal sleep and is most common during the early morning circadian trough (2
to 6 AM). Depending on the preexisting level of sleepiness, individuals who take naps longer than 40 minutes are at
greater risk for sleep inertia on awakening. Sleep inertia can be important to health care professionals who may
be awakened out of deep sleep to provide emergency care to patients (e.g., emergency cesarean section or
emergency intubation). If urgent work can be anticipated, the sleeping individual should be awakened with
sufficient time (at least 15 minutes) to minimize the fogginess and decrement in performance associated with sleep
inertia. If sleep inertia is unavoidable, it would be wise for the affected person to ask for help until the grogginess
dissipates.
Medications
A few studies have evaluated the use of sedative-hypnotics for promotion of sleep during nonduty hours by
nonmedical personnel (e.g., to assist in daytime sleep after a night shift). Many questions remain unanswered
regarding the quality of sleep obtained after using hypnotics, the severity of hangover effects, and the potential
risk of abuse. Melatonin, which is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, may have promise as a nonaddictive
daytime sleep-inducing agent, but the results of existing studies are controversial.
Stimulants may have a role in the maintenance of alertness during periods of extreme sleepiness. Modafinil is a
nonamphetamine alertness-enhancing drug that has been approved for use in narcolepsy and shift work sleep
disorder. [208] The side effect profile of this drug is so promising that it has been studied extensively by the
military and shift workers as a nonaddicting adjunct for alertness management. Its use in health care is also being
studied but cannot be sanctioned at this point. [209] The use of sedatives and potent stimulants to manipulate sleep
is not considered an appropriate option for anesthetists. Caffeine is used frequently to increase alertness
temporarily, but there are caveats about its use, as discussed earlier. Caffeine should be used strategically to
maximize its effect when needed. Strategic use of caffeine includes (1) knowledge of its onset (15 to 30 minutes)
and duration of action (3 to 4 hours) and (2) use when alertness is required and the opportunity to sleep is
minimal.
Countermeasures should be studied and implemented in health care. There are major financial incentives to
maintain the status quo. [167] If anesthesiologists know that they are impaired (from fatigue or for any other
reason), the assistance of a colleague should be enlisted so that patient safety is not negatively affected.
Light Therapy
Timed cycles of bright light and darkness have been used in certain circumstances to facilitate adaptation to shift
work. Exposure to bright light (>7000 to 12,000 lux) and darkness at the appropriate points in the circadian cycle
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has been shown to reset the circadian pacemaker by 12 hours over a period of 2 to 3 days. [210] This important
finding demonstrates the ability to make significant changes in the circadian system relatively quickly. However,
resetting the circadian timekeeper is critically dependent on the timing, intensity, and duration of exposure to light
and to total darkness. Being off by only an hour can prevent the desired effect. Adhering to such time-critical
schedules for this treatment is probably impractical for anesthetists given the many work-related and social
factors that affect their activities. Research on light treatment continues and may eventually result in more
practical treatment regimens.
Aging
All individuals understand that their abilities cannot be maintained indefinitely as they age. On average,
performance on laboratory tests of discrete sensory-motor and cognitive skills can be shown to decrease with
increasing age. [211] However, there are large differences among individuals. Again, except at extreme points of
performance failure (e.g., severe impairment of vision or hearing), the contribution of isolated changes in
physiologic or cognitive performance is difficult to relate to real work situations. [212] For one thing, the work
environment is often rich with redundant cues involving multiple sensory modalities. For another, technologic
compensation may be possible, as with the use of hearing aids or glasses. Finally, along with possible physiologic
changes of age typically comes greater experience with a variety of situations. For many individuals, the lessons
learned from experience more than offset the modest degree of physiologic impairment that they face as they grow
older. This compensation has, in fact, been documented for skilled typists, chess players, and bridge players.
Middle-aged individuals can use their experience to solve everyday problems better than young individuals can;
however, for the elderly (on average), compensation by experience is no longer sufficient to offset cognitive
slowing. [212] Age takes a toll on short-term (or working) memory, [213] and there is evidence that aged workers
are more sensitive to the interruptions in attention that are so prevalent in dynamic environments. Nevertheless,
few of these deficits have been documented in complex work settings, largely because it is so difficult to measure
performance in these domains. The issue of the aging anesthesiologist has raised considerable controversy among
anesthesiologists.
What do other industries do about this issue? From 1959 until the end of 2007, U.S. and aviation regulations
forced airline pilots to retire at age 60 regardless of their health or competence. When the Age 60 Rule was put
in force, the rationale was that the increased speeds and passenger loads of commercial airliners placed greater
demands on pilots with respect to their physical fitness and piloting skills. Some may argue that the increasingly
challenging nature of anesthesia practice also places greater demands on anesthetists than ever before.
After intense debate and many studies over the last 30 years, [54] [214] with partially contradictory studies and
little data suggesting that pilots between the ages of 60 and 65 are at greater risk, the Age 60 Rule was modified by
law (HR 4343) at the end of 2007. The new rule allows airline pilots to continue flying until age 65, although for
captains in international operations, a pilot younger than 60 years must be the copilot.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations do require air transport pilots to pass class I medical
examinations every 6 months. However, the medical examination process appears to be largely aimed at
identifying individuals with chronic medical conditions that place them at risk for sudden incapacitation (such as
significant coronary heart disease). Pilot incapacitation during high-workload phases of flight has been shown in
simulator testing to lead to a significant rate of crashes, even when there is a second pilot at the controls. These
physical examinations may weed out pilots with severe cognitive or sensory-motor deficiencies, but they are not
designed to assess subtle aspects of changes in performance resulting from age. Of course, there are no
requirements whatsoever for medical examination or certification of anesthetists, nor is there any limitation on the
practice of anesthesia at any age.
It is likely that age alone does not independently cause a significant decrement in performance, but age correlates
with other factors that are likely to affect performance. The concern about aging professionals revolves more
around the loss of knowledge and skill as one gets farther from initial training rather than the loss of fundamental
mental capacity. Thus, the originally well-trained practitioner who keeps abreast of the changing standard of care
and who exercises emergency skills frequently is less likely to be affected by advancing age than is a marginal
practitioner whose knowledge and skills were frozen immediately after completion of training and who practices
in a low-complexity environment. The FAA regulations deal with this issue for air transport pilots by requiring
frequent (every 6 months) evaluation of performance by FAA-certified check pilots. These evaluations are
performed during actual flights and in realistic simulators, and they, in essence, check fitness for duty regardless
of age. There is currently no similar program in anesthesia to assess the competency of practitioners at any age,
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except for initial board certification, which is voluntary. Periodic maintenance of certification in anesthesiology is
now required by the American Board of Anesthesiology for diplomats attaining certification after the year 2000,
but it is not mandatory to be board-certified to practice anesthesia, and the recertification examinations are not as
intense, as thorough, or as frequent as those required for air transport pilots. Thus, the issue of age-related effects
on anesthetist performance is likely to continue to be raised periodically for the foreseeable future.
Illness and Drug Use
Every anesthetist is vulnerable to transient illnesses, which in some cases probably reduce performance ability (see
Chapter 101 ). All personnel are vulnerable to chronic medical conditions that could directly or indirectly affect
their fitness and performance capability. The culture of the caring professions often leads individuals to continue
to work with illnesses that would cause other professionals to stay at home or to seek medical advice. The
performance-shaping effects of the illness can be exacerbated by the use of either over-the-counter or prescribed
medications. The degree to which illness and medications affect anesthetist performance is unknown.
A serious problem for anesthetists is that of drug abuse (see Chapter 101 ). [55] [56] [215] [216] [217] [218] It is
estimated that up to 8% of physicians could be classified as alcoholics. In an anonymous survey of anesthesia
personnel from one institution, 75% of respondents reported drinking alcohol on a regular basis. They reported
drinking an average of 1.6 drinks per day 2.7 days per week. Just less than 10% of subjects reported having been
hung over while conducting anesthesia, and 40% reported having given anesthesia within 12 hours of alcohol
consumption; 84% stated that alcohol use never adversely affected their clinical performance.
The degree to which small doses of alcohol or hangovers affect the performance of complex, real-world tasks is
uncertain. Some studies of general aviation and navy pilots [54] [219] [220] [221] suggested that hangover effects can
degrade performance even when more than 8 hours has elapsed since alcohol consumption and there is no
detectable blood alcohol level. Nonetheless, though statistically significant, the changes in performance seen in
these studies may not have been functionally significant. These studies [54] [219] [220] [221] also suggested an
interaction among age, workload, and hangover in causing decrements in performance. However, the aged
cohort was defined as 31 years or older and was compared with a cohort of pilots in their early 20s. Extrapolating
these results to the anesthesia domain is difficult.
Nevertheless, the natural history of serious abuse of alcohol, cocaine, sedatives, or narcotics by anesthetists is such
that cognitive performance will at some point be seriously compromised. However, addiction specialists frequently
report that job performance is one of the last areas of life to become impaired. [222] [223] For this reason, the
period of time in which an addicted anesthetist's performance in the OR is significantly impaired is a relatively
small fraction of the total time during which drugs are abused. Although this in no way excuses the practice of
conducting anesthesia while under the influence of drugs, it may account for the fact that reports of addicted
anesthesiologists are, unfortunately, common whereas reports of overt patient risk or harm resulting from an
addicted physician's errors are unusual.
Anesthesiology has been at the forefront in dealing with impaired medical personnel. Management of those
discovered with a drug impairment is fairly standardized, [216] [224] but the question of whether to return these
individuals to anesthesia practice is increasingly controversial, even when they return under carefully monitored
reentry protocols. [216] The main risk appears to be to the addict's own safety, although questions about patient
safety can never be eliminated.
Ultimately, in the current medical system the responsibility rests with anesthetists to ensure that their own
performance level is sufficient for the work at hand. Pilots use a mnemonic checklist to review the effects of
potential performance-shaping factors and are instructed not to fly if they are impaired for any reason. The
difficulty in anesthesiology (and to some degree in aviation) is that the real-world organization and incentives of
many practice settings do not provide mechanisms for personnel to excuse themselves if they are temporarily
impaired. Ironically, there may now be better means to identify and support a practitioner with a serious
addiction than there are for the more common occurrences of profound sleep deprivation or impairment by a
transient or chronic illness.
The Study of Human Performance
Study of human performance involves research paradigms that are different from those typically used in the
science of anesthesia. There are many obstacles to obtaining hard, statistically valid data on human performance.
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There are no animal models for expert human performance, no Sprague-Dawley anesthesiologists to be studied
in detail, nor can studies of professional performance be conducted with the psychologist's typical experimental
subject, the university undergraduate student. Recruiting expert anesthetists to be the subjects of study is difficult
and raises issues of selection bias concerning those who do volunteer. Especially if conducted during actual patient
care, investigations of human performance are strongly influenced by concerns about litigation, credentialing, and
confidentiality, thus making it difficult to execute optimal studies.
Furthermore, variability among individual anesthetists is quite striking because different anesthetists respond to
the same situation in different ways and each individual may act differently on different days or at different times
of the same day. The magnitude of this intra-individual variability is often nearly the same as the inter-individual
variability.
Performance itself is an intuitively meaningful concept that is difficult to define precisely. There are no
universal standards for the clinical decisions and actions of anesthetists. They depend heavily on the context of
specific situations. In addition, determining how anesthetists perform their jobs, whether successfully or
unsuccessfully, means delving into their mental processes. This cannot be measured easily. On the one hand,
experimental designs can be used that involve artificial laboratory tasks for which performance can be objectively
measured. These tasks will then be far removed from the real world of administering anesthesia. On the other
hand, investigating the actual performance of trained practitioners in the real world yields primarily subjective
and indirect data. Understanding the anesthetist's performance must be seen as analogous to solving a jigsaw
puzzle. Pieces of the puzzle probably come from a variety of sources, none of which by itself captures the entire
picture. These pieces include objective data from artificial laboratory tasks, prospective observation of routine
patient care, analysis of retrospective reports of near misses or anesthetic mishaps, and prospective observation of
the response to simulated events. To achieve the best possible understanding of the situation, it is necessary to
accept many data that seem uncomfortably subjective to the physical or biologic scientist. Because the research
methodologies may be unfamiliar to anesthetists, some pioneering studies of anesthetist performance are described
in detail in this chapter.
Why Study Human Performance in Anesthesia?
How can improved understanding of the human performance of anesthetists help them provide patient care more
safely, in a wider variety of clinical situations, with greater efficiency, and with increased satisfaction to both
patients and practitioners? The possibilities include the following:
1. Improved operational protocols and enhanced training of anesthetists. The way in which individuals
conduct anesthesia is based, in part, on knowing the limits of their performance envelope. Anesthetic
techniques and OR practices should draw on anesthetists abilities and should mitigate their weaknesses.
Anesthetists abilities are strongly affected by training. Understanding the required performance
characteristics and inherent human limitations will lead to improved training, which will most fully
develop the strengths and counter the existing vulnerabilities of the anesthetist. This process should make
patient care safer, less stressful, and more efficient.
2.
A more rational view of professional work and legal responsibility (see Chapter 9 ). Modern medicine,
especially in the United States, is strongly influenced by medicolegal concerns. The litigation system has a
major selection bias in that every case that comes before it involves an adverse outcome for a patient. The
duty of the practitioner is to render care as a reasonable and prudent specialist in the area of
anesthesia. What is reasonable and prudent? What type of performance is to be expected from
appropriately trained human beings in a complex and dynamic environment? By understanding human
performance, it may be possible to generate a more rational view of what is and is not within the standard
of care.
3.
A more effective work environment. Anesthetists now perform their tasks by using an array of
technologies, most of which have not been designed to support the anesthetist's work optimally. By
understanding the anesthetist's tasks and performance requirements, the workspace and tools could be
improved to better support the most difficult tasks. This, too, can lead to greater safety and to greater
efficiency and work satisfaction.
4.
A more efficient organizational system (see Chapter 99 ). Anesthesia is embedded within a larger system
of organized medical care that involves interactions among numerous institutions, organizations, and
professional domains. Understanding how the anesthetist's work relates to the larger system may enable
the development of more rational and efficient flow of information and organizational control.
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Although anesthesiologists have been basing analysis of human performance on individual actions, decisions, and
mental models and the influence of organizational factors and safety culture for some time (see survey papers [1]
[2] [225] ), their importance to health care in general has only recently been appreciated. [3] [48]
Cognitive Process Model of the Anesthetist
The empirical data can best be interpreted in accordance with an explicit model of the cognition involved in an
anesthetist's performance. Several investigators [44] [58] [113] [144] [226] [227] [228] [229] [230] [231] [232] have written
about the cognitive elements in anesthesiology. [113] [144] [226] [233] [234] [235] The model developed here is explicit,
comprehensive, and specific to anesthesia. It is described in detail as a framework for understanding the empirical
data and provides a vocabulary for discussing the elements of both successful and unsuccessful performance by
anesthetists. This model draws heavily on the work of a number of other investigators [126] [235] [236] [237] [238] who
studied human performance in a variety of complex, dynamic worlds.
Decision-Making Involves Multiple Levels of Mental Activity
The entire model, which is shown in Figure 6-10 , depicts the anesthetist as working at five different interacting
cognitive levels to implement and control a core process (see Box 6-9 ) of observation, decision-making, action, and
re-evaluation. The core process must then be integrated with the behavior of other team members and with the
constraints of the work environment.
Figure 6-10 Cognitive process model of the anesthetist's real-time problem-solving behavior (see text for a detailed description). Five levels of cognition operate
in parallel. The core process involves a main loop (arrows) of observation, decision, action, and re-evaluation. The core process is managed by two levels of
metacognition that involve supervisory control, allocation of attention, and resource management (above the core process). Each component of the model requires
different cognitive skills, and each component is vulnerable to a different set of performance failures or errors. BP, blood pressure; CO, cardiac output; MAP,
mean arterial pressure; SVR, systemic vascular resistance. (From Gaba DM, Fish KJ, Howard SK: Crisis Management in Anesthesiology. New York, Churchill
Livingstone, 1994.)
Box 6-9
Elements of the Core Mental Process
1.
Observation
2.
Verification
3.
Problem recognition
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4.
Prediction of future states
5.
Decision-making
a. Application of precompiled responses (recognition-primed decision-making)
b.
Decision-making using heuristics and probability
c.
Decision-making including abstract reasoning
6.
Action implementation
7.
Re-evaluation (avoiding fixation errors)
8.
Start again with 1 (loop continues)
The division of mental activities into levels follows the work of Rasmussen and Reason. [237] [239] [240] Having
multiple levels supports parallel processing (performing more than one task at a time) and multitasking
(performing only one task at a time but switching very rapidly from one task to another). The anesthesia task
analyses [241] [242] [243] [244] [245] and the direct observations of anesthetists in Toronto [268] and Tbingen [246]
[247] [248] [249] have provided clear evidence for the occurrence of parallel processing and multitasking. Table 6-6
gives an overview of the mental activity levels.
Table 6-6 -- Levels of Mental Activity
Level of Control Explanation
Comments
Resource
management
level
Command and control of all

resources, including teamwork
and communication
Incident analysis shows a huge contribution of lack of

resource management and communication skills to the
development of incidents and accidents; the importance of
these factors is reflected in the ACRM principles and
simulation training courses (see Chapter 7 )
Supervisory
control level
Metacognition: think about

thinking
Dynamic adaptation of the thought process, decision-making

(e.g., avoiding fixation errors), scheduling, and remembering
actions (e.g., prospective memory tasks)
Abstract
reasoning level
Use of fundamental medical

knowledge, search for highlevel analogies, deductive
reasoning
Often in parallel with other levels; in emergency situations

often too slow and too sensitive to distractions in highworkload situations
Procedural
level
Precompiled responses,
following algorithms,
heuristics, reflexes
Recognition-primed decision-makingexperts are more often

on this level; special errors may occur as a result of not
checking for the appropriateness of the procedure; less
experienced may misuse this level for not-well-considered,
unadapted cookbook medicine
Sensorimotor
level
Experts perform smooth action sequences and control their

Use of all senses and manual
actions by direct feedback from their senses (e.g., action
actions; feeling, doing,
sequences of placing an intravenous line or endotracheal
hearing; sometimes
intubation; skill-based errors such as slips and lapses may
subconscious control of actions
occur)
ACRM, Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management.
At the sensorimotor level, activities involving sensory perception or motor actions take place with minimal
conscious control; they are smooth, practiced, and highly integrated patterns of behavior. At the procedural level,
the anesthetist performs regular routines in a familiar work situation. These routines have been derived and
internalized from training and from previous work episodes. A level of abstract reasoning is used during
preoperative planning, and intraoperatively it is used in unfamiliar situations for which no well-practiced
expertise or routine is available from previous encounters.
Dynamic Adaptation of the Anesthetist's Thought Processes
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Rasmussen's model [237] was extended by the explicit addition of two additional levels of mental activity that
provide for dynamic adaptation of the anesthetist's own thought processes. This ability to think about thinking
in order to control one's own mental activities strategically is called metacognition by psychologists, and it is
thought to be an important component of working in complex, dynamic domains. Supervisory control is
concerned with dynamically allocating finite attention between routine and nonroutine actions, among multiple
problems or themes, and among the five cognitive levels. Resource management deals with the command and
control of available resources, including teamwork and communication.
Core Process
An overview of the core process and its elements is given in Box 6-9 . The elements are explained in detail in the
following sections.
Observation
Management of rapidly changing situations requires the anesthetist to assess a wide variety of information
sources, including visual observation of the patient and the surgical field, visual inspection of a multitude of
displays from electronic monitors, visual observation of the activities of nurses and the contents of suction
canisters and sponges, listening for normal and abnormal sounds from the patient and equipment, interpreting
radiographs, and reading the reports of laboratory test results. Because the human mind can attend closely to only
one or two items at a time, the anesthetist's supervisory control level must decide what information to attend to
and how frequently to observe it.
The multitasking involved in observing multiple data streams was probed by experiments measuring secondary
task performance and vigilance. The realistic simulation studies demonstrated the large number of information
sources actually used during the response to a critical event. Routine parts of the core process operate primarily at
the sensory, motor, and procedural levels and are executed repetitively throughout the course of an anesthetic
regimen. Results from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and from the Department of Veterans
Affairs and Stanford University (UCSD/VA-Stanford group) concerning the vigilance of experienced anesthetists
versus novices suggested that novices had not fully developed their core process as a highly automated function
and thus were required to devote more mental resources to routine activities.
Verification
In the OR environment, the available information is not always reliable. Most monitoring is noninvasive and
indirect and is susceptible to artifacts (false data). Even direct clinical observations such as vision or auscultation
can be ambiguous. Brief transients (true data of short duration) can occur that quickly correct themselves. To
prevent them from triggering precipitous actions that may have significant side effects, critical observations must
be verified before the clinician acts on them. Verification uses a variety of methods, shown in Table 6-7 .
Table 6-7 -- Methods for Verification of Critical Observations
Method
Explanation, Example
Repeating
The observation or measurement is repeated to rule out a temporary wrong value (e.g.,
motion artifacts during noninvasive blood pressure measurement)
Checking trend
information
The short-term trend is observed for plausibility of the actual value. Trends of
physiologic parameters almost always follow curves, not steps
Observing a redundant An existing redundant channel is checked (e.g., invasive arterial pressure and cuff
channel
pressure are redundant, or heart rate from an ECG and pulse oximeter)
Correlating
Multiple related (but not redundant) variables are correlated to determine the
plausibility of the parameter in question (e.g., if the ECG monitor shows a flat line and
asystole but the invasive blood pressure curve shows waves)
Activating a new
monitoring device
A new monitoring modality is installed (e.g., placing a pulmonary artery catheter). This
also adds another parameter for the method of correlating
Recalibrating an
Checking the quality and reliability of a measurement and testing its function (e.g., if
instrument or testing its the CO2 detector shows no values, the anesthetist can exhale through it to see whether
function
the device works). Observation of redundant channels can also help verify a value (see
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above)
Replacing an
instrument
If there is doubt about the function of a device, an entirely new instrument or an

alternative backup device may be installed
Asking for help
If the decision on the values remains unclear, help should be sought early to obtain a
second opinion from other trained personnel
ECG, electrocardiogram.
It should be noted that if in doubt, it should always be assumed that the patient is at risk and that the parameter in
question is real (rule out the worst case). The assumption of a technical artifact should be the last step.
Knowing when and how to verify data is a good illustration of strategic knowledge (metacognition). For example,
the anesthetist must decide under what conditions it is useful to invest time, attention, and energy in establishing a
new information source (e.g., a pulmonary artery catheter) in the middle of a case rather than relying on more
indirect information sources that are already in place.
Problem Recognition
Anesthetists are taught the importance of scanning their instruments and environment, but they must use these
observations to decide whether the patient's course is on track or whether a problem is occurring. If a problem
is found, a decision must be made regarding its identity and its importance. This process of problem recognition
(also known as situation assessment) is a central feature of several theories of cognition in complex, dynamic
worlds. [144] [250] [251] [252]
Problem recognition involves matching sets of environmental cues to patterns that are known to represent specific
types of problems. Given the high uncertainty seen in anesthesia, the available information sources cannot always
disclose the existence of a problem, and even if they do, they may not specify its identity or origin. Westenskow
and colleagues [253] experiment with the intelligent alarm system mainly probed these parts of problem
recognition. In this experiment, subjects were already alerted to the existence of a problem by an alarm, so they
could immediately focus their attention specifically on information sources concerning ventilation. In 11 cases, the
fault could not be identified, but there was successful compensation for the fault, as described in the next
paragraphs.
The supervisory control level mediates the decision when a clear-cut match or diagnosis cannot be made.
Anesthetists and other dynamic decision-makers use approximation strategies to handle these ambiguous
situations; psychologists term such strategies heuristics. [254] One heuristic is to categorize what is happening as
one of several generic problems, each of which encompasses many different underlying conditions. Another is to
gamble on a single diagnosis (frequency gambling [239] ) by initially choosing the single most frequent candidate
event. During preoperative planning, the anesthetist may adjust a mental index of suspicion for recognizing
certain specific problems anticipated for that particular patient or surgical procedure. The anesthetist must also
decide whether a single underlying diagnosis explains all the data or whether these data could be due to multiple
causes. This decision is important because excessive attempts to refine the diagnosis can be very costly in terms of
allocation of attention. By contrast, a premature diagnosis can lead to inadequate or erroneous treatment.
The use of heuristics is typical of expert anesthetists and often results in considerable time savings in dealing with
problems. However, it is a double-edged sword. Both frequency gambling and inappropriate allocation of
attention solely to expected problems can seriously undermine problem solving when these gambles do not pay off
if the re-evaluation component of the core process does not correct the situation.
Prediction of Future States
Problems must be assessed in terms of their significance for the future states of the patient. [144] [250] Problems
that are already critical or that can be predicted to evolve into critical incidents receive the highest priority.
Prediction of future states also influences action planning by defining the timeframe available for required actions.
Cook and colleagues [255] described going sour incidents in which the future state of the patient was not
adequately taken into account when early manifestations of problems were apparent. It is also known from
research in psychology that the human mind is not very well suited to predict future states, especially if things are
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changing in a nonlinear fashion. Under such circumstances, which are not uncommon for natural systems such as
the human body, the rate of change is almost invariably underestimated and the people are surprised at the
outcome. [43] Slow but steady and sustained blood loss in a child during surgery may result in few or subtle
changes in hemodynamics for some time until rapid decompensation occurs. If the weak signs of the developing
problem were not detected, the ensuing catastrophe may seem to have occurred suddenly.
Decision-making
Having recognized a problem, how does an expert anesthetist respond? The classic paradigm of decision-making
posits a careful comparison of the evidence with various causal hypotheses that can explain them. [39] This is then
followed by a careful analysis of all possible actions and solutions to the problem. This approach, though powerful,
is relatively slow and does not work well with ambiguous or scanty evidence. In complex, dynamic domains such
as anesthesia, many problems require decisions under uncertainty [233] [256] with quick action to prevent a
rapid cascade to a catastrophic adverse outcome. For these problems, deriving a solution through formal
deductive reasoning from first principles is too slow.
Precompiled Responses and Abstract Reasoning
In complex, dynamic domains, the initial responses of experts to the majority of events stem from precompiled
rules or response plans for dealing with a recognized event. [239] This method is referred to as recognition-primed
decision-making [236] [257] because once the event is identified, the response is well known. In the anesthesia
domain, these responses are usually acquired through personal experience alone, although there is a growing
realization that critical response protocols need to be codified explicitly and taught systematically. Experienced
anesthetists have been observed to rearrange, recompile, and rehearse these responses mentally based on the
patient's condition, the surgical procedure, and the problems to be expected. [268] Ideally, precompiled responses
to common problems are retrieved appropriately and executed rapidly. When the exact nature of the problem is
not apparent, a set of generic responses appropriate to the overall situation may be invoked. For example, if a
problem with ventilation is detected, the anesthetist may switch to manual ventilation at a higher FIO2 while
considering further diagnostic actions.
However, experiments involving screen-only [258] and realistic [109] [143] [259] [260] simulators have demonstrated
that even experienced anesthetists show great variability in their use of response procedures to critical situations.
This finding led these investigators to target simulator-based training in the systematic training of responses to
critical events. [109] [226] [261] [262] [263]
Even the ideal use of precompiled responses is destined to fail when the problem does not have the suspected cause
or when it does not respond to the usual actions. Anesthesia cannot be administered purely by precompiled
cookbook procedures. Abstract reasoning about the problem through the use of fundamental medical
knowledge still takes place in parallel with precompiled responses, even when quick action must be taken. This
seems to involve a search for high-level analogies [239] or true deductive reasoning using deep medical and
technical knowledge and a thorough analysis of all possible solutions. Anesthetists managing simulated crises have
linked their precompiled actions to abstract medical concepts. [258] It is unclear whether this represents merely
self-justification as opposed to true abstract reasoning, in part because the particular simulated crises they faced
did not require novel abstract solutions. At this time, the degree to which abstract reasoning is necessary for
optimal intraoperative crisis management is unknown. [113] [226] [256]
Taking Action
A hallmark of anesthesia practice is that anesthetists do not just write orders in a patient's chart; they are directly
involved in implementing the desired actions.
Although such direct involvement has many benefits in timeliness and flexibility of action, it also poses risks.
Implementation of action can usurp a large amount of the anesthetist's attention and can be distracting. This is
particularly an issue when other tasks have been interrupted or temporarily suspended. The prospective
memory to complete these tasks can be erased. (For a more detailed explanation of prospective memory, see
later.) In addition, anesthetists engaged in a manual procedure are strongly constrained from performing other
manual tasks, as demonstrated in several of the mental workload and vigilance studies described earlier.
Errors in executing a task are termed slips, as distinguished from errors in deciding what to do, which are termed
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mistakes. [238] Slips are actions that do not occur as planned, such as turning the wrong switch or making a syringe
swap. Thus, when critical incident [185] [264] and quality assurance studies described technical errors in using
equipment, they were referring to slips, whereas judgment errors referred to mistakes. One particular type of
execution error, termed a mode error, [238] is becoming more frequent in all domains with the increased use of
microprocessor-based instrumentation and devices. [227] In a mode error, actions appropriate for one mode of a
device's operation are incorrect for another mode. An example in anesthesiology is the bag/ventilator selector
valve in the anesthesia breathing circuit, which selects between two modes of ventilation. Failing to activate the
ventilator when in the ventilator mode can be catastrophic. Mode errors can also occur with monitoring or drug
delivery devices if they assign different functions to the same displays or switches depending on the mode of
operation selected.
Particularly dangerous slips of execution can be addressed through the use of engineered safety devices [57] that
physically prevent incorrect actions. For example, newer anesthesia machines have interlocks that physically
prevent the simultaneous administration of more than one volatile anesthetic drug. Other interlocks physically
prevent the selection of a gas mixture containing less than 21% O2.
Certain very complex issues concerning human-machine interactions and the ways in which technology affects
behavior in complex patient care environments are beyond the scope of this chapter. Other publications address
these issues. [27] [29] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [37] [38] [227] [265]
Re-evaluation and Situation Awareness
To cope with the rapid changes and profound diagnostic and therapeutic uncertainties seen during anesthesia, the
core process must include repetitive re-evaluation of the situation. Thus, the re-evaluation step returns the
anesthetist to the observation phase of the core process, but with specific assessments in mind, as shown in Box 6-7
at CRM key point 12, Re-evaluate repeatedly).
The process of continually updating assessment of the situation and monitoring the efficacy of chosen actions is
termed situation awareness. [250] [251] [252] [266] [267] Situation awareness is a very interesting and important topic
in analyzing performance and reasons for errors. [144] [268] [269] There has been a review of situation awareness
issues in anesthesiology. [144]
Management and Coordination of the Core Process
Empirical studies have clearly demonstrated that attention sharing is needed among cognitive levels, among tasks,
and often among problems. The intensive demands on the anesthetist's attention could easily swamp the available
mental resources. Therefore, the anesthetist must strike a balance between acting quickly on every small
perturbation (which requires a lot of attention) and adopting a more conservative wait-and-see attitude. This
balance must be constantly shifted between these extremes as the situation changes. However, during simulated
crisis situations, some practitioners showed great reluctance to switch from business as usual to emergency
mode even when serious problems were detected. Erring too far in the direction of wait and see is an error that
can be particularly catastrophic.
In addition to the attentional demands of the anesthetist's core tasks, the OR environment is full of distractions.
Routine events, such as turning the OR table or repositioning the patient, distract attention from the main process
of conducting the anesthesia. Noise is prevalent, with peak levels exceeding that of a freeway. Practitioners find
false auditory alarms from monitors or other equipment to be extremely distracting. [279] [280] [281] Other
distractions include teaching in progress, [278] incoming telephone calls, background music, and conversation with
OR personnel. Expert anesthetists modulate the distractions by eliminating them when the workload is high and
allowing them to occur when the workload is low (to improve morale and team building).
Active Management of Workload
One major aspect of strategic control of attention is the active management of workload. Rather than passively
dealing with rising or falling workload, the anesthetist actively manages it. Schneider and Detweiler [163] and
Gopher (position paper, Conference on Human Error in Anesthesia, Asilomar, CA, 1991) described the theoretical
basis for a variety of strategies of workload management. These strategies have been addressed specifically for
anesthesiology by several investigators. [226] [228] The anesthetist actively manages workload by the following
techniques.
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Avoiding High-Workload Situations
Experts may choose techniques and plans that reduce the workload (especially when their individual and team
resources are limited), even when those plans are marginally inferior from a technical standpoint. For example, a
single anesthetist may choose not to use a high-tech, high-workload monitor such as transesophageal
echocardiography (TEE) because of the high workload required to use it properly.
Distributing Workload over Time
The anesthetist can prepare for future tasks when the current load is low (preloading) and can delay or shed lowpriority tasks when the workload is high (offloading). Resources that require a significant amount of workload to
prepare, such as intravenous infusions, are often made ready before the case starts. Multitasking is also a way to
distribute work over time. Every task is made up of several subtasks, each of which has a finite duration. Because
close attention may not be required during each of these subtasks, they can be interleaved with a fixed amount of
attention (multiplexing). Multiplexed tasks must be scheduled and coordinated in real time at the supervisory
control level.
Distributing Workload over Personnel
When workload cannot be distributed over time and when additional resources are available, tasks can be
distributed to them. Some resources are internal to the individual anesthetist, whereas others require additional
personnel. For example, a single anesthetist can simultaneously ventilate the patient by hand, assess cardiac
rhythm, and discuss patient care with the surgeon. A single anesthetist cannot simultaneously insert a pulmonary
artery catheter and ventilate the patient's lungs by hand. If these tasks are to be performed at the same time, they
must be assigned to different individuals.
Changing the Nature of the Task
The nature of a task is not fixed. Surgery and anesthesia can sometimes be postponed or aborted. Tasks can be
executed to different standards of performance; as standards are loosened, the workload required to perform
them is reduced. For example, during periods of massive blood loss, the anesthetist focuses primarily on
administering blood and fluids and on monitoring blood pressure. In such cases, less critical tasks such as writing
on the anesthesia record are offloaded to lessen the workload. The acceptable limits of blood pressure will also be
widened.
Action Selection and Scheduling
At any time during an anesthetic regimen there may be multiple things to do, each of which is intrinsically
appropriate, yet they cannot all be done at once. Simulator experiments have shown that anesthetists sometimes
have difficulty selecting, planning, and scheduling actions optimally. The anesthetist must consider the following
factors:
1. Preconditions are necessary for carrying out the actions (e.g., it is impossible to measure a thermodilution
cardiac output if there is no pulmonary artery catheter in place).
2.
Constraints are placed on the proposed actions (some actions are incompatible with other aspects of the
situation; e.g., it is impossible to check the diameter of the pupils when the head is fully draped in the
surgical field).
3.
Side effects of the proposed actions often play a controlling role in choosing among possible drug
therapies.
4.
The rapidity and ease of implementation of proposed actions are factors; those that are easily and rapidly
performed are preferred over those that require more time, attention, and skill.
5.
Certainty of success of the actions is often traded off against rapidity and ease of implementation (under
some circumstances, the higher certainty of success of a set of actions justifies the investment of time,
attention, and resources needed to implement them).
6.
Reversibility of the action and the cost of being wrong are considered, with rapidly reversible actions
preferred over those that cannot be reversed, especially when potential side effects are significant.
7.
Cost of the action in terms of attention, resources, and money is taken into account.
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Experts in other complex, dynamic domains (specifically tank commanders and fire chiefs) have been observed
[282] to conduct a mental simulation of the actions that they are contemplating to determine whether there are
hidden flaws in their plans. Anesthetists have been observed [228] to rehearse a plan mentally in advance of a case,
but the degree to which this is done in real time is not known. Because most actions can be executed incrementally,
as in titrating a drug in small aliquots, adverse consequences can often be discovered through repetitive reevaluation.
Resource Management
The ability of the anesthetist to command and control all the resources at hand to execute the anesthetic regimen
as planned and to respond to problems that arise is termed resource management (another concept first described
in aviation that applies equally well to anesthesiology; see the earlier section on CRM key points). Resource
management involves translating the knowledge of what needs to be done into effective team activity by taking
into account the limitations of the complex and ill-structured OR, PACU, or ICU domain. Resource management
explicitly requires teamwork and crew coordination. It is not enough for the anesthetist to know what to do or
even to be able to do each task alone. The anesthetist can accomplish only so much in a given time, and there are
some tasks that can be performed only by other skilled personnel (e.g., laboratory tests, taking radiographs).
When the task load exceeds the resources available, the anesthetist must mobilize help and distribute the tasks
among those present. Many issues concerning optimum resource management and crew coordination are not yet
well understood and are the focus of active research by cognitive scientists and experts in many complex and
dynamic domains. [24] [115] [116] [117] [283] [284] [285] Research in aviation has already demonstrated that a large
proportion of aircraft accidents are linked to failures on the part of crews with appropriate technical skills to
manage the flight deck effectively. [186] The hallmarks of resource management derived from these studies are
discussed in detail in the earlier section on CRM key points.
Dynamic Prioritization of Tasks
Complex multiple personnel simulations of anesthetic crises have been used to address the issue of resource
management. Although the data from these simulations are still preliminary, it appears that poor supervisory
control and resource management were substantial components of suboptimal management of the simulated
crises. [260] In other words, like the pilots, anesthetists had the knowledge and technical skill to manage the
patient, but they failed to manage their environment properly to achieve success (hence termed CRM skills or
nontechnical skills). (In aviation, such situations have often resulted in what is called controlled flight into
terrain.)
Prospective Memory
Prospective memory describes one's ability to remember in the future to perform an action. [270] It is particularly
prone to disruption by concurrent tasks or interruptions. Disruption of intentions or on-going tasks is common in
everyday life and has also been described in pilots and air traffic controllers. [271] [272] [273] [274] [275] In
anesthesia, for example, if the anesthetist suspends ventilation temporarily (say to allow a radiograph to be taken),
the intention to restart the ventilator depends on prospective memory and can be easily forgotten. Chisholm and
associates performed a study in an emergency department and looked for interruptions and breaks in task.
They found that during a 3-hour period, the emergency physician was faced with more than 30 interruptions and
more than 20 breaks in task. It is likely that similar results would be found in the ICU. [276]
A variety of methods may preserve prospective memory of intentions. Visual or auditory reminders can be used
(physiologic monitor alarms often serve this purpose whether intended or not), although the effectiveness of such
methods seems to be less than one would expect. Special actionssuch as leaving one's finger on the ventilator
switchcan be used to indicate that an important intention is pending.
Fixation Errors
Faulty re-evaluation, inadequate adaptation of the plan, or loss of situation awareness can result in a type of
human error termed a fixation error. [131] [132] Fixation errors have been described by all the investigators
conducting experimental studies of responses of anesthetists to abnormal situations. [259] [260] [277] Avoiding
fixation errors in the field of anesthesia is CRM key point 9 and is covered in the section on CRM key points.
Hazardous Attitudes
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Attitudes are an important component of ability that can affect performance as strongly as physiologic
performance-shaping factors can. Psychologists studying judgment in aviators have identified five types of attitude
as being particularly hazardous, and they have developed specific antidote thoughts for each hazardous attitude.
[195] These attitudes as related to anesthesia are shown in Table 6-8 . Aviation psychologists instruct pilots to
physically verbalize the antidote thought whenever they find themselves thinking in a hazardous way.
Table 6-8 -- Examples of Hazardous Attitudes and Their Antidote Thoughts
Hazardous Attitude
Antidote Thoughts
Antiauthority: Don't tell me what to do. The
policies are for someone else.
Follow the rules. They are usually right.
Impulsivity: Do something quicklyanything!
Not so fast. Think first.
Invulnerability: It won't happen to me. It's just a It could happen to me. Serious problems can develop even
routine case.
in routine cases.
Macho: Ill show you I can do it. I can intubate
the trachea of anyone.
Taking chances is foolish. Plan for failure.
Resignation: What's the use? It's out of my

hands. It's up to the surgeon.
I'm not helpless. I can make a difference. There is always

something else to try that might help.
The invulnerable and macho attitudes are particularly hazardous for anesthetists. They are compounded by
production pressures to handle more cases in less time with fewer cancellations and less opportunity for
preoperative evaluation. The feeling that a catastrophe cannot happen to me and that perfect performance can
always be called on to avert a disaster can lead to cavalier behavior and poor planning. It can alter thresholds for
believing that abnormal data represent a problem, thereby leading to the fixation error of everything's OK. In
1984, Cooper [278] wrote the following about studies of critical incidents in anesthesia:
Perhaps the most insidious hazard of anesthesia is its relative safety. The individual anesthetist rarely, on
average, will be responsible for a serious iatrogenic complication. It is our impression from the process of
collecting incidents, that most seemingly minor errors are not taken seriously and that risk management
depends almost solely on the anesthetist's ability to react instinctively and flawlessly every time a problem
arises.
Expert human performance is the anesthetist's most powerful tool to safeguard the patient. However, planning to
avoid catastrophe is likely to be more successful than battling to avert it.
The Anesthetist's Tasks
Investigation of a complex work environment typically starts with task analysis (reviews of this technique were
published in the journal Human Factors [286] ). One can perform an abstract analysis of the work goals and
constraints and then derive the tasks required to achieve the goals. Alternatively, one can observe what skilled
practitioners actually do in their work and classify these actions into task elements. Often the techniques are
combined. In this section the anesthetist's tasks are examined in the abstract and then the empirical task analysis
approach is reviewed. There are two distinct phases of anesthetic care: (1) preoperative evaluation, planning, and
preparation and (2) conduct of the anesthetic regimen and immediate postoperative care.
Preoperative Evaluation and Planning
There are few data on how well anesthetists identify important patient conditions through history taking and
physical examination (see Chapter 34 ). A frequent organizational obstacle to the anesthetist's evaluation task is
difficulty obtaining the patient's previous medical records. The performance of anesthetists in selecting
appropriate laboratory tests has been found to be relatively poor. Roizen and associates [287] state the following:
Even when physicians agree to reduce testing by using specific, agreed upon criteria for selectively ordering
tests based on history and physical examination, they still make a surprising number of mistakes when
ordering tests. Approximately 30% to 40% of patients who should have certain tests do not get them, and
20% to 40% of patients who should not have tests are subjected to them.
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Roizen has argued for automation of routine patient questioning and selection of laboratory tests and has
participated in the development of commercial devices to do so. Whether these devices, in combination with
human follow-up for patients with medical problems, will improve the efficiency and accuracy of preoperative
evaluation remains to be determined. The performance of anesthetists in interpreting ECGs and chest
radiographs also appears to be poor relative to specialists in these fields. The extent to which this factor influences
the design of anesthetic plans or patient outcomes is unknown.
Anesthetic Plan
In constructing the plan, the anesthetist uses the preoperative evaluation of the patient to match the technical
requirements of the surgical procedure and the physiologic characteristics of the patient to the mental, physical,
and technologic resources available. A typical anesthetic plan contains several elements. For example, the plan for
general anesthesia includes choices for the means of inducing anesthesia, securing the airway and ensuring proper
ventilation, maintaining anesthesia, conducting emergence from anesthesia, and controlling postoperative pain.
Skilled planning is as critical as skilled execution in safe patient care. If a significant feature of the situation is
missed in formulating the plan, it can leave the patient vulnerable, regardless of how adeptly the plan is
implemented.
The technical requirements of most surgical procedures are well known. Most patients do not have medical
problems that could significantly alter the anesthetic plan, although Gibby and associates [288] found that 20% of
outpatients, most of them with ASA physical status 1 or 2, had conditions identifiable through an anesthetist's
history and examination that required changes from a standard anesthetic plan. When a procedure is new or
challenging, when the patient has significant underlying disease, or when needed resources are not available,
creative planning may be needed to identify a set of physiologic goals for the anesthetic regimen. Routine
anesthetic plans can be modified or combined to produce a compromise plan that best fits the goals and
constraints of the situation.
Although faculty anesthetists routinely critique the anesthetic plans of residents and planning is explicitly probed
during the oral examination of the American Board of Anesthesiologists, the process of constructing anesthetic
plans has been studied very little. Most of the existing literature on preoperative planning concentrates only on the
medical and physiologic aspects of underlying diseases and their anesthetic ramifications.
Pre-use Preparation and Checkout of Equipment
After the plan is established, the anesthetist must prepare the work environment. This involves obtaining the
necessary equipment and supplies, assembling infusions, preparing syringes of needed drugs, and conducting preuse checkouts of life support equipment (see Chapter 38 ). The performance of anesthetists at these tasks is not
optimal. Buffington and coworkers [289] demonstrated that only 3% of anesthetists examining an anesthesia
machine could identify all five faults with which it had been rigged; most practitioners found only two of the five.
Nearly 30% missed such major faults as complete absence of both unidirectional valve disks in a circle anesthesia
breathing system and swap of the nitrous oxide and oxygen cylinders (made possible by a fault in the pin-indexing
system).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in cooperation with the ASA, the APSF, and experts from academics
and industry, developed a set of recommendations for the checkout of anesthesia apparatus. [290] This checklist
was widely disseminated by the ASA and the APSF. However, it was found that use of the checkout procedure was
minimal and that the extent of pre-use checkout by practitioners was extremely variable. A newer study [291] was
conducted to compare the checkout of anesthesia machines by practitioners with and without use of the FDA
checkout procedure. Most of the faults were detected by 50% or fewer participants, regardless of the checkout
procedure used. Only for one fault, failure of the oxygennitrous oxide ratio protection system, did the FDA
checklist offer significant advantages; when using it, the detection rate increased to 65%. Interestingly, 34% of the
faults that were not detected were missed by practitioners who had in fact correctly answered three out of three
written test questions concerning that fault. This suggests that although some of the performance deficit may be
related to lack of knowledge, a substantial proportion are due to the inability to apply abstract knowledge to the
practical performance of equipment checkout.
There were many criticisms of the original checklist, particularly its complexity. [292] A streamlined version of the
original checklist was published by the FDA in 1994. [293] A study of the new checklist, however, showed no
significant benefit from its use and a disturbingly low rate of detection of machine faults (around 50%). [294] In
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another study, anesthetists using a highly interactive electronic checklist (developed by Blike and Biddle)
improved their detection of easy faults but still missed a high proportion of difficult faults. [295] A study
performed more recently to measure the influence of fatigue on performance in a simulator showed that subjects
in both the rested and fatigued conditions left out significant portions of the machine checkout. [178]
Emergency Checklists
One aspect of preparedness is to consider possible emergencies and to mentally rehearse their management.
Another approach is the readiness and ability to use critical incident checklists. For example, the Veterans Health
Administration has placed a set of emergency checklists on plastic laminated sheets in every OR of 105 hospitals
( Fig. 6-11 and Box 6-10 for an example of anaphylaxis). Other emergency checklists have been made available
electronically. [296] [297] Despite these advances, the use of emergency checklists has still not become a regular
part of the culture of medical work.
Figure 6-11 Department of Veterans Affairs checklist by NCPS. An example of the cognitive aid is given by Anaphylaxis in Box 6-10 .
Box 6-10
VA NCPS Checklist Example (Anaphylaxis)
Manifestations
Cardiac
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Hypotension (may be the only sign of anaphylaxis in an anesthetized patient)

Cardiovascular collapse
Pulmonary hypertension
Arrhythmias/tachycardia
Respiratory
Bronchospasm
Increased peak inspiratory pressure (high PIP)
Hypoxemia
Pulmonary edema
Stridor, laryngeal edema
Cutaneous
Rash, flush, hives, angioedema
In an awake patient, signs and symptoms include
Dizziness, decreased level of consciousness, dyspnea and/or chest tightness,
pruritus
Immediate Action
Stop administration of any possible antigen (e.g., antibiotics, muscle relaxants, blood)
(transfusion reaction)
In the absence of any other likely cause, consider latex allergy
Remove all latex products in contact with the patient
Surgical gloves
Medications drawn up through a latex
stopper
Urinary catheter
Maintain the patient's airway and support oxygenation and ventilation
Increase FIO2 to 100%
Intubate early if the allergic reaction is severe
The airway and larynx can become very edematous
Inform the surgeons
Consider terminating the surgical procedure
Expand circulating fluid volume; ensure adequate intravenous access
Immediate fluid needs may be massive (many liters of crystalloid)
Administer epinephrine intravenously
Epinephrine is the drug of choice for the treatment of severe anaphylaxis
For hypotension or bronchospasm, 10- to 50- g increments; repeat as necessary with
escalating doses
For cardiovascular collapse, use ACLS doses, 500- to 1000- g boluses; repeat as
necessary with escalating doses
Treat bronchospasm if present
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Administer inhaled bronchodilators

Albuterol: initial dose, 4 to 8 metered puffs
Depending on the delivery system, a larger dose of any aerosolized medication may be
required when administered via the endotracheal tube
ACLS, advanced cardiac life support.
Execution and Adaptation of Plans
Anesthetic plans are dynamic. The anesthetist must monitor the plan as it is executed and must adapt it in
response to dynamically changing events. The key features of this task are (1) checking for the achievement of
milestones and (2) reactive plan adaptation. These are shown schematically in Figure 6-12 . At various points of a
procedure there are critical milestones that must be achieved to keep the original plan unaltered. If a milestone is
not achieved, the anesthetist must decide whether to delay the next action in the sequence, modify the plan, or
suspend or abort the procedure. On some occasions, the milestones are explicitly identified in advance, whereas in
others the milestones are implicit.
Figure 6-12 Schematic diagram of the dynamic adaptation of preoperative plans. The anesthetist begins with intravenous (IV) induction of anesthesia as planned
(top left). On achieving the milestone of successful induction of anesthesia, blood pressure (BP) is checked before proceeding with laryngoscopy and intubation
(center). If BP is not satisfactory, the next step may be delayed and the plan amended to optimize BP. If necessary, the procedure may even be aborted at this
stage. Throughout the procedure, the anesthetist is vigilant for the occurrence of new problems (police cars). If a problem is detected, a process of reactive
problem solving takes place, which may result in new adaptations to the plan (in this case, treatment of bronchospasm). (From Gaba DM: Human Error in
Dynamic Medical Environments. Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum, 1994, pp 197-224.)
The anesthetist must also react to a large number of other contingencies, some of which can be predicted in
advance based on the patient's history and the type of surgery, whereas others cannot be anticipated. Incoming
data streams must be constantly scrutinized (see the police cars in Fig. 6-12 ) to determine whether an expected
or unexpected contingency is occurring. If so, the existing plan may have to be modified. As plans are changed,
actions may be taken that invalidate other aspects of the previous plan, thereby requiring further adaptation of
the plan. In some cases, even the original goals of the anesthetic plan may need to be adapted.
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Frequency of Events Requiring Active Intervention by the Anesthetist
The preceding analysis of Figure 6-12 suggests that anesthetists must be prepared to react dynamically to
changing events. How frequent is this requirement? In the Multicenter Study of General Anesthesia, [298] 86% of
patients had at least one undesirable outcome. Although most events were minor and caused no injury to the
patient, more than 5% of patients had one or more severe events requiring significant therapy, with or without
full recovery. This incidence is probably a lower limit for severe events because the entry criteria of the study
precluded the enrollment of critically ill patients or emergency surgeries, for which the likelihood of severe
problems requiring intervention would be expected to be high.
In another study by Cooper and associates, [299] impact events, defined as undesirable, unexpected, and which
could cause at least moderate morbidity, occurred in 18% of patients either in the OR or in the PACU, and 3%
of all cases involved a serious event. These figures are also probably lower limits because for technical reasons
the study excluded patients going directly from surgery to an ICU.
Moller and coauthors [300] reported 4439 impact events in 10,312 patients either in the OR (2441) or in the
PACU (1998). Here again, some patients had several events, whereas others had none. The investigators did not
compute the frequency of severe events, but overall, these data appear to be consistent with those from earlier
studies.
Model of Event Evolution
The findings just discussed, as well as the larger system issues raised by Reason and Perrow, can be summarized
in a model of event evolution ( Fig. 6-13 ). [58] [113] [226]
Figure 6-13 Chain of accident evolution in anesthesia. As in Reason's model, underlying latent failures (and the organizational culture) predispose to triggering
of an accident sequence by equipment, the patient, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and other personnel. This sequence can be prevented by prophylactic
measures such as preoperative evaluation and treatment of patient diseases or pre-use checkout of life support equipment. Once a problem occurs, it may remain
self-limited or evolve further down the accident chain. Using dynamic decision-making, the anesthetist must detect and correct the problems that do occur at the
earliest possible point in the chain of evolution. Interruption of the accident chain is made more difficult when there is tight coupling within the system, when
multiple interacting problems are present, or when problems disrupt recovery processes. Efficient use of incident analysis may make it easier in the future to
prevent or interrupt problem evolution. (Redrawn with modification from Gaba DM, Fish KJ, Howard SK: Crisis Management in Anesthesiology. New York,
Churchill Livingstone, 1994.)
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Similar models incorporating some of the same features have also been described. [59] [301] Underlying aspects of
the system can generate latent failures. Either by random chance or because of interactions between the latent
failures, an event may be triggered by one of four components of the operational system in the OR: the anesthetist,
the surgeon, the patient, or the equipment. Anesthetists have traditionally been most interested in events that they
trigger themselves (such as esophageal intubation), but in fact, most events are initiated by a combination of
underlying patient disease and another of the triggering factors. Most problems are not directly harmful to the
patient unless they evolve further. Possibilities for evolution of the problem include the following:
1. A single problem worsens and by itself evolves into an adverse outcome.
2.
The problem begins to evolve but remains self-limited without any intervention.
3.
Multiple small problems combine to trigger a problem that can evolve into an adverse outcome; the
original problems by themselves would not have evolved further.
4.
A single problem triggers another problem that evolves into an adverse outcome.
5.
An evolving problem should be able to be stopped, but the recovery pathway is faulty.
6.
Two problems are triggered. Attention focused on one (minor) problem distracts attention from the
(serious) evolution of another.
The system has a variety of interruption points at which the occurrence of problems can be prevented
(preoperative evaluation of patients and pre-use checkout of equipment). Moreover, although anesthesiology is far
more dynamic than many medical domains, it is relatively slow in comparison to many human activities such as
sports, driving, and combat flying. Thus, events often evolve slowly enough that the process of accident evolution
can be thwarted before an adverse patient outcome actually occurs. The interruption of accident evolution
corresponds to the defense-in-depth in Reason's Swiss cheese model [70] and to recovery from a normal
accident in Perrow's paradigm (see Figs. 6-2 and 6-3 [0020] [0030] and the overview on NAT in Table 6-2 ).
In the prospective studies of intraoperative events cited earlier, there was a surprisingly high incidence of
undesirable situations, whereas the rate of actual patient harm was quite low. The patient's safety was frequently
protected only by the skilled intervention of a trained anesthetist. Note that this is a markedly different picture
from that in commercial aviation, although the accident rate in aviation is very low. About 30,000 airline flights
take place each day in the United States, and there are very few serious incidents or accidents, although the exact
number is unknown. The total accident rate from all causes (not counting terrorist acts) for major airline flights
between 1982 and 2001 was 0.38 per 100,000 departures. Air carrier accidents with one or more fatalities occurred
at a rate of 0.045 per 100,000 departures. In 2002 there were no fatalities in U.S. airline or commuter aviation
(NTSB website: www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Stats.htm
).
The actual number of events in aviation matching the impact event criteria given earlier is not known, but it is
probably at least 100 times greater than the number of accidents. Even so, this still makes aviation incidents far
less frequent than the 3% to 5% rate of significant impact events in anesthesia. Based on these data, it is clear
that the intraoperative management of abnormal, dynamically changing events remains the critical locus of
anesthesia skill.
Empirical Studies of Anesthetists Tasks
Over the past 20 years there have been a number of studies [31] [35] [36] [37] [38] [40] [178] [198] [235] [302] [303] [304]
[305] of anesthetists intraoperative activities. In addition, an increasing number of studies have been performed in
realistic simulator environments. [2] [19] [184] [306] [307] [308] [309] [310] [311] [312] [313] [314] [315] [316] [317] [318] [319]
The earliest studies used time-lapse photography of a handful of anesthetic cases with a frame-by-frame analysis
of tasks. One major finding of the first task analysis, by Drui and associates in 1973, [320] was that the
anesthesiologist's attention was often directed away from the patient-surgical field. In subsequent studies, [241]
[242] [243] it was found that about 40% to 50% of the time the anesthetist's gaze was directed away from the
patient or surgical field. McDonald and Dzwonczyk, [242] studying cases from 1981, classified direct patient
activity as one during which the anesthetist had contact with the patient and a view of the surgical field. These
investigators explicitly noted observation of skin color, palpation of pulse, and auscultation of heart and
breath sounds as direct patient activities. Observing arterial pressure or the ECG and observing or adjusting the
anesthesia machine or intravenous infusions were classified as indirect patient activities. In this study 83% of the
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anesthetist's time was spent on activities that were not direct patient activities. The same group [243] repeated its
study for cases from 1985 and demonstrated a much higher rate of direct patient monitoring than obtained in
1981 (44.8% versus 16.8%). This group attributed the difference to the change from manual ventilation in 1981,
which took up much of the anesthetist's visual attention, to the use of mechanical ventilators in 1985, which freed
the anesthetist to watch the patient.
It is true that looking at the patient and at the surgical field is a hallmark of an excellent clinician. Opponents of
technology decry the degree to which monitors and therapeutic devices distract the anesthetist's gaze from the
patient. However, an important distinction has to be made between the anesthetist's attention, which surely must
be directed to the patient's needs, and the anesthetist's gaze, which in fact may best serve the patient by being
directed elsewhere. Many of the tasks cited in the study by McDonald and Dzwonczyk [243] were highly related to
management of the patient, even though they did not involve direct visualization of or contact with the patient.
The critical question, which task analysis by itself cannot answer, is when anesthetists gaze at the surgical field,
how often are they gathering information, and how often are they just watching the scenery? Put more
generally, what is the information content of the various observations being made and what is their relationship to
action tasks and to the goals of conducting a safe anesthetic regimen?
Intriguingly, Drui and associates [320] had asked physicians who were helping code their films, What
information, if any, do you gain from the direct performance of this activity? However, these investigators never
described what information was available from each activity, although they seem to have assumed that turning the
anesthesiologist's gaze away from the patient and surgical field was bad. Boquet and coworkers [241] not only
studied the gaze of anesthetists (using a sophisticated eye-tracking system) but also asked consultant anesthetists
to grade the importance of different visual targets and manual tasks. The patient was assigned the maximal
importance on the scale. However, the surgical field, which occupied 25% of the anesthetist's time, was
apparently not listed by the consultants. Perhaps, in their minds, the surgical field was lumped together with the
patient.
Another key finding of the study by Drui and coworkers [320] was that 40% of the anesthetist's time was coded as
idle, meaning that no obvious task was seen on that frame of film. In 1988, McDonald and Dzwonczyk [242]
stated that this and other studies showed that the anaesthetist spends most time performing tasks that are either
secondary or unrelated to patient care. However, in their original article, Drui and associates [320] correctly
recognized that absence of visually apparent activity did not mean that the anesthetist was truly idle; in fact, they
hypothesized that this time was used by anesthetists to make the decisions on which the observable tasks were
based.
The most detailed task analyses have taken place in a series of studies [198] [235] [244] [245] [304] [321] carried out by
the UCSD/VA-Stanford group. These analyses have used progressively more task categories (11 to 28 to 32) to
analyze the activities of novice and experienced anesthetists in day surgery cases and the activities of senior
residents during cardiac surgery. The studies have shown that a small number of tasks, repeated frequently,
occupy the majority of case time. In one study, four tasks (observing monitors, recording, conversing with
attending staff [for novice residents], and adjusting monitors) accounted for 50.1% of the total case time. Specific
activities such as airway management (e.g., bag ventilation, laryngoscopy) occurred in brief, but intense clusters
( Fig. 6-14 ). Given the larger number of task categories, the anesthetist was rarely seen to be idle.
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Figure 6-14 Distribution of the anesthetist's tasks during an actual ambulatory surgery procedure. The anesthetist was directly observed by an investigator who
recorded a code number for each task as it was performed (there were 28 task codes). Certain tasks, such as bag ventilation, were clustered in specific phases of
the case, whereas others, such as observing monitors, were repeated frequently throughout the procedure.
Studies by this group have attempted to determine whether there is a difference between the task patterns of
novice versus experienced anesthetists. Confirming a priori expectations, the investigators found that novices
perform many of the same tasks as experienced personnel do at specific phases of an anesthetic regimen; however,
the novices had a longer dwell time, on average, for each task. These studies also showed that experienced
providers had lower heterogeneity of tasks and greater efficiency of tasks per unit time. [322]
Of note (but also not unexpected), novice residents spent more time speaking to their attending staff (11% of
preintubation time) than experienced residents or CRNAs did. Of interest, experienced personnel observed the
surgical field more than the novices did. The implications of this finding are not clear. Novices did take longer to
complete patient preparation and induction of anesthesia, but it appeared that some of the extra time taken by
novices working under supervision was offset by the efficiency of offloading other concurrent tasks to the
attending anesthesiologist such that preintubation time was increased by only 6 minutes for novices. [322] This
group also reported that as the density of tasks per unit time increased, the dwell time on each task decreased, and
vice versa. This finding has important implications for how anesthetists allocate their attention (see Management
and Coordination of the Core Process).
Task Analysis and Action Density
An interdisciplinary research group consisting of the Work and Organisational Psychology Department of the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and the Center for Patient Safety and Simulation of the
Department of Anaesthesiology of the University of Tbingen performed several task analysis studies using the
Flexible Interface Technique (FIT) system [323] ( Fig. 6-15 ), which facilitates analysis of multiple parallel and
overlapping actions. [246] The group produced a set of 41 observation codesrepresenting a single action ( Table
6-9 ). Because the method allowed true capture of overlapping actions, it was possible to describe a valid task
density in the analysis of anesthetists action sequences.
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Figure 6-15 Flexible Interface Technique system. The system allows easy reorganization of task analysis items and categories and can properly resolve
overlapping actions. OR, operating room.
Table 6-9 -- Observation Codes Used to Classify Tasks and Actions

Task Group
Actions
Monitoring
Read patient record, observe patient, observe patient monitors, observe anesthesia machine,
observe intravenous drip, observe syringe pumps, measurement, scan area
Measures
Placing IV, give drugs, adjust IV, mask ventilation, intubation/extubation, adjust anesthesia
machine, use of other equipment, quitting alarms, suctioning
Communication
(1) Active conversation with nurse anesthetist, attending anesthetist, surgeon, OR nurse,
patient, others; (2) responsive conversation with nurse anesthetist, attending anesthetist,
surgeon, OR nurse, patient, others; and (3) response to pager
Documentation
Patient chart labeling (drugs, drips, laboratory results)
Additional
operations
Positioning of patient, patient transfer, tasks of others (circulating nurse, orderly), arrange
workplace, conversation with observer (just looking), miscellaneous, leaving OR (with
possible audiovisual contact with OR)
IV, intravenous line; OR, operating room.
Figures 6-16 and 6-17 [0160] [0170] show examples of observations of 24 real OR studies. The observation data
contain many short-term fluctuations (dots); the moving average of action density of the previous 5 minutes was
charted as well (line). Figure 6-16 shows a complete anesthesia procedure with obvious increases in action density
during induction and emergence from anesthesia. Figure 6-17 shows two final phases of cardiac cases involving
cardiopulmonary bypass. The described task analysis technique was also used successfully by the Tbingen group
to study action sequences in a simulator and compare them with findings in the real OR to demonstrate and
evaluate the ecologic validity of simulators (see Chapter 7 ).
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Figure 6-16 Action density diagram illustrating the derived parameter action density from induction of anesthesia to emergence in a real anesthetic case. The
top line in the graph shows the overall action density and the dots show the moving average of the density. The bottom line shows the contribution of one task
group monitoring as an example. The table in the lower graph shows the composition of the data for all eight task groups from the same case.
Figure 6-17 Action density during separation from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) without and with complications. The graph on the left is the density diagram
of an uncomplicated case (case B) with a flat action density diagram during (between the two vertical lines) and after separation from CPB. In contrast, case C,
shown in the graph on the right, had a complicated weaning from CPB; a very high action density is followed by an elevated density with further peaks after
separation.
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Automation
Early task analyses identified repetitive tasks that did not appear to offer substantial information content or
therapeutic benefit as candidates for automation. Drui and associates [320] identified filling out anesthesia records,
measuring blood pressure, and adjusting intravenous infusions. Kennedy and colleagues [324] identified data
display and trend plotting. Many of these tasks have in fact been automated in the past 20 years. Loeb, [325] from
University of California, Davis (UCD) showed that anesthesiologists typically observed monitors for about 1 to 2
seconds every 10 to 20 seconds and that it usually took several observing cycles before they detected a subtle cue
on the monitor. Gurushanthaiah and coworkers [326] studied the effect of more sophisticated display modalities on
detection of signals by anesthesiologists and found that histogram and polygon formats improved response latency
in the laboratory setting over formats using raw numbers only. However, the applicability of these laboratory
finding to the more complex signal detection that must occur in the midst of patient care is uncertain. Incidentally,
the experience in the field of aviation suggests that automation of both monitoring and therapeutic devices
produces its own problems in human-machine interactions and may well be a causative or contributing factor in
some adverse anesthetic events. Some of the same types of automation-related adverse events seen in aviation are
now being observed in anesthesiology. [227]
The impact of automation on task distribution is uncertain. The change to mechanical ventilation did affect the
analyses of McDonald and Dzwonczyk, [242] as detailed earlier. A study by Allard and coworkers [327] showed no
reduction in time spent recording when automated record-keeping devices were used. However, the UCSD/VAStanford collaboration published data demonstrating a 20% reduction in the time spent record keeping when
automated record keeping was in use during cardiac anesthesia. [322] There was a slight, but not significant
increase in time spent on direct patient care activities when electronic record keeping was in use. There is no clear
evidence that electronic record keeping will yield a marked enhancement of the anesthetist's ability to perform
other patient care tasks, although automated record keeping may yield other benefits. The UCD and UCSD/VAStanford groups demonstrated that electronic automated record keeping does not significantly reduce the
vigilance of anesthetists. [328] [329]
Mental Workload of Administering Anesthesia
The observable tasks do not tell the whole story of what the anesthetist is doing. As Drui and coworkers [320]
suggested, mental activity is going on even when the anesthetist appears idle. What, then, is the mental workload
of administering anesthesia? Mental workload is another concept that is readily understood but difficult to define
precisely. There are various ways to measure workload, none of which are ideal.
Primary Task Performance Measure
The primary task performance measure assesses the subject's performance on standard work tasks as they are
made progressively more difficult by increasing the number of tasks, task density, or task complexity. At first the
subject is able to keep up with the increasing task load, but at some point the workload exceeds the ability to
manage it, and performance on the standard tasks decreases. The disadvantage of the primary task performance
measure is that in many complex task domains there is no accepted way to objectively measure the subject's
performance on the primary work tasks except by loading to the point of catastrophic performance failure, which
is easily detected. In actual high-risk domains, one cannot allow primary task performance to degrade, and one
certainly cannot allow it to fail catastrophically. Although experiments of this type are in principle feasible with
anesthesia simulators, they have not yet been attempted.
Secondary Task Probing
A more useful technique, secondary task probing, tests the subject with a minimally intrusive secondary task that
is added to the primary work tasks. The secondary task is a simple one for which performance can be objectively
measured, and the subject is instructed that the primary tasks of patient care take absolute precedence over the
secondary task. Therefore, assuming that the secondary task requires some of the same mental resources as the
primary task, the performance of the subject on the secondary task is an indirect reflection of the spare capacity
available to deal with it; thus, it is an inverse measure of primary task workload (the greater the spare capacity,
the lower the primary workload). Secondary tasks such as reaction time (with or without choice), finger tapping,
and mental arithmetic have been used for this technique in the psychology laboratory, in high-fidelity simulators,
and in some field studies of actual work situations.
Gaba and Lee [330] presented two-digit addition problems on a computer screen placed in the anesthesia
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workspace at random approximately every 45 seconds. The delay in responding to problems and the number of
problems skipped were logged over time and correlated with a concurrent six-category task analysis. The dynamic
ebb and flow of mental workload during cases of varying complexity was documented. For example,
cardiopulmonary bypass was confirmed as a time of very low workload for the anesthetist, whereas induction of
anesthesia was confirmed as a period of high workload. Manual tasks and conversing with the attending physician
were correlated with a delayed or absent response to the secondary task.
Subsequent studies by the UCSD/VA-Stanford group [244] [245] and the UCD group [325] [329] [331] used the
reaction time to a changing display in or around the clinical monitors as a secondary task to assess mental
workload, vigilance, or both. For the UCSD/VA-Stanford group, the display was a red light placed next to the
main physiologic monitor. This secondary task was analogous to but totally separate from the standard tasks of
clinical work. When the secondary task was embedded in the regular work tasks, it was called an embedded task.
The UCD group used a secondary task involving recognition of changes in the alphanumeric display of an unused
channel of an actual clinical monitor (a parameter labeled Vig on the monitor changed values from 5 to 10).
This task was only partially embedded because although it did involve an actual clinical monitor, it displayed on
an otherwise unused channel and was not of clinical significance. The VA-Stanford group has been experimenting
with fully embedded secondary tasks during simulator anesthetic cases in which the values of actual clinical
variables can be manipulated at will to evaluate the subject's response time to the excursion of data values beyond
predefined reporting thresholds.
The mean response time to the red light used by the UCSD/VA-Stanford group was markedly less than 60 seconds
for experienced subjects in both the induction and postinduction (maintenance) phases, but it was much higher for
novice residents during the induction phase ( Fig. 6-18 ). The probe was not given frequently enough to track the
ebb and flow of workload. The response to the UCD task typically (56%) occurred within 60 seconds, but 16% of
stimuli overall (27% during the induction period) were not responded to within 5 minutes. The conclusion was
that spare capacity may be limited by the workload of the case during certain periods of anesthesia care.
Figure 6-18 A test of the anesthetist's vigilance. Shown is the mean reaction time of novice residents and experienced anesthetists in response to the illumination
of a red light placed next to the electrocardiogram monitor display during actual ambulatory surgery procedures. In both groups the reaction was faster in the
maintenance phase than during induction of anesthesia. Novices reacted significantly more slowly than experienced anesthetists did. Because the distribution of
reaction times was skewed and nongaussian, error bars are not shown and nonparametric statistics were used for hypothesis testing.
There are several problems with these workload studies. One is interference with the response channel. If
responding to the probe requires manual activity with a mouse or keyboard (as in the studies of Gaba and Lee and
the UCD group), it cannot be performed whenever the subject is occupied with a manual task. This is especially
true during a sterile procedure. Therefore, it may be impossible to distinguish between a high primary task load
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(i.e., no spare capacity to address the secondary task) and a low primary task load that happens to usurp the
manual response channel. However, in the Gaba and Lee study, [330] 37% of the problems that were skipped for
lack of spare capacity did not occur during a manual task. All of the UCSD/VA-Stanford studies have allowed
multiple response channels (manual, voice, and gesture), so there was no response channel interference; however,
the potential for interference remains in the UCD studies.
An additional problem with these studies is that even these simple secondary tasks were intrusive when repeated
frequently. Thus, there was a tradeoff between temporal resolution of the measurement and its intrusiveness.
There is also controversy about whether these probes measure vigilance or workload, although the same
techniques probably measure both aspects of performance. When probes occur infrequently, are subtle, have
multiple response channels, and are performed with a low level of existing workload, they are more likely to
measure vigilance; when they are frequent, readily detectable, require a manual response, and are performed
during a high-workload period, they probably are more indicative of spare capacity and workload.
Slagle and colleagues [303] carried out an assessment of an established clinical task analysis methodology regarding
intra- and inter-rater reliability. These investigators had one trained observer rating 20 routine anesthesia cases,
first rating cases in the OR and then rating the same cases from a videotape, with another observer rating the
same videotapes twice. A computerized task analysis program with 38 task categories was used. The results
showed good intra-rater reliability and also high concordance between real-time and video analyses. This finding
is important because real-time observation is unfeasible in many circumstances. This study had problems in
analyzing parallel tasks because the technique of toggling between the task categories at a rate proportional to
the time spent on each task resulted in big differences in task duration and task occurrences between the two
raters. This problem of recording parallel tasks (two or more) was solved by Manser and colleagues in
Tbingen. [246] [247] [332]
Subjective Measures
A third modality of workload assessment consists of subjective measures in which individuals are asked, either in
retrospect or in real time, how much load they were or are under during actual work situations. Subjective
measures complement objective measurements because the subjective perceptions of the anesthetist may be an
important source of stress and anxiety; conversely, an anesthetist may subjectively underestimate the workload in
settings in which objective measurements demonstrate a marked reduction in spare capacity.
Various scales have been proposed to measure dimensions of mental workload that are, in theory, different.
However, Gaba and Lee [330] adapted a set of workload scales from those used at NASA and showed that
workload ratings on each of the scales were highly correlated. In subsequent studies by the UCSD/VA-Stanford
group, a single dimension of overall load was assessed by using an asymmetric numeric scale that minimized
biases caused by a tendency to group responses at the middle and extremes of symmetric scales. This group
demonstrated that a neutral observer can estimate the subjective workload of the anesthetist in real time with high
correlation to the self-rated workload of the subject. [244] Again, as could be expected, subjective workload was
highest during induction and emergence from anesthesia, especially for novices.
Physiologic Measures
The final set of techniques for assessing workload consists of physiologic measures. Visual or auditory evoked
potentials have been used successfully to assess mental workload, but this technique can be used only in a static
laboratory environment. Heart rate is a relatively easily measured variable that may be altered by mental
workload. Toung and associates [333] showed that the anesthetist's heart rate increases at the time of intubation
and that the amount of increase is inversely related to the amount of overall medical training. Azar and coworkers
[334] found that anesthesia faculty members heart rate and blood pressure increased during induction of
anesthesia and that significant ST-segment depression developed in one individual. Bitetti and colleagues [335]
confirmed that heart rate changes occurred during anesthesia but did not always correlate with contemporaneous
self-recordings of stress.
Because of the many factors that affect heart rate, the beat-to-beat variability of the heart rate is thought to be a
better indicator of mental workload. The frequency components of heart rate variability can be separated by
spectral analysis; a component at 0.1 Hz has been linked to mental workload. Although several groups have
acquired heart rate data on anesthesiologists, none has reported an analysis of the workload-related frequency
components.
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Applications of Task Analysis and Workload Methodologies
The results of task analyses and workload measurements have primarily provided objective confirmation of a
number of intuitive beliefs about anesthesia practice. The real importance of these studies is that a coherent
methodology has been developed that may be useful for studying a variety of interesting questions. [247] [336] The
question of the impact of electronic automated record-keeping systems was addressed earlier. Another question
concerns TEE. This newer monitoring modality has become commonplace during cardiac anesthesia and
anesthesia for other patients with cardiovascular disease who undergo complex operations. It is widely recognized
that evaluating TEE images and manipulating the TEE probe require substantial visual and mental attention.
The UCSD/VA-Stanford group has published data suggesting that vigilance (as measured by response latency to
illumination of a red light) was substantially lower when the anesthesiologist was involved in manipulating,
adjusting, or examining the TEE images than when other patient care tasks were being performed ( Fig. 6-19 ).
[328] This may be due, in part, to the layout of the workspace. The TEE machine is large and is often placed near
the left side of the head of the OR table, whereas the anesthesia machine and attendant monitors, by convention,
are typically placed near the right side of the head of the table. Remote displays slaved to the primary monitor are
also more likely to be on the patient's right side. This arrangement makes it physically difficult to glance from one
modality to another. The degree to which the mental concentration required to use TEE itself detracts from
vigilance for other signals remains to be determined explicitly.
Figure 6-19 Vigilance test data during anesthetic tasks with and without automated record keeping. The range of data is shown for each of four task categories in
electronic automated record keeping (EARK) and manual record keeping (MAN). Each box contains 50% of the data for that subgroup (the upper limit of the
box is the 75th percentile; the lower limit is the 25th percentile), whereas the maximum and minimum are shown by the upper and lower horizontal bars. The
response latency during record keeping was not significantly different between EARK and MAN. In both record-keeping groups, subjects had significantly
slower responses when observing or adjusting the transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) than when recording, observing monitors, or adjusting intravenous
lines (IVs). Subjects in both groups had faster response latency when observing the monitoring array, which contained a red light, than when performing the
other three tasks. *P < .05; P < .05. (From Weinger MB, Herdon OW, Gaba DM: The effect of electronic record keeping and transesophageal echocardiography on
task distribution, workload, and vigilance during cardiac anesthesia. Anesthesiology 87:144-145, 1997.)
It is important to differentiate the various uses of TEE. When it is used to answer specific clinical questions
triggered by events or milestones during the procedure, the value of the information may be worth an investment
of effort even though there is a reduction in overall vigilance. When it is used as a continuous monitor for
myocardial ischemia or when conducting a detailed routine examination, the reduction in vigilance must be
considered when evaluating the potential benefits of the technology. Some practitioners describe special ways to
handle the attention required for TEE, including tightening alarm thresholds (to provide audio warnings of
changed values) and assigning specific patient monitoring functions to another individual while conducting the
initial TEE placement and examination.
Many other interesting questions on the performance of anesthetists are still unanswered and can be addressed
with the techniques of task analysis and workload and vigilance assessment, including the following:
1. How do task load and task density differ between private practice settings and academic settings?
2.
Are there characteristic patterns for experts and novices (or should we say for good and bad
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anesthesiologists?) in the analysis of tasks and their densities? And if yes,

a. How do the work patterns of novices change to become those of experts? How can the training
of novices be focused to support these changes best? Is suboptimal performance of novices
detectable through analysis of task distributions and mental workload?
b.
3.
Can work patterns be linked to safe anesthetic practice, or can special patterns be linked to
unsafe behavior? Perhaps this could be done by assessing high-workload simulator scenarios. In
a proactive safety culture, this would allow us to identify such colleagues and train them
individually.
How much task load can the average anesthetist handle? How are tasks distributed among personnel
(e.g., between resident and faculty, between CRNA and supervisor, and among staff anesthetists) during
the high-workload periods of patient care? This question is just beginning to be addressed by applying
the task analysis techniques described earlier to videotapes of actual anesthetic cases. With use of these
tapes, the task sequences of multiple anesthesia personnel can be elicited separately, as can the
communications used to coordinate their activities.
Ability Requirements for Anesthetists
Unlike the situation in military aviation, there are few formal selection criteria for entry into anesthesia practice.
Instead, the criteria are decided on by each department's trainee selection committee. Nearly every student who
chooses anesthesia as a specialty will be accepted by some training institution. Moreover, few residents are
terminated from their anesthesia trainingand then usually only because of drug abuse or too persistent or
egregious lack of normal or technical skill.
There has been recent work on defining the underlying ability characteristics of a successful anesthetist. Greaves
and Grant [21] presented an inventory of 16 characteristics of good anesthetic practiceknowledge, skill,
perception, confidence, prudence, vigilance, fluency, decisiveness, anticipation, organization, flexibility,
responsiveness, good manner, assertiveness, good management, and good communication. This inventory can
serve as a basis for discussion of anesthetists education and training. The authors of the inventory recommended
its use for a formalized consultant feedback to trainees, although they pointed out its unproven validity and
reliability.
An interdisciplinary group in Germany conducted an evaluation of another list of critical abilities for anesthetists
published in German. [337]
Other Studies of Vigilance and Decision-Making by Anesthetists
Studies of Vigilance
The dominant metaphor for the mental activity of the anesthetist has been that of a vigilance task. Vigilance is
the motto on the seal of the ASA. What is vigilance and to what degree does it capture the complex nature of the
anesthetist's work? Vigilance, or sustained attention, refers to the ability of observers to maintain their focus of
attention and to remain alert to stimuli for prolonged periods of time (J. Warm, presentation at the Panel on
Vigilance, ASA annual meeting, 1992). There is an abundance of literature concerning vigilance. Many laboratory
studies have demonstrated decrements in vigilance during prolonged vigilance tasks that are exacerbated or
ameliorated by a variety of factors. These studies have generated considerable controversy. Some psychologists
believe that the results of laboratory studies of vigilance have little application to complex real-world task
domains. [338] [339] Certainly, the anesthetist's work involves vigilance as a necessary component because if new
stimuli are not perceived, no meaningful work can be accomplished. However, the anesthetist's task is much more
complex than just vigilant alertness to stimuli. Therefore, vigilance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for
appropriate performance. [58]
Several studies have attempted to quantitate the vigilance of anesthetists to changes in clinically important
variables by using low-fidelity simulation. Beatty and associates [340] had anesthetists watch for changes in
displays of six vital signs on a video monitor. Denisco and colleagues [341] used videotapes containing abnormal
changes in anesthesia flow meter settings and physiologic monitor displays. The raw reaction times were not
reportedonly the vigilance scores. Such studies purported to demonstrate a degradation in performance for
sleep-deprived and fatigued residents, but there were methodologic flaws. For example, in the study of Denisco
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and coworkers, [341] the subjects were never told the threshold of change for them to report.
In addition, the work environment of the anesthetist is much more complex than that presented in these lowfidelity simulations. Although it can be argued that complexity will worsen vigilance, such is not necessarily the
case. Complexity can combat boredom, which is a distinct possibility in vigilance experiments. In addition, the real
work environment often provides redundant data cues on changes, which offers multiple possibilities for their
detection.
A study of rested anesthetists [178] using a realistic anesthesia simulator measured detection times (first awareness
of a problem) for a variety of intraoperative events embedded within a realistic case situation. Of interest, an event
that caused alarms to sound immediately, such as ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation, was detected in 10 seconds
or less (thus confirming its veracity, but acting on it took longer in many instances). Another event, occlusion of
the intravenous line, was detectable only by visual observation in the direction opposite the anesthesia machine
and monitors. This event took several minutes (on average) to detect, but it was corrected quickly after detection.
The redundancy of cues in the task domain was confirmed in that six different observational modalities were used
by at least 1 of the 19 residents studied to detect endobronchial intubation initially.
Other vigilance studies have focused on detecting the loss of an existing monitoring modality during actual patient
care. In one study, [342] the esophageal stethoscope was occluded with a clamp after a staged distraction
(conversation or a loud noise). Subjects most commonly detected the occlusion by observing the clamp rather than
by noting a loss of sound. Although this study purported to show a difference in vigilance related to the use of
automatic blood pressure measurement devices, the artificial distraction could have biased the results; the
subjects typically failed to hear the loss of sounds, and there was a significant result for only one group of
residents, arbitrarily stratified by length of training. Another study [343] that evaluated reaction time to loss of
esophageal stethoscopy more carefully showed that 13% of occlusions were detected after 1 minute. However, this
study required a manual response, and the investigators noted that in some instances of delay, the subject was
involved in a manual clinical activity such as administering blood or drugs.
Apparent reductions in vigilance could be due either to a reduction in spare capacity to attend to the stimuli
immediately or to a reduction in the overall alertness of the anesthetist. Enhancements in the display and
annunciation of relevant information would be a useful ameliorative strategy in the first case, whereas this
strategy would not be useful if the anesthetist's overall alertness were impaired, as by sleep deprivation or illness.
The influence and impact of fatigue and possible countermeasures are covered in the earlier section
Performance-Shaping Factors.
Empirical Studies of Complex Decision-Making and Action by Anesthetists
Traditional concepts of decision-making in medicine have concentrated on relatively static, well-structured

decisions. For example, should patient A with an elevated blood pressure be treated for hypertension with drug X,
or should no treatment be started? Other investigators have looked only at diagnosis as an isolated task
(specifically, diagnostic explanation) both in internal medicine [344] [345] [346] and in radiology. These
approaches to decision-making have not captured the unique aspects of dynamism, time pressure, and uncertainty
seen in anesthesiology. Over the past decade, a paradigm has emerged regarding decision-making and action in
complex real-world situations. [39] [236] [250] The cognitive model of dynamic decision-making was described
previously. Several teams from inside the anesthesiology profession and from the human performance community
have been striving to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the complex performance of anesthetists.
Their work has been based on a small number of new experiments (often involving medium- or high-fidelity
anesthesia simulators), reinterpretation of previous experiments, direct and indirect observation of the conduct of
anesthesia, and extrapolations from other industries to anesthesiology. Each experiment has probed several
aspects of decision-making and action, which are described in the following section.
Responding to Simulated Critical Incidents
Using a realistic hands-on anesthesia simulator, Gaba and DeAnda [111] [259] [347] studied the response of
anesthesia trainees and experienced anesthesia faculty and private practitioners to six preplanned critical
incidents of differing type and severity:
1. Breathing hoses too short to turn the table 180 degrees, as requested by the surgeon
2.
Endobronchial intubation (EI) resulting from surgical manipulation of the tube
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3.
Occlusion of intravenous tubing
4.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) with a rapid ventricular response and hypotension
5.
Disconnection between the endotracheal tube and the breathing circuit
6.
Ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation
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These investigators measured the detection time (as described in the section on vigilance) and the correction time
(the time from the event's onset until any one of a predefined set of corrective actions was first taken). They
assessed the information sources by which subjects detected the incidents and then confirmed and diagnosed the
problem. They asked subjects to think aloud to permit subjective analysis of their decision-making strategies. A
summary of the data is shown in Figure 6-20 . Major findings from this set of studies included the following:
1. Events differed from each other in their inherent ease of solution. Some events (e.g., airway
disconnection) were detected rapidly and corrected. Some problems (e.g., intravenous occlusion) were
difficult to detect, but once they were detected, diagnosis and therapy were achieved rapidly. Other
problems (EI, AF) were easy to detect by using one of several redundant information sources as the first
clue (six for EI, four for AF), but they required additional time (7 to 8 minutes for EI; 1.5 to 4.5 minutes
for AF) to confirm the abnormality, establish a diagnosis, and initiate appropriate therapy. Diagnosis and
planning and monitoring of therapy used a large number of information sources (11 for EI; 9 for AF).
2.
For each incident there was considerable inter-individual variability in detection and correction times, in
information sources used, and in the actions taken. In each experience group there were some who
required excessive time to solve the problem or who never solved it. In addition, in each experience group
at least one individual made major errors that could have had a substantial negative impact on a patient's
clinical outcome. For example, one faculty member never used electrical countershock to treat
ventricular fibrillation. One private practitioner treated the EI as though it were bronchospasm and
never assessed the symmetry of ventilation. One resident never found the airway disconnection.
3.
The average performance of the anesthetists tended to improve with experience, although this varied by
incident. The performance of the experienced groups was not definitively better than that of the secondyear residents (who were in their final year of training at that time). Many (but not all) novice residents
performed indistinguishably from more experienced subjects.
4.
The elements of suboptimal performance were both technical and cognitive. Technical problems included
choosing defibrillation energies appropriate for internal paddles when using external paddles, ampule
swap, and failure to inflate the endotracheal tube cuff that resulted in a leak. Cognitive problems
included failure to allocate attention to the most critical problems and fixation errors.
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Figure 6-20 Response times of anesthesiologists with different levels of experience to four simulated critical incidents: A, endobronchial intubation; B,
intravenous occlusion (IV); C, atrial fibrillation; and D, airway disconnection. Detection time is represented by yellow circles and correction time by blue circles
(see text for definitions of these times). Unless there is overlap between response times, each circle represents a single individual. The scale of response times is
different for each event. There is substantial variability among incidents and among individuals. Despite a trend to better performance with increased experience,
major errors were made by individuals in all groups. (From DeAnda A, Gaba DM: Role of experience in the response to simulated critical incidents. Anesth Analg
72:308-315, 1991.)
Schwid and O'Donnell, [258] from the University of Washington, used the Anesthesia Simulator Consultant (ASC)
screen-only simulator (Anesoft Corp., Issaquah, WA) ( Table 6-10 ) to perform an experiment similar to those of
Gaba and DeAnda with a realistic simulator. This method enabled them to evaluate some elements of anesthetist
behavior more carefully, albeit with the limitations imposed by presenting the OR on the screen. After working
on several practice cases without critical incidents, each subject was asked to manage three or four cases involving
a total of four serious critical events (esophageal intubation, myocardial ischemia, anaphylaxis, and cardiac
arrest). The progression of each event was mediated by the interaction of physiologic and pharmacologic models
with the actions taken by the subject. The anesthesiologists studied had varying experience levels. One group was
made up of 10 anesthesia residents with at least 1 year of anesthesia training, whereas the other two groups
contained 10 anesthesia faculty members and 10 private practitioners, respectively.
Table 6-10 -- Incidence of Totally Correct Diagnosis or Treatment of Simulated Critical Incidents with Use of the
Anesthesia Simulator Consultant
Anesthesia Residents Anesthesia Attendings Anesthesiologists in Practice
Incident
(%)
(%)
(%)
Diagnosis of esophageal
intubation
80
100
100
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Treatment of myocardial
ischemia
20
40
20
Diagnosis of anaphylaxis
20
60
40
Treatment of cardiac arrest

40
30
20
From Schwid HA, O'Donnell D: Anesthesiologists management of simulated critical incidents. Anesthesiology
76:495-501, 1992.
Major findings of the study included the following:
1. Significant errors in diagnosis or treatment were made in every experience group. The errors occurred in
both diagnosis of problems and in deciding on and implementing appropriate treatment. For example,
60% of subjects did not make the diagnosis of anaphylaxis despite available information on heart rate,
blood pressure, wheezing, increased peak inspiratory pressure, and the presence of a rash. In managing
myocardial ischemia, there were multiple failures ( Table 6-11 ).
2.
Thirty percent of subjects did not compensate for severe abnormalities while considering diagnostic
maneuvers.
3.
Fixation errors in which initial diagnoses and plans were never revised were frequent, even when they
were clearly wrong.
Table 6-11 -- Failure Rate in the Management of Simulated Myocardial Ischemia with the Anesthesia Simulator
Consultant
Anesthesia Residents
Anesthesia Attendings
Anesthesiologists in Practice
Incident
(%)
(%)
(%)
Untreated tachycardia
30
50
70
Untreated hypotension
40
60
20
Inappropriate drug
20
10
Unable to recall infusion dose 50
20
10
Unable to calculate infusion

70
40
40
rate
From Schwid HA, O'Donnell D: Anesthesiologists management of simulated critical incidents. Anesthesiology
76:495-501, 1992.
Westenskow and colleagues [253] used a test lung and remotely activated faults in the breathing circuit to test the
anesthetist's ability to identify faults related to ventilation and the anesthesia breathing circuit after hearing an
alarm. One group of subjects used standard alarms, set to factory defaults, on an anesthesia machine, which
included a capnograph. The other group used the same anesthesia machine with the alarms disabled along with a
neural networkbased intelligent alarm and fault identification system. The mean human response time, which
was the time between sounding of the first alarm and identification of the event, ranged from approximately 15
seconds for airway disconnection to approximately 90 seconds for an endotracheal tube cuff leak. The 10
anesthesiologists tested with the standard alarm setup were unable to identify the fault within 2 minutes on 11
occasions5 cuff leaks, 3 airway obstructions, and 3 stuck-open expiratory valves. However, in such
circumstances they did take appropriate compensatory actions while continuing to search for the cause (e.g.,
increasing fresh gas flow to compensate for a cuff leak).
The intelligent alarm apparatus used data from three sensors (in-line capnograph, spirometer, and airway
pressure). A neural network determined whether any of seven faults was present and, if so, displayed a text
message specifying the fault, as well as an animated diagram of the lung, airway, and anesthesia breathing circuit
with the faulty component highlighted in red. It is interesting that the smart alarm system took slightly longer on
average to detect a fault than the conventional alarm system did (25 versus 21 seconds), but the human response
time was markedly reduced for three of the seven faults. There were no statistically significant differences between
anesthesia residents and faculty members with either alarm system.
The investigators suggested that the more specific alarm messages in their intelligent alarm system could direct
the attention of the anesthetist to the occurrence of specific problems and in so doing would decrease workload
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and reduce the likelihood of fixating on inappropriate information. They stated that such a system's advantages
would be even greater in a more realistic clinical environment in which the anesthetist has multiple complex tasks
and not just detection and identification of ventilation-related events.
Loeb and Fitch [348] developed and tested an auditory display of six physiologic variables. Encouraged by the
popularity of the pulse oximeter's pulse tone, [349] [350] [351] they investigated whether the addition of auditory
cues would enhance the rate and speed of detection of predefined events. The results showed that the combined
display (visual and auditory) lead to faster detection of events, even though the rate for correct identification of
the event was slightly higher in the visual only display (80% versus 88%). It seems that there is a potential to
improve the rate of detection of changes in physiologic variables with more sophisticated display modalities,
thereby enhancing the effective vigilance of anesthetists.
Complex, Multiple Personnel Simulations of Anesthetic Crises
In the process of evaluating a new type of training for anesthetists involving crisis management, Howard and
colleagues [109] collected anecdotal data on the responses of teams of anesthetists, surgeons, and nurses to planned
(and unplanned) critical events. These experiments largely confirmed the results of the studies described earlier
and extended them to include more complex management issues and team interactions. Howard and colleagues
found a substantial incidence of difficulties managing multiple problems simultaneously, applying attention to the
most critical needs, acting as team leader, communicating with personnel, and using all available OR resources to
best advantage.
Botney and associates [352] analyzed similar videotapes from 18 different simulator training sessions on crisis
management. In one event, a volatile anesthetic vaporizer had been left on at 4% and was hidden beneath a
printout from the noninvasive blood pressure monitor. Simultaneously, there was a mechanical failure of the
capnograph, making it impossible to confirm endotracheal intubation with CO2 measurements. This event
purposefully presented an invitation to become fixated on the endotracheal tube while ignoring other relevant
information. Five of 18 subjects never discovered the volatile anesthetic overdose despite catastrophic effects on
blood pressure and heart rate and clear evidence that the endotracheal tube was correctly placed. Of those who
did detect the vaporizer setting, the average time to detection was nearly 4 minutes, with some subjects taking
longer than 12 minutes.
In the second event studied, there was a loss of pipeline O2 supply while an anesthetist was assuming the care of a
critically ill patient who required an FIO2 of 100% to achieve satisfactory blood oxygenation. The O2 cylinder on
the machine was empty (i.e., it had not been checked by the initial anesthetist, who had left the case after becoming
ill). The pipeline failure was quickly detected (19 seconds), but the responses to it were extremely variable and
showed a variety of problems. Five of 18 anesthetists closed the anesthesia circuit (which preserves the existing
oxygen in the circuit), but all 5 subsequently switched to ventilation with a self-inflating bag using room air or to
mouth-to-tube ventilation. Five of 18 could not open the reserve oxygen cylinder because they could not locate the
tank wrench attached to the machine (it tended to rest between two gas cylinders). Several teams had trouble
mounting a new oxygen tank on the anesthesia machine; problems with the gasket disk were frequent. The
individuals did not appear to have a well-formulated plan for managing this event, and they did not optimally
coordinate their actions with their assistants or with the other OR personnel.
A study by Byrne and Jones [310] looked at differences in the performance of experienced and less experienced
anesthetists. Using a self-developed patient simulator system, they measured time to treatment and deficiencies in
patient care in 180 simulations. The results showed significant differences only between the first and second year.
As seen in other studies, [319] significant errors occurred at all levels of experience, and most of the anesthetists
deviated from established guidelines. These studies underscore the importance of recurrent training for
experienced anesthetists and the truism that experience is not a substitute for excellence.
The reader is referred to Chapter 7 for discussion of newer studies with the use of patient simulators and
performance assessment as such. [17] [20] [142] [148] [312] [319] [353] [354] [355] [356] [357]
Indirect Observation of Anesthetists Involved in Difficult Cases
An unusual approach involving indirect observation of actual cases was used by Cook and colleagues [255] at the
Ohio State University. Rather than collecting data on the case itself, these investigators transcribed the discussions
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of interesting cases occurring at a weekly quality assurance conference. They argued that this approach allowed
them to apply a neutral observer criterion to the behavior of the anesthetist. The investigators acknowledged
the risks of hindsight bias and selection bias with this methodology, but they suggested that their technique
provided a unique window on human performance issues.
Fifty-seven cases were analyzed, 21 of which had a full cognitive analysis in the final report. From the presentation
and discussion of a case, the investigators classified evolution of the events into one of five categories: acute
incident, going-sour incident, inevitable outcome incident, difficult-airway incident, and no-incident incident. For
each case, the cognitive analysis was based on using knowledge about the cognitive demands of the task domain
and data about practitioner activities to analyze the practitioner's information-processing strategies and goals,
given the resources and constraints of the situation. The investigators postulated a cognitive cycle as a component
of data-driven activation of knowledge and knowledge-driven observation and action.
Cook and associates [255] called attention to several issues that surfaced in their cognitive analysis of these cases,
including the following:
1. Multiple themes. Many cases involved several lines of concern simultaneously, each of which could have
interacted with another (e.g., tight coupling). Each theme had multiple means available to deal with it.
Maintaining situation awareness was important. The multiple themes sometimes generated competing
or conflicting goals. Adaptive planning (as described in the section on abstract task analysis) was
sometimes required.
2.
Unusual situations. The greatest expertise was seen with infrequent or unusual situations rather than
with typical situations.
3.
Allocation of attention. Allocation of attention to relevant stimuli or to the most important theme was
an important issue. The attentional shifts were not always well supported by existing alarm and display
technologies.
4.
Cognitive workload. Anesthetists attempted to reduce their cognitive workload whenever possible.
5.
Team interaction. Cooperative work, team interaction, and communications issues were problems in
several cases. These stemmed from both individual and organizational failures to coordinate information
and efforts from different organizational components (e.g., ICU and OR, surgeons and anesthesiologists).
Direct Observation of Anesthetists
A team of cognitive scientists and anesthesiologists at the University of Toronto [226] conducted direct observations
of anesthesiologists and obtained verbal think aloud protocols during actual case management. The group in
Tbingen also performed direct observations for their task analysis studies. [247] [328] Devitt and coworkers
performed a study to assess the validity of performance assessment during simulated scenarios. [19]
Video Analysis of Actual Trauma Resuscitation and Anesthesia
Mackenzie and colleagues [358] [359] [360] [361] [362] pioneered in the analysis of actual clinical care of anesthetists
captured on videotape, with a focus on trauma resuscitation and anesthesia for trauma patients at the Maryland
Shock Trauma Unit. Their sophisticated recording system captures audio, video, and vital signs data and requires
only that the clinicians insert a videotape to start the whole system. [363] Analysis of these cases has revealed
inadequacies in the availability and arrangement of monitoring equipment, as well as nonexistent or ambiguous
communication. Meanwhile, a few groups around the world started to use video for task analysis and assessment
of performance for research and training, which is not detailed here. [150] [178] [270] [303] [332] [364] [365] [366] [367]
[368] [369] [370]
Problems faced by all investigators are the lack of an accepted standard for objective or subjective evaluation of
anesthetist performance and the absence of an agreed-on methodology for analyzing and describing anesthetist
performance. Several of the previously mentioned groups are working on methodologies for evaluating technical
and behavioral aspects of performance. * Measurement of complex performance is a difficult problem, and it is
likely to be some time until there is a well-established metric for assessment of performance.
* See references 20 , 79 , 81 , 142 , 143 , 198 , 235 , 244-246 [244] [245] [246], 303 , 314 , and 357 .
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326.. Gurushanthaiah K, Weinger MB, Englund CE: Visual display format affects the ability of anesthesiologists
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331.. Loeb RG: A measure of intraoperative attention to monitor displays. Anesth Analg 1993; 76:337-341.
332.. Manser T, Dieckmann P, Wehner T, Rallf M: Comparison of anaesthetists activity patterns in the operating
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337.. Buerschaper C, Harms H, Hofinger G, Rall M: Problemlsefhigkeiten in der Ansthesie. Forum Qualitative
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339.. Adams JA: Criticisms of vigilance research: A discussion. Hum Factors 1987; 29:737-740.
340.. Beatty J, Ahern SK, Katz R, Mackie RR: Sleep Deprivation and the Vigilance of Anesthesiologists during
Simulated Surgery. New York, Plenum, 1977.
341.. Denisco RA, Drummond JN, Gravenstein JS: The effect of fatigue on the performance of a simulated
anesthetic monitoring task. J Clin Monit 1987; 3:22-24.
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343.. Cooper JO, Cullen BF: Observer reliability in detecting surreptitious random occlusions of the monaural
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347.. Gaba DM, DeAnda A: The response of anesthesia trainees to simulated critical incidents. Anesth
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348.. Loeb RG, Fitch WT: A laboratory evaluation of an auditory display designed to enhance intraoperative
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350.. Morris RW, Montano SR: Response times to visual and auditory alarms during anaesthesia. Anaesth
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351.. Craven RM, McIndoe AK: Continuous auditory monitoringhow much information do we register?. Br J
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352.. Botney R, Gaba DM, Howard SK, Jump B: The role of fixation error in preventing the detection and
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353.. Schwid HA, Rooke GA, Michalowski P, Ross BK: Screen-based anesthesia simulation with debriefing
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354.. Schwid HA, Rooke GA, Ross BK, Sivarajan M: Use of a computerized advanced cardiac life support
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364.. Phipps D, Meakin GH, Beatty PC, et al: Human factors in anaesthetic practice: Insights from a task analysis.
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366.. Undre S, Sevdalis N, Healey AN, et al: Observational teamwork assessment for surgery (OTAS): Refinement
and application in urological surgery. World J Surg 2007; 31:1373-1381.
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power of team performance diagnosis. Aviat Space Environ Med 2007; 78:B77-B85.
368.. Friedman Z, Katznelson R, Devito I, et al: Objective assessment of manual skills and proficiency in
performing epidural anesthesiavideo-assisted validation. Reg Anesth Pain Med 2006; 31:304-310.
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Development and use of a black-box recorder and other tools for the intraoperative environment. J Am Coll
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Saf Health Care 2004; 13:136-144.
Appendix 1 Links and Useful Resources
Links
Links to Patient Safety and CRM Resources
http://www.npsf.org/
www.patientsafety.gov
(VA)
http://www.jcaho.org/
www.npsa.nhs.uk
http://anesthesia.stanford.edu/VASimulator
www.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/psz
Links to Different Incident Reporting Systems
www.npsa.nhs.uk/health/reporting
www.pasis.de
www.pasos-ains.de
www.cirrnet.ch
www.cirsmedical.org
http://psrs.arc.nasa.gov/
Pronovost's ICUSRS [75]
Valuable Sources
WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety
WHO Draft Guidelines for Adverse Event Reporting and Learning SystemsFrom
Information to Action als pdf
www.who.int/patientsafety/events/05/Reporting_Guidelines.pdf
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Patient Safety Reporting System

http://www.psrs.arc.nasa.gov
U.S. Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act
USA http://www.pso.ahrq.gov/psos/overview.htm
Root-Cause Analysis Tools
www.va.gov/ncps/rca.html
. 2005.
www.npsa.nhs.uk/health/resources/root_cause_analysis/
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis Tools
www.va.gov/ncps/HFMEA.html . 2005.
7 Patient Simulation
Marcus Rall,
David M. Gaba,
Peter Dieckmann,
Christoph Eich
Key Points
1.
Simulators and the use of simulation have become an integral part of medical education, training, and
research. The pace of developments and applications is very fast, and the results are promising.
2.
Different types of simulators can be distinguished: computer-based or screen-based microsimulators

versus mannequin-based simulators. The latter can be divided into script-based and model-based
simulators.
3.
The development of mobile and less expensive simulator models allows for substantial expansion of
simulator training to areas where this training could not be applied or afforded previously. The biggest
obstacles to providing simulation training are not the simulator hardware but are (1) obtaining access to
the learner population for the requisite time and (2) providing appropriately trained and skilled
instructors to prepare, conduct, and evaluate the simulation sessions.
4.
Realistic simulations are a useful method to show mechanisms of error development (human factors) and
to provide their countermeasures. The anesthesia crisis resource management (ACRM) course model
with its ACRM key points (see Chapter 6 on Crisis Resource Management) is the de facto world standard
for human factorbased simulator training. Curricula should use scenarios that are tailored to the stated
teaching goals, rather than focusing solely on achieving maximum realism.
5.
Simulator training is being adapted by many other fields outside anesthesia (e.g., emergency medicine,
neonatal care, intensive care, medical and nursing school).
6.
Simulators have proved to be very valuable in research to study human behavior and failure modes
under conditions of critical incidents and in the development of new treatment concepts (telemedicine)
and in support of the biomedical industry (e.g., device beta-testing).
7.
Simulators can be used as effective research tools for studying methods of performance assessment.
8.
Assessment of nontechnical skills (or behavioral markers) has evolved considerably and can be
accomplished with a reliability that likely matches that of many other subjective judgments in patient
care. Systems for rating nontechnical skills have been introduced and tested in anesthesia; one in
particular (Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills [ANTS]) has been studied extensively and has been
modified for other fields.
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The most important part of simulator training that goes beyond specific technical skills is the selfreflective (often video-assisted) debriefing session after the scenario. The debriefing is influenced most
strongly by the quality of the instructor, not the fidelity of the simulator.
10. Simulators are just the tools for an effective learning experience. The education and training,
commitment, and overall ability of the instructors are of utmost importance.
How can clinicians experience the difficulties of patient care without putting patients at undue risk? How can we
assess the abilities of clinicians as individuals and teams when each patient is unique? These are questions that
have challenged medicine for years. In recent years, these and related questions have begun to be answered in
health care by the application of approaches new to medicine, but borrowed from years of successful service in
other industries facing similar problems. These approaches focus on simulation, a technique well known in the
military, aviation, space flight, and nuclear power industries.
Simulation refers to the artificial replication of sufficient elements of a real-world domain to achieve a stated goal.
The goals can include understanding the domain better, training personnel to deal with the domain, or testing the
capacity of personnel to work in the domain. The fidelity of a simulation refers to how closely it replicates the
domain and is determined by the number of elements that are replicated and the discrepancy between each
element and the real world. The fidelity required depends on the stated goals. Some goals can be achieved with
minimal fidelity, whereas others require very high fidelity.
Simulation has probably been a part of human activity since prehistoric times. Rehearsal for hunting activities
and warfare was most likely an occasion for simulating the behavior of prey or enemy warriors. Technologic
simulation probably dates back to the dawn of technology itself. Good and Gravenstein [1] pointed to the medieval
quintain as a technologic device that crudely simulated the behavior of an opponent during sword fighting. If the
swordsman did not duck at the appropriate time after striking a blow, he would be hit by a component of the
quintain. In modern times, preparation for warfare has been an equally powerful spur to the development of
simulation technologies, especially for aviation, shipping, and the operation of armored vehicles. These
technologies have been adopted by their civilian counterparts, but they have attained their most extensive use in
commercial aviation.
Simulation in Aviation
Although some aircraft simulators were built between 1910 and 1927, none of them could provide the proper feel
of the aircraft because they could not dynamically reproduce its behavior. In 1930, Link filed a patent for a
pneumatically driven aircraft simulator. The Link Trainer was a standard for flight training before World War
II, but the war accelerated its use and the further development of flight simulators. In the 1950s, electronic
controls replaced pneumatic ones through analog, digital, and hybrid computers. The aircraft simulator achieved
its modern form in the late 1960s, but it has been continuously refined. Aviation simulators are so realistic now
that pilots with experience flying one aircraft are routinely certified to fly totally new or different aircraft, even if
they have never flown the actual aircraft without passengers on board. Similar stories of the development of
simulators can be told for numerous other industries.
Uses of Simulators
Although simulators originally were used to provide basic instruction on the operation of aircraft controls, the
variety of uses of simulators in general has expanded greatly. Table 7-1 lists possible uses of simulators in all types
of complex work situations. Simulation is a powerful generic tool for dealing with human performance issues (e.g.,
training, testing, and research) (see Chapter 6 ), for investigating human-machine interactions, and for the design
and validation of equipment. As described later in this chapter, each of these uses is potentially relevant to
anesthesiology. A few books are devoted solely to the topic of simulation and their use in and outside of
anesthesia. [2] [3] [4]
Table 7-1 -- Use of Simulators in Complex Work Environments
Team training, as human factor or CRM training
Training in dynamic plant control
Training in diagnostic skills
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Dynamic mockup for design evaluation

Test bed for checking operating instructions
Environment in which task analysis can be conducted (e.g., on diagnostic strategies)
Test bed for new applications (e.g., telemedicine tools such as the Guardian-Angel-System)
Source of data on human errors relevant to risk and reliability assessment
Vehicle for (compulsory) testing/assessment and recertification of operators
Adapted from Singleton WT: The Mind at Work. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989.
CRM, Crisis resource management.
Twelve Dimensions of Simulation
Current and future applications of simulation can be categorized by 12 dimensions, each of which represents a
different attribute of simulation ( Fig. 7-1 ). [5] Some dimensions have a clear gradient and direction, whereas
others have only categorical differences. The total number of unique combinations across all the dimensions is
very large (on the order of 4 12 to 5 12 4 million to 48 million). Some combinations overlap strongly with others,
and some are inappropriate or irrelevant, so the actual number of meaningful combinations is much lower.
Nonetheless, although the demonstrated applications of simulation in health care have been quite diverse, the
space of possible applications (a large number, although quite a bit smaller than millions) has by no means been
fully examined.
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Figure 7-1 The 12 dimensions of simulation applications (10 to 12 shown on next page). Any particular application can be represented as a point or range on each
spectrum (shown by diamonds). This figure illustrates a specific applicationmultidisciplinary CRM-oriented decision making and teamwork training for adult
intensive care unit personnel. CRM, crises resource management; ED, emergency department; ICU, intensive care unit; OR, operating room. *These terms are
used according to Miller's pyramid of learning.
Dimension 1: Purpose and Aims of the Simulation Activity
The most obvious application of simulation is to improve the education and training of clinicians, but other
purposes also are important. As used in this chapter, education emphasizes conceptual knowledge, basic skills, and
an introduction to work practices. Training emphasizes the actual tasks and work to be performed. Simulation can
be used to assess performance and competency of individual clinicians and teams, for low-stakes or formative
testing and (to a lesser degree as yet) for high-stakes certification testing. [6] [7] Simulation rehearsals are now
being explored as adjuncts to actual clinical practice; for example, surgeons or an entire operative team can
rehearse an unusually complex operation in advance using a simulation of the specific patient. [8] [9] [10]
Simulators can be powerful tools for research and evaluation, concerning organizational practices (patient care
protocols) and for the investigation of human factors (e.g., of performance-shaping factors, such as fatigue, [11] or
of the user interface and operation of medical equipment in high hazard clinical settings [12] ). Simulation-based
empirical tests of the usability of clinical equipment already have been used in designing equipment that is
currently for sale; ultimately, such practices may be required by regulatory agencies before approval of new
devices.
Simulation can be a bottom up tool for changing the culture of health care concerning patient safety. First, it
allows hands-on training of junior and senior clinicians about practices that enact the desired culture of
safety. [13] Simulation also can be a rallying point about culture change and patient safety that can bring together
experienced clinicians from various disciplines and domains (who may be captured because the simulations are
clinically challenging) along with health care administrators, risk managers, and experts on human factors,
organizational behavior, or institutional change.
Dimension 2: Unit of Participation in the Simulation
Many simulation applications are targeted at individuals. These may be especially useful for teaching knowledge
and basic skills or for practice on specific psychomotor tasks. As in other high hazard industries, individual skill is
a fundamental building block, but a considerable emphasis is applied at higher organizational levels, in various
forms of teamwork and interpersonal relations (often summarized under the rubric of crisis resource management
(CRM) adapted from aviation cockpit resource management) (more on human factors and CRM concepts, see
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Chapter 6 ). [14] [18] CRM is based on empirical findings that individual performance is not sufficient to achieve
optimal safety. [15] Team training may be addressed first to crews (also known as single discipline teams),
consisting of multiple individuals from a single discipline, and then to teams (or multidisciplinary teams). [16] There
are advantages and disadvantages to addressing teamwork in the single discipline approach that trains crews to
work in teams versus the combined team training of multiple disciplines together. [21] For maximal benefit,
these approaches are used in a complementary fashion.
Teams exist in actual work units in an organization (e.g., a specific intensive care unit [ICU]), each of which is
its own target for training. There also is growing interest and experience in applying simulation to nonclinical
personnel and work units in health care organizations (e.g., to managers or executives) [22] and to organizations as
a whole (e.g., entire hospitals or networks).
Dimension 3: Experience Level of Simulation Participants
Simulation can be applied along the entire continuum of education of clinical personnel and the public at large. It
can be used with early learners, such as schoolchildren, or lay adults to facilitate bioscience instruction, to interest
individuals in biomedical careers, or to explain health care issues and practices. The major role of simulation has
been, and will continue to be, to educate, train, and provide rehearsal for individuals actually involved in the
delivery of health care. Simulation is relevant from the earliest level of vocational or professional education
(students) and during apprenticeship training (interns and residents), and increasingly for experienced personnel
undergoing periodic refresher training. Simulation can be applied regularly to practicing clinicians (as
individuals, teams, or organizations) regardless of their seniority, [17] [18] providing an integrated accumulation of
experiences that should have a long-term synergism.
Dimension 4: Health Care Domain in Which the Simulation Is Applied
Simulation techniques can be applied across nearly all health care domains. Although much of the attention on
simulation has focused on technical and procedural skills applicable in surgery, [11] [20] [21] [22] obstetrics, [23] [24]
invasive cardiology, [25] [26] and other related fields, another bastion of simulation has been recreating whole
patients for dynamic domains involving high hazard and invasive intervention, such as anesthesia, [27] [28] critical
care, [29] [30] and emergency medicine. [31] [32] [33] [34] Immersive techniques can be used in imaging-intensive
domains, such as radiology and pathology, and interactive simulations are relevant in the interventional sides of
such arenas. [35] In many domains, simulation techniques have been useful for addressing nontechnical skills and
professionalism issues, such as communicating with patients and coworkers, or addressing issues such as ethics or
end-of-life care.
Dimension 5: Health Care Disciplines of Personnel Participating in the Simulation
Simulation is applicable to all disciplines of health care, not only to physicians. In anesthesiology, simulation has
been applied to anesthesiologists, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, and anesthesia technicians. Simulation
is not limited to clinical personnel. It also may be directed at managers, executives, hospital trustees, regulators,
and legislators. For these groups, simulation can convey the complexities of clinical work, and it can be used to
exercise and probe the organizational practices of clinical institutions at multiple levels.
Dimension 6: Type of Knowledge, Skill, Attitudes, or Behavior Addressed in Simulation
Simulations can be used to help learners acquire new knowledge and to understand conceptual relations and
dynamics better. Today physiologic simulations allow students to watch cardiovascular and respiratory functions
unfold over time and respond to interventionsin essence making textbooks, diagrams, and graphs come alive.
The next step on the spectrum is acquisition of skills to accompany knowledge. Some skills follow immediately
from conceptual knowledge (e.g., cardiac auscultation), whereas others involve intricate and complex psychomotor
activities (e.g., catheter placement or basic surgical skills). Isolated skills must be assembled into a new layer of
clinical practices. An understanding of the concepts of general surgery cannot be combined only with basic
techniques of dissecting and suturing or manipulation of instruments to create a capable laparoscopic surgeon.
Basic skills must be integrated into actual clinical techniques, a process for which simulation may have
considerable power, especially because it can readily provide experience with even uncommon anatomic or clinical
presentations. In the current health care system, for most invasive procedures, novices at a task typically first
perform the task on a real patient, albeit under some degree of supervision. They climb the learning curve, working
on patients with varying levels of guidance. Simulation offers the possibility of having novices practice extensively
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before they begin to work on real patients as supervised apprentices.

In this way and others, simulation is applicable to clinicians throughout their careers to support lifelong learning.
It can be used to refresh skills for procedures that are not performed often. Knowledge, skills, and practices honed
as individuals must be linked into effective teamwork in diverse clinical teams, which must operate safely in work
units and larger organizations. [36] [37] [38] Perpetual rehearsal of responses to challenging events is needed
because the team or organization must be practiced in handling them as a coherent unit.
Dimension 7: Age of the Patient Being Simulated
Simulation is applicable to nearly every type and age of patient literally from cradle to grave. Simulation may
be particularly useful for pediatric patients and clinical activities because neonates and infants have smaller
physiologic reserves than most adults. [40] [41] Fully interactive neonatal and pediatric patient simulators are now
available. Simulation also addresses issues of the elderly and end-of-life issues for every age.
Dimension 8: Technology Applicable or Required for Simulations
To accomplish these goals, various technologies (including no technology) are relevant for simulation. Verbal
simulations (what if discussions), paper and pencil exercises, and experiences with standardized patient
actors [41] [42] [43] require no technology, but can effectively evoke or recreate challenging clinical situations.
Similarly, very low technologyeven pieces of fruit or simple dollscan be used for training in some manual
tasks. Certain aspects of complex tasks and experiences can be recreated successfully with little technology. Some
education and training on teamwork can be accomplished with role playing, analysis of videos, or drills with
simple mannequins. [44]
Ultimately, learning and practicing complex manual skills (e.g., surgery, cardiac catheterization) or practicing the
dynamic management of life-threatening clinical situations that include risky or noxious interventions (e.g.,
intubation or defibrillation) can only be fully accomplished using either animalswhich for reasons of cost and
issues of animal rights is becoming very difficultor a technologic means to recreate the patient and the clinical
environment. The different types of simulation technologies relevant to anesthesiology are discussed later in this
chapter.
Dimension 9: Site of Simulation Participation
Some types of simulationthose that use videos, computer programs, or the Webcan be conducted in the
privacy of the learner's home or office using his or her own equipment. More advanced screen-based simulators
might need more powerful computer facilities available in a medical library or learning center. Part-task trainers
and virtual reality simulators are usually fielded in a dedicated skills laboratory. Mannequin-based simulation
also can be used in a skills laboratory, although the more complex recreations of actual clinical tasks require
either a dedicated patient simulation center with fully equipped replicas of clinical spaces or the ability to bring
the simulator into an actual work setting (in-situ simulation). There are advantages and disadvantages to doing
clinical simulations in situ versus in a dedicated center. Using the actual site allows training of the entire unit with
all its personnel, procedures, and equipment. There would at best be limited availability of actual clinical sites,
and the simulation activity may distract from real patient care work. The dedicated simulation center is a more
controlled and available environment, allowing more comprehensive recording of sessions, and imposing no
distraction on real activities. For large-scale simulations (e.g., disaster drills), the entire organization becomes the
site of training.
Video conferencing and advanced networking may allow even advanced types of simulation to be conducted
remotely (see dimension 10 ). The collaborative use of virtual reality surgical simulators in real time already has
been shown, even with locations that are separated by thousands of miles (see later for more on Site of Simulator).
Dimension 10: Extent of Direct Participation in Simulation
Most simulationseven screen-based simulators or part-task trainerswere initially envisioned as highly

interactive activities with significant direct on-site hands-on participation. Not all learning requires direct
participation, however. Some learning can occur merely by viewing a simulation involving others, as one can
readily imagine being in the shoes of the participants. A further step is to involve the remote viewers either in the
simulation itself or in debriefings about what transpired. Several centers have been using videoconferencing to
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conduct simulation-based exercises, including morbidity and mortality conferences. [45] Because the simulator can
be paused, restarted, or otherwise controlled, the remote audience can readily obtain more information from the
on-site participants, debate the proper course of action, and discuss with those in the simulator how best to
proceed.
Dimension 11: Feedback Method Accompanying Simulation
Similar to real life, one can learn a great deal just from simulation experiences themselves, without any additional
feedback. For many simulations, specific feedback is provided to maximize learning. On screen-based simulators
or virtual reality systems, the simulator itself can provide feedback about the participant's actions or decisions,
[46] particularly for manual tasks where clear metrics of performance are readily delineated. [47] [48] More
commonly, human instructors provide feedback. This can be as simple as having the instructor review records of
previous sessions that the learner has completed alone. For many target populations and applications, an
instructor provides real-time guidance and feedback to participants while the simulation is going on. The ability to
start, pause, and restart the simulation can be valuable. For the most complex uses of simulation, especially when
training experienced personnel, the typical form of feedback is a detailed postsimulation debriefing session, often
using audio-video recordings of the scenario. Waiting until after the scenario is finished allows experienced
personnel to apply their collective skills without interruption, and then allows them to see and discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of their behaviors, decisions, and actions.
Dimension 12: Organizational, Professional, and Societal Embedding of Simulation
Another important dimension is the degree to which the simulation application is embedded into an organization
or industry. [19] Being highly embedded may mean that the simulation is a formal requirement of the institution or
is mandated by the governmental regulator. Another aspect of embedding would be thatfor early learnersthe
initial (steep) part of the learning curve would be required to occur in a simulation setting before the learners are
allowed to work on real patients under supervision. Also, complete embedding of simulation into the workplace
would mean that simulation training is a normal part of the work schedule, rather than being an add-on activity
attended in the spare time of clinicians.
Conceptual Issues about Patient Simulation
The key is the programme, not the hardware, was a truth about simulation learned early in aviation. Using
simulators in a goal-oriented way is equally or more about the conceptual aspects of the technique than it is about
the technology of the simulation devices. An understanding of the conceptual and theoretical aspects of the use of
simulation techniques can be helpful for determining the right applications of the technique and the important
matchups that must be made in the design and conduct of simulation exercises to get the best results. When used
most effectively, simulation can beto borrow a line from the band U2even better than the real thing. [20]
The concepts discussed in this section concern the nature of realism and reality as they apply to simulation,
and the way that these issues relate to the goals of simulation endeavors to generate a complex social undertaking.
The ideas and concepts presented here are largely contributed by Peter Dieckmann and his adaptation of broader
psychological concepts to simulation in medicine.
Reality and Realism of Simulation
Unless we are dreaming about it or we are an unrepentant solipsist, a simulation exercise is always real (it is
actually happening), but it may or may not be a realistic replication of the reality that is the target of the
exercise. Realism addresses the question of how closely a replication of a situation resembles the target. A key
distinction is between a simulator (a device) and a simulation (the exercise in which the device is used). A simulator
could be indistinguishable from a real human being (e.g., a standardized patient actor) and yet be used in an
implausible and useless fashion. Conversely, certain kinds of realism (see later) can be evoked by simulation
exercises that use very simple simulators or even no simulator at all (as in role-playing when the participants in a
sense become the simulator). Merely creating a realistic simulation does not guarantee that it would have any
meaning or utility (e.g., learning). [21] [22] A closely related aspect concerns the question of relevance and the
social character of simulation.
Three Distinct Dimensions for Simulation Realism
A lot has been written about simulator and simulation realism using a variety of terms and concepts that are
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subtly different and often overlapping. These include physical fidelity (the device replicates physical aspects of the
human body), environmental fidelity (the simulation room looks like an operating room), equipment fidelity (the
clinical equipment works like or is the real thing), and psychological fidelity [23] (the simulation evokes behaviors
similar to the real situation), and a variety of forms of validity, such as face validity (looks and feels real to
participants), content validity (the exercise covers content relevant to the target situation), construct validity (the
simulation can replicate performance or behavior according to predefined constructs about work in real
situations), and predictive validity (performance during a simulation exercise predicts performance in an analogous
real situation). [24] [25]
The results of studies trying to investigate roots and effects of simulation realism are not conclusive partly
because they may each concentrate on a different aspect of this complex whole. It is simply not true that maximum
realism is either needed or desired for every type of simulation endeavor. For some applications with some
target populations, it can be highly advantageous to reduce the realism to heighten the learning experience. [26]
In 2007, we published an article attempting to clarify some issues about realism, reality, relevance, and the
purposes of conducting simulations. [21] We applied the model of thinking about reality by the German
psychologist Laucken to the realism of simulation. [21] Laucken described three modes of thinkingphysical,
semantical, and phenomenal, which have been renamed physical, conceptual, and emotional and experiential
modes by colleagues in Boston. [27]
Physical Mode
The physical mode concerns aspects of the simulation that can be measured in fundamental physical and chemical
terms and dimensions (e.g., centimeters, grams, and seconds). The weight of the mannequin, the force generated
during chest compressions, and the duration of a scenario all are physical aspects of the simulation reality.
Existing simulator mannequins have many unrealistic physical elements despite their roughly human shape:
they are made of plastic, not flesh and bone; they may have unusual mechanical noises detectable during
auscultation of the chest; the skin does not change color. Some physical properties are not readily detectable
and can be manipulated. Some clinical equipment used in mannequin-based simulation is fully functional and
physically identical to the real thing, although in some cases functional physical limitations may have been
introduced for convenience or for safety. [24] Labeled syringes may contain only water instead of opioids, or a real
defibrillator may have been modified so that it does not actually deliver a shock (one manufacturer sells a
Hollywood defibrillator). That certain physical properties and functions have been altered is not usually
apparent to participants, at least without special briefings or labels.
Semantical Mode
The semantical mode of thinking concerns concepts and their relationships. Within the semantical mode, a
simulation of hemorrhage might be described in conceptual terms as bleeding of flow rate X beginning at time Y
occurring at site Z and associated with a blood pressure of B that is a decrease from the prior value of A. In this
mode of thinking, it is irrelevant how the information is transmitted or represented. The same pieces of
information could be represented using a vital signs monitor, a verbal description, or the tactile perception of
decreasingly palpable pulses. The semantical recoding of physical objects is the cornerstone of simulation. It allows
the simulation exercise to represent a real situation, and it allows water-filled syringes to be treated as if they
contain a drug.
Phenomenal Mode
The phenomenal mode deals with the experience, including emotions and beliefs triggered by the situation. For
many purposes, providing high phenomenal realism is the key goal, and the physical realism and semantic realism
are merely means to this end.
Relevance versus Reality
A naive view of simulation would suggest that greater realism in all modes would lead to better achievement of the
goals of simulation; this view has been criticized repeatedly. [23] [28] [29] Simulation is a complex social endeavor,
conducted with different target populations for different purposes. The relevance of a simulation exercise
concerns the match between the characteristics of the exercise and the reasons for which the exercise is conducted.
Different elements of realism are emphasized or sacrificed to maximize the relevance of a simulation exercise.
When training on invasive procedures, it is typical to forgo phenomenal realism and emphasize physical and
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semantic realism so that psychomotor skills can be the focus.

Semantic realism may be sacrificed, especially to help early learners. Situations that might become lethal (e.g.,
trigger a cardiac arrest) very quickly may be slowed down so that inexperienced clinicians can try to think their
way out of the problem. If such a situation were allowed to evolve at its normal speed, it would transition to the
management of a cardiac arrest before the participants could deal with the original problem. Other realismsacrificing strategies for early learners include cognitive scaffolding, providing various forms of assistance or
cues to help them as they struggle with decision making and therapy selection. It is important to select which
aspects of the simulation are the most relevant to reach the training goal and should be focused on in terms of
optimizing their realism in the different modes.
Setting of the Simulation Exercise
Simulation exercises have a purpose and are generally integrated into a larger training context (often a course or a
series of exercises), which influences how they are conducted, how they are perceived by participants, and what
kind of effects they might have. This context has been called the simulation setting. The typical elements of the
simulation setting are discussed next and shown graphically in Figure 7-2 .
Figure 7-2 The simulator setting. A simulation course consists of different modules or different phases (e.g., setting introduction, simulator familiarization,
scenarios, debriefings). This figure shows a typical flow for a course with repeated loops back from debriefing to case briefing for each scenario. The different
modules are interrelated, and problems arising in one module can affect other modules (thin arrows). For example, it might be difficult to conduct an open,
constructive debriefing if the scenario was irrelevant, or the simulator briefing was insufficient, and or the instructor did not succeed in creating an open
atmosphere in the beginning of the course. (Courtesy of Peter Dieckmann.)
Setting introduction (SI): The introduction delivers general information on how the exercise will be
conducted, logistical information, and some of the known pitfalls of the course. Through this introduction
and other components of the course, group norms are established explicitly and implicitly.
Simulator briefing (SB) or familiarization: Participants need to be familiar with the simulator and the
simulated environment via explanations, demonstrations, and hands-on time. They learn how to use the
simulator, what it can and cannot do, what is normal (e.g., normal breath sounds), and how they can
interact with the environment (e.g., how to call for help, how to request information about the patient
that is not directly available in the simulation environment). The familiarization session also is an
opportunity for participants to practice the information gathering they must conduct when first entering
a new work environment (e.g., for locum tenens practice).
Theory input (T): Most exercises have didactic and theory components on relevant content information.
Sometimes this material is made available in advance via readings or online exercises. It may be
presented before or after a simulation session. Sometimes there are didactic or group-work modules put
in place at different junctures of the course or series.
Breaks (B): For complex courses (e.g., anesthesia crisis resource management [ACRM]), breaks are
important for socialization between participants and with instructors. It also is a venue for informal
sharing and storytelling.
Case briefing (C): In many simulation scenarios, participants receive a briefing about the upcoming case.
Sometimes this is done explicitly before entering the scenario; sometimes it is embedded into a natural
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hand-off of the case from one clinician to another.

Simulation scenario (S): Most simulation exercises involve a scenario that posits a given clinical situation
and challenges to be posed for participants to deal with. Commonly, the possible evolutions of the
scenario are delineated by instructors in advance, although occasionally an intrinsically challenging
situation is started and then allowed to play out naturally depending on how the participants react.
Debriefing (D): Most scenarios are followed by some form of debriefing or feedback. In some courses,
there is only minimal feedback, whereas in others there is a dedicated debriefing session (as long or
longer than the scenario itself) after each scenario. (See the section on debriefing for more detail.)
Ending (E): Especially for multiple-scenario courses, there may be a separate final session to end the
course. This is an opportunity to summarize issues that were covered, to address questions, and to
consider how best to apply the principles covered to real patient care.
Components of a course are expected to have a cumulative effect. Similarly, problems in early portions of a course
(e.g., inability to create an open learning atmosphere during the introduction) can carry over into later phases.
Inadequate familiarization briefings leave participants confused as they try to perform clinical work with the
patient replaced by a mannequin.
Site of Simulation
Over more than 20 years of experience in simulation, many different variants of simulation have evolved. One
particularly rich set of variations is on the site of simulation. The types of sites currently in use are described;
the advantages and disadvantages of each are summarized in Table 7-2 . Many of these variants are not mutually
exclusive and can be combined in different hybrids. They are often administratively linkeda simulation group
that operates a dedicated center often also conducts in-situ, mobile, and moving patient simulation exercises at
various times for different target populations and applications.
Table 7-2 -- Site of Simulation
Site of
Explanation
Simulation
Dedicated
center
Advantages
Fixed facility not part of

Equipment permanently
an actual clinical work unit installed
Disadvantages
Cannot recreate exact work unit,
equipment, supplies of diverse
target populations
Facilitates complex audiovisual May be hard for clinicians to be

systems
free to attend training
Easy to schedule
Personnel not readily drafted
for clinical work
Does not interfere with actual
clinical work
Multipurpose
Temporary in
situ
Actual work unit;

temporary setup and
takedown
Real clinical site
Hard to schedulemay need site

for clinical use
Probe or train personnel in

their actual work unit, using
real equipment and supplies
Interferes with actual clinical

work; personnel readily drafted
to return to clinical work
Great effort of setup and

Clinicians can readily attend in
takedown; minimal audiovisual
proximity to their work
system
Residential in
situ
Actual work unit;

permanent facility
Same as temporary in situ
Costly to create permanent

simulation bed in clinical work
unit
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May distract from real clinical

work, personnel may be drafted
Patient
movement
simulations
Mobile
simulation
Transport from site to site

is simulated
Simulation systems and

instructor crew travel to
client (or neutral) sites
Transport itself is challenging

clinical work
Requires multiple simulation

sites
Replicates natural flow of

patients and handoffs between
teams
Portable wireless simulators

have some technologic
limitations
Brings simulation expertise to

Transport costs can be high
those who cannot or wish not to
(driver, fuel, vehicle)
invest in it themselves
For in-situ use, all advantages
thereof
For in-situ use, all disadvantages

thereof plus even greater effort
for setup and takedown
Dedicated Simulation Center
One or more simulators are used in a dedicated simulation facility, typically in rooms that can partially or fully
replicate, in a relatively generic fashion, various clinical environments (e.g., operating room, ICU, labor and
delivery, emergency department). (For more details see the section on Charactistics of Simulation Centers
discussed later.)
In-Situ Simulation
In-situ simulation is conducted in an actual clinical workplace; the simulator replaces a patient. In-situ
simulation is a necessity in the absence of a dedicated center, and can be used in any clinical environment. It is
especially useful for unusual workplaces that are difficult to recreate realistically in a simulation center, such as a
catheterization laboratory, computed tomography scanner, ambulances, or air rescue aircraft (Figs. 7-3 to 7-9
[0030] [0040] [0050] [0060] [0070] [0080] [0090]). Most in-situ simulation is performed mobile as a temporary
setup, but increasingly in-situ simulation is established as residential simulation, in which a simulator is
permanently installed in a clinical workplace (e.g., creating a simulation-specific room in the actual ICU.
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Figure 7-3 In-situ mobile simulation in a catheterization laboratory. The simulator is placed on the catheterization laboratory tables, surrounded by the x-ray
machines, complicating the treatment of the patient by limiting space. The vital sign monitor is connected to the real monitors, providing relevant data to the
catheterization laboratory team. The simulator is controlled from the catheterization laboratory control room. Multiple mobile cameras and a scan converter for
the vital signs provide a live video transmission to a temporary debriefing area for the nonactive part of the training group and allow for CRM-based debriefings.
CRM, crisis resource management. (Picture by team TuPASS, taken at University Hospital, Tbingen, Germany.)
Figure 7-4 In-situ mobile simulation in a dentist chair. The simulator was equipped with artificial teeth gum and a chalk tooth preparation to drill, simulating
the dentist's procedures (give anesthetic or drilling). Then emergencies developed, and the team response was trained focusing on CRM key points and important
medical aspects, including automated external defibrillator use. CRM, crisis resource management. (Picture by team TuPASS, taken at University Hospital,
Tbingen, Germany.)
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Figure 7-5 In-situ mobile simulation team training in an ambulance. The limitations regarding space to work and move around inside an ambulance are very
important. This represents a classic need for in-situ training of prehospital teams (in Germany consisting of three paramedics and a prehospital emergency
physician). Also, take-over scenarios (e.g., the helicopter team is taking over a patient from the ground-based team) are a challenge for CRM expertise (e.g.,
information transfer and continuous patient treatment). CRM, crisis resource management. (Picture by team TuPASS, taken at one of the German Air Rescue
centers, Germany.)
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Figure 7-6 In-situ mobile simulation team training in a helicopter. The mobile simulation control room with several cameras and microphones is set up outside
the helicopter, also providing a multiperspective view inside to monitor the scenario and react to activities performed. (Picture by team TuPASS at the German Air
Rescue/TuPASS training site at Airmed 2008.)
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Figure 7-7 A, In-situ mobile simulation training in a simulated apartment for prehospital teams. The apartment (living space) scenarios are very common for
prehospital teams, requiring adaptation to the local space availability and other circumstances (e.g., bystanders, dogs). B, Emergency department simulation with
the prehospital team handing over a patient to the hospital staffalways a phase of high-demand and goal-oriented interactions. From a CRM-training
perspective, this scenario is a very good opportunity to highlight problems and unsafe practices (in the sense of high reliability), and to show good team
performances using video clips of a scenario. CRM, crisis resource management. (A, Picture by team TuPASS at a CRM training session with the South Tyrolian
White Cross in Bolzano, Italy. B, During an instructor training course at TuPASS, Germany.)
Figure 7-8 In-situ mobile simulation in an intensive care unit (ICU)/intermediate medical care unit location. The training in actual clinical areas also is especially
useful for ICU-like surroundings. CRM-based trainings are very important to highlight the highly complex problems and interactions needed to coordinate high-
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performing ICU teams. The training also allows for checking the local arrangement of equipment and possibilities to react to certain emergencies. There are
already a few examples of residential in-situ simulation in ICUs (see text). (Picture by team TuPASS.)
Figure 7-9 In-situ mobile CRM-focused simulation team training inside an actual operating room. The figure shows the debriefing room temporarily set up in an
induction room. The use of videos for debriefing (here on a 42-inch flat panel placed over the basin) is highly recommended. Training inside a hospital often
includes training actual teams and training a large proportion of employees with the same set-up. These mass training sessions seem to offer a much larger
impact and longer lasting effects of the lessons learned, including CRM behaviors (see text on subthreshold training). (Picture by team TuPASS who performed at
a full team training of the Anesthesia department at Steinenberg Medical Center, Reutlingen, Germany.)
Moving Patient Simulation
The advent of completely portable and wireless simulators supports exercises in which the simulated patient can
be moved from one clinical site to another. The patient could be brought into the emergency department by
ambulance; taken to a computed tomography scanner, interventional radiology, or operating room; and finally
transferred to an ICU. Under what circumstances such movements are worth the effort remains to be determined.
Mobile Simulation: Have SimulatorWill Travel
Mobile simulation means the simulator and the audiovisual gear are moved (made mobile) outside the originating
institution for purposes of the simulation event. In other words, the simulator comes to the participants. Mobile
simulation can be conducted as in-situ simulation in an actual site of a remote client institution, by setting up for
simulation in conference rooms or hotel meeting rooms, or by having a simulation facility built into a truck or bus.
The built-in mobile facility saves time in setup and takedown, It also is possible to conduct field exercises setting
up the simulator outside (e.g., in a parking lot or athletic field).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Approaches
The advantages and disadvantages of different approaches are summarized in Table 7-2 . For sites that lack a
dedicated simulation center, there is no practical alternative to either engage in in-situ simulation or to be a client
for mobile simulation. Simulation in the dedicated center facilitates scheduled training and use of complex
audiovisual gear. Simulators can be preset, tested, and ready to go. Briefing and debriefing facilities are
immediately at hand. In a dedicated center, it is common to use inexpensive discarded, flawed, or outdated clinical
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equipment and supplies. The major disadvantage to a dedicated center is that regardless of how well equipped it
is, it can never replicate the equipment, layout, and clinical processes of actual clinical workplaces. Also,
participants know that they are in a simulation center, which may alter their demeanor and reduce the impact of
training.
In-situ simulation seems ideal in that it probes and challenges personnel and systems as they actually exist,
unmasking real issues of patient care. It is available, in principle, to all sites, even those without a dedicated center,
and is conducive to short courses and unannounced mock event drills. In-situ simulation has disadvantages,
however. It is difficult to organize, schedule, and control. The clinical area planned for simulation may not be
vacant or may be needed on short notice. The simulations can be distracting to real patient care surrounding
them, and the staff engaged in the simulation are prone to being pulled to clinical duty, and there may be constant
interruptions of the training sessions. Most clinical supplies must be taken from the stocks of the work unit in
order to prevent mix-ups with outdated simulation supplies, adding expense. There are major limitations to the
audiovisual gear that can be deployed in a real clinical site. A permanent in-situ facility could provide the best of
both worlds. Such an arrangement offers unique opportunities, such as the ability to replay immediately
difficult cases in the simulator next door, the possibility to use low workload times for spur-of-the-moment
simulation sessions, and the ability to conduct long-term simulations (team members responsible for a simulated
ICU patient over days or weeks). The major drawback to this approach is that to address diverse clinical domains
requires such a site in every domain, and this could be extremely costly.
Team Training, Single Discipline, and Crews
Each discipline in health care can be considered a crew containing one or more individuals. Several crews may
work together closely as a team. The operating room team consists of an anesthesia crew, a surgery crew, and a
nursing crew (and crews of technicians and support personnel).
Further complementarity exists regarding the homogeneity of the target population in simulations. When the
simulation is intended to go beyond specific medical and technical skills for individuals (as in crisis resource
managementoriented simulations) and to involve nontechnical skills and teamwork, we distinguish between
single-discipline approaches (training crews to work in teams) and true combined-team (multidisciplinary)
training.
The importance of teamwork and team training is widely accepted, [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] although it is still not
widely implemented. The prerequisites for effective teamwork (e.g., team leadership, mutual performance
monitoring, backup behavior, adaptability and team orientation, [35] and the concept of team cognition) are
discussed in Chapter 6 .
Single Discipline
Training for single-discipline crews (e.g., anesthesiologists) involves curricula in which all participants are from a
single discipline, and other crew members' roles are played either by instructors and confederates or by other
simulation participants. This approach allows tailoring simulations to challenge skills, knowledge, and situations
specific to the discipline, including material that may be of little relevance to other crews and in the context of a
wide variety of types of clinical situations (e.g., cardiac, orthopedic, or general surgery; labor and delivery;
intensive care). Single-discipline training can emphasize generic skills of dynamic decision making, resource
management, leadership, and teamwork applicable to any challenging clinical situation. In the single-discipline
approach, scenarios can be designed that present specific types of personalities and behaviors by other crew or
team members, rather than relying on the ad-hoc behavior of real personnel from those disciplines. Even without
actual personnel from other disciplines, training crews to work in teams also provides a degree of cross-discipline
understanding by allowing participants to discuss other team members' views of the same situation.
For dedicated center simulations, single-discipline sessions are simpler logistically because only one discipline
needs to be present, rather than scheduling someone from each of the disciplines. In addition, simulations can be
applied to some disciplines even in domains where there are not yet credible simulators for the work of each team
member. The single-discipline approach may be of particular relevance for trainees who when finished with their
training will go on to work in many different settings and with many different kinds of personnel. It also may be of
greatest value for individuals who do not work in fixed crews or teams and need to acquire generic teamwork
skills that can be used with all coworkers.
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Combined Team Training
The complementary approach is to conduct combined team training, in which all participants of the team, from
crews of several different disciplines (e.g., surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists), undergo training together.
Combined team training allows for more natural team interactions and reinforces understanding across
disciplines. There are successful examples of such undertakings in many fields, including obstetrics (combining
obstetrics, anesthesia, nursing, neonatology/pediatrics) and intensive care (combining physicians from multiple
disciplines with nursing, respiratory therapy, and pharmacy). [32] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46]
Combined team training may be most effective when a specific group of individuals is to work together clinically
as a dedicated team. In dedicated simulation centers, combined team training can be hard to schedule, and it may
require instructors from several of the disciplines to conduct the debriefings. Combined team simulations may be
easiest to organize when they are conducted as unannounced mock events that activate the actual bedside team
(e.g., ward or unit team, rapid response team, or code team). In such situations, the real combined team is
mobilized as they would be in real life.
Debriefing for Simulation Training
Debriefing refers to a special time and format for talking about an episode of action in the past; it is the
counterpoint to a briefing that occurs before an action or task. The term originally came from the military, for
after-action reviews of real missions and simulations. In medicine, the debriefing concept was introduced to
simulation training by Gaba and colleagues as part of the whole concept of CRM-based simulation training for
anesthesia teams. [16] [95] This section focuses on debriefings in the context of simulation team training.
DebriefingHeart and Soul of Simulation Trainings
In aviation and health care simulations, the debriefing after a simulation team training session is a key element
perhaps the most important elementof simulation training. [47] The debriefing offers an unparalleled instance to
reflect and discuss openly and understand other team member's intentions, thoughts, and problems. Much of the
learning occurs in this self-reflective episode. Eventually, these routines will be applied to clinical medicine (e.g.,
surgical team timeout).
New Way of Teaching
The debriefing as described in aviation and introduced and refined for medicine by Gaba and others [48] [49]
requires a complete understanding by instructors of their role in promoting learning (see Chapter 8 ). [50] The
philosophy of teaching and learning in a debriefing of a CRM-based simulation course differs from the traditional
clinical teaching style ( Table 7-3 ). The instructor's role is to facilitate the learning process, directing the
participants to the most interesting and important areas for consideration, and stimulating discussion among
participants to find the underlying issues and to seek solutions for future events of similar type.
Table 7-3 -- Traditional Teaching versus Facilitation in Simulation Training Courses
Traditional Teaching: Teacher
Debriefing Facilitation: Instructor/Facilitator
Focus on theoretical knowledge
Focus on human factors and CRM aspects
Focus on what
Focus on why and deeper analysis of why it did (not) work
Teacher is the best (expert)
Instructor just moderates, uses knowledge of participants
Teacher tells participants what to do
Instructor helps participants to find what they could have done and what
would be the best way
Teacher knows what is important for Instructor helps to self-reflect and gain realistic selfparticipants
awareness/consciousness
Instructor guides toward interesting areas
Talks most
Stimulates discussion among participants
Domain expert
CRM expert
No teaching training
Extensive instructor training
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Use of video of own and others' scenarios
Teacher knows what has been learned

Instructor might not be aware of all aspects that participants take home
(or not)
CRM, crisis resource management.
Facilitation is a new way of teaching and often must be learned anew by instructors, even though they have many
years of traditional teaching experience. The use of video for debriefing can advance further the self-reflective
component of debriefings, but requires additional expertise to integrate it successfully with self-reflection.
Generally, faculty intending to be primary debriefers need special training and practice in this teaching method
(see section on Instructor Qualification). Several simulation centers conduct instructor training that emphasizes
debriefing skills.
Technique of Debriefing
Although debriefing styles and philosophies differ at centers around the world, a common ground is shared by
most centers: A debriefing should stimulate self-reflection, and analyze how something happened, and what the
underlying concepts for doing so were, rather than merely finding out what happened. Usually the debriefing lasts
at least as long as the scenario itself.
Detailed discussions about the different techniques appear in the literature. [47] [48] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] To prepare
a good debriefing, the instructor is challenged during the scenario with performing several tasks in the control
room, such as listening to trainees, talking to the instructor team, controlling the simulator, and making notes for
the debriefing. Figure 7-10 illustrates the different levels of attendance.
Figure 7-10 The multiple levels of work for CRM-based instructors in the control room. The reflections in the one-way mirror of the control room make the
multiple levels of activity transparent. The team of instructors has to control the simulation as such, but also make notes for the CRM-based debriefing. The
scenario inside and the audio streams (telephone call) need to be monitored. Also, the instructors have to deal with simulation team role players and instructor
trainees inside the control room. These complex tasks need some training and good team organization on the side of the simulation center team. CRM, crisis
resource management. (Picture by B. Schaedle, team TuPASS, taken at a PaedSim training at University Hospital, Tubingen, Germany.)
Debriefings by nature have different phases, as shown in Table 7-4 . The phases are not meant to be followed in
this time sequence and order. Often two or more phases are covered regarding one problem of the scenario
especially clinical problems are often covered while discussing the how and when they happened (analysis).
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Then another problem is analyzed and discussed according to different phases. Nevertheless, at the end of a good
debriefing, all phases should have been covered according to their respective importance. No debriefing style is
associated with a proven better learning outcome, and there may never be definitive data on the techniques
because of the nature of the topicreflective practice of high-level cognition.
Table 7-4 -- Phases of Debriefings: Issues Relevant to CRM-based Simulation Debriefing
Phase of Debriefing
Explanation
Ending the scenario
When possible, the scenario should not be stopped too early. Participants should be
allowed to realize the natural end of the scenario. Ideally, it should not be terminated
when participants are in the thick of it
Scenario-to-debriefing
transition
Most sites use a hot debriefing, in which they enter the debriefing room
immediately from the simulation room. This allows the instructor to hear and see
participants' direct reactions. Another option is to give the participants a few
minutes to discuss the scenario itself while the instructor is planning the debriefing
Emotional venting
All participants who were actively involved are given the opportunity to say how
they felt during the scenario. This vents pent-up feelings, and may be a time to deal
with anomalies in the scenario (e.g., simulator malfunction)
Descriptive phase
Participants describe what happened (or portions of the video are replayed).
Different points of view (e.g., hot seat versus first responder versus surgeon
confederate) are shared
Self-identification of
issues
It can be useful, before anyone else including the instructor is allowed to critique the
scenario, to allow active participants to say if they themselves detected any errors or
actions that they would do differently. It can be painful and rude to critique
participants about something they are aware of themselves
Discussion of clinical
content
Any major issues of clinical treatment and related CRM points should be covered. A
debriefing should not end without discussing and clarifying any significant clinical
errors, and ensuring that participants understand the correct management
Analysis
Debriefings should provide considerable analysis of why things happened vis--vis

the intentions of all parties, and alternatives and their pros and cons
Opportunities for systems Based on the analyses, participants can be asked to suggest how the system can be
improvement
changed to improve the handling of similar situations in the future
Transfer to the real
world
Participants can discuss how lessons from the scenario or debriefing can be applied
in the real clinical world. They should discuss barriers to improvement and ways to
overcome them
Providing a take-home
message from the
scenario and debriefing
A summary of the key points of the debriefing can be useful, either by the instructor
or the participants themselves
Terminating the
debriefing
Debriefings are rich in content and could extend beyond the time available. Marking
the end of the debriefing can be a useful transition to preparing for the next scenario
or to the end-of-day activities
Use of Video for Debriefings
Although the value is not proven, segments of video recordings to support and deepen the debriefing as a learning
and self-awareness experience are frequently used. Anesthesia does not allow for much self-reflection and
feedback during routine clinical work. Experienced colleagues typically work alone, and there is often little
feedback from other anesthesiologists or from other operating room personnel. This situation is now changing,
however, with the use of automatic anesthetic records and information technology (see Chapters 2, 4, 5, and 99
[Chapter 2] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 99] ).
The lack of feedback leaves a large theoretical gap between the way individuals think they perform and how they
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do act in reality. Video sequences can correct this gap and provide an awareness of how participants have really
acted. Also, one's own video recordings can be compared with the recordings of other participants (either their
own course co-participants or trigger videos meant to stimulate discussion). Live transmission of scenarios to
participants not actively involved in the scenario also is useful. When this technique is used, the observers can be
given special tasks (e.g., look for CRM key points 10 and 11 in Table 7-8 ). A study in Tbingen evaluated the use
of so-called cooperation scripts in the passive phase of watching others perform.
The video should be used in the service of the debriefing, rather than the other way around. The authors believe
that if the discussion is active and on-target, it is useless to interrupt it just to show video. Video may have a bigger
impact for participants' first simulation experiences. Here they are sometimes struck by what can be revealed on
seeing themselves and others work. As they gain more experience with simulation, and when debriefers are
experienced, they may not need exposure to the video to hone in on key issues to discuss.
Clinical Application of Debriefing Method
The application of the above-described debriefing techniques to the discussion of real world clinical critical
incidents seems very promising. Applying the debriefing technique learned in the simulator after a critical
incident in short debriefing circles of the involved clinical team has proven quite valuable. [41] [50] [55] [56] [57] [58]
Scenario Design
The design of scenarios for interactive simulation team trainings is demanding and typically differs from
preparing training exercises for traditional curricula, such as mega codes in advanced life support. Full
simulation scenarios are complex enough that their design is usually an iterative process by which the scenarios
are continually improved through experience.
This section can give only an overview of the important aspects of scenario design for realistic simulation team
training. The reader is referred to detailed published examples of scenarios in Simulation in Healthcare [59] and to
more detailed literature about the principles of scenario design. [3] [60] The topic also is covered extensively in
most of the instructor training curricula that are offered at sites around the world. International and regional
simulation meetings often offer workshops on scenario design (IMSH of SSiH, SESAM); the user groups of the
major simulator manufacturers also have workshops on the topic. (See section on Simulation Societies discussed
later.)
Goal Oriented
Scenarios usually are designed to achieve learning objectives or other goals, such as a formal needs analysis of the
relevant target group for training concerning clinical and technical skills or nontechnical CRM skills or both (see
Chapter 6 ). Alternatively, simulation-savvy clinician educators may intuitively know what kinds of scenarios are
likely to be valuable for their participant populations, or they may have learned about good examples in their
instructor training or in the literature. The cases are not as important as the nature of the underlying challenges
that they pose to participants. Train the causes not the cases.
Scenarios should be relevant to the trainees. This relevance is more important than realism and depends on many
factors, including the trainees' backgrounds and experience, and the method of conducting the scenario and
related parts of the simulation course (e.g., familiarization, case briefing, role players).
Constraints and Limitations
It is easy to suggest a scenario on paper but more difficult to translate it into an effective scenario for actual use.
There are limitations and constraints to consider, including features and limitations of the simulators available,
personnel resources at hand, the props or external systems that would be needed to engage participants, and time
available for the proposed scenario. In our experience, most scenarios are first generated with an idea or a
nubbin. The idea is fleshed out by discussion and on paper in an iterative fashion, with limitations addressed
either by creative redesign of the proposed situation or by minor technical modifications using the simulator
software or simulation environment. The new scenario usually is tested out first by instructors and
simulationists (the technical staff who operate the simulators and prepare the environment). It can be pilot
tested with a volunteer group of participants from the target population. The first one or two sessions typically
reveal many problems and flaws in the original scenario layout. After a scenario has been designed and tested, it is
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advisable to add comments and suggestions for improvement continuously after each training session.
Scenario Templates
Many centers have developed templates for the design of their scenarios. Figure 7-11 is an example of a summary
sheet of the template used by TuPASS and taught during their instructor courses. The full version of it is available
online (www.tupass.de/scenarioscript.html
). Other scenario templates are popular, including the Duke
University template (http://simcenter.duhs.duke.edu/SimTemplate1203.doc
). The peer-reviewed journal
Simulation in Healthcare publishes Simulation Case Reports, which contain detailed scenario descriptions. Some
professional societies have created scenario repositories for members; the American Society of Anesthesiologists
(ASA) Simulation Committee has a repository for scenarios to be shared between its ASA-endorsed simulation
programs.
Figure 7-11 The TuPASS Scenario Design Template. The figure shows the summary page of the TuPASS Scenario Design Template, which has more space and
details in the full version. The template also includes a script to explain the different fields and their best use. The template is a regular part of the instructor
training courses. It can be obtained from the TuPASS webpage (www.tupass.de/scenarioscript.html
). (Template by P. Dieckmann and M. Rall, TuPASS,
Germany.)
Instructor Qualification
Teaching with simulation covers a diverse spectrum of applications. In some cases, it is similar to teaching at the
bedside, only the patient is a simulator, in which case the skills needed are nearly identical to those used in
ordinary clinical supervision and teaching. There are special implications for instructing in courses that involve
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complex realistic scenarios, with multiple personnel in crews and teams, using video-facilitated debriefings in
small groups, and with a focus on human factors and CRM principles and countermeasures. In such courses, the
skills needed to be a successful instructor go considerably beyond those typically used by teaching clinicians.
Quality of the instructors is the key element for any simulation course, captured by the statement The key is the
program, not the hardware. [10] Ensuring instructor competence in using simulation and in debriefing facilitation
skills is very important.
Advanced simulation course formats generally reflect very well Kolb's [60a] circle of adult experiential learning:
(1) self-experience (participate in the scenario) or vicarious experience (observe scenario live), (2) reflect on
experience (debriefing), (3) abstract conceptualization (debriefing, relate to theoretical material), and (4) active
experimentation (future scenarios and use of skills in real cases) ( Fig. 7-12 ).
Figure 7-12 Simulation team training with live video transmission as an ideal representation of Kolb's learning circle. During the scenario, trainees get a
hands-on experience. This is actively reflected in the debriefing. The live video to the nonactive group in the current scenario allows useful reflective observation.
During the debriefing, all trainees have a phase of conceptualization, in which the instructor uses generalizations of factors and root causes to show how behavior
developed as it did in the scenario (deep learning). During the feedback in the debriefing, but also in the next active scenarios, participants have opportunities to
apply and experiment with the newly learned input. (Figure by P. Dieckmann, modified from Kolb. DA: Experimental learning: Experience as the source of
learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1984.)
Tasks of Instructors
The tasks of a simulation instructor differ from the tasks of a classic medical educator or a trainer for part-task or
skills training. The most prominent differences are the following:
Need to brief the course participants about an unfamiliar environment
Creation of relevant, plausible scenarios to reach the intended learning goals
Theatrical aspects of enacting complex realistic scenarios
Need for simultaneous control of the simulator, the simulation personnel (instructors, actors, and
confederates), and learning objectives during multiperson complex scenarios with built-in problems and
challenges and an uncertain flow pathway of action by participants
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Need to provide debriefing and feedback after the scenario, often assisted by replay of video recordings,
primarily using a facilitation style in small groups; handling group dynamics and individual
sensitivities is required
Concentration largely on CRM nontechnical skills of decision making, team management, interpersonal
relationships, communication, and professionalism
Instructor Training
For such complex instructor skills, formal training seems warranted. One of the authors (D.G.) pioneered
instructor training for CRM-oriented simulation courses in a consortium of the VAStanford Simulation Center
with the Boston Center for Medical Simulation and the University of Toronto Sunnybrooke Simulation Center.
This consortium spread the ideas and format of CRM simulation instructor training around the world. Another
author (M.R.) has been running instructor courses in cooperation with a third author (P.D.) for more than 1,000
international participants. Many institutions offer different instructor courses nationally and internationally
(ranging from 2 to 6 days in length depending on the course and its scope); the reader is referred to the simulation
societies for information about such courses (SSiH, SESAM). The process and impact of instructor training are
being evaluated much as the process of simulation training itself is being assessed. Some early evidence is
emerging that such courses have value. Also, shorter introductory courses on instructor skills are offered every
year at the international health care simulation meetings (e.g., SSH's IMSH conference or the SESAM annual
meeting), and there are many workshops at the meeting that cover topics such as debriefing, instructor training,
and CRM training.
Table 7-5 presents an example of learning objectives for an instructor training course. For experiences and effects
of the instructor course by P. Dieckmann and one of the authors (M.R.), a poster presented at the IMSH 2006 with
a short description of the InFacT course and results from a response-shift bias analysis can be downloaded from
our website (www.tupass.de/downloads/InFacT.html
). The most difficult task for traditional medical teachers
is to learn to stop instructing and start facilitatingguiding participants toward a deep learning experience.
Table 7-5 -- Learning Objectives for CRM-oriented Simulation Instructor Courses *
Understand how it feels to be a participant in a simulation scenario, and to be debriefed in a group, seeing
oneself on video
Understand the interdependent influence of the different course phases (see Fig. 7-2 ), and apply this knowledge
to a simulation course
Reflect on the changing instructional styles that can be applicable to simulation courses (instruction
facilitation)
Understand basic concepts of human factors, systems theory, and organizational safety
Be able to detect, explain, and discuss CRM key points in the debriefing of scenarios
Use recorded video of scenarios well, selecting the most relevant portions for replay and discussion
Be able to facilitate a debriefing in a nonjudgmental atmosphere with appropriate boundaries
Understand how to manage the individual sensitivities and group dynamics of participants during debriefing
Be able to focus debriefing on the analysis of what happened, why things happened the way they did, and how to
apply these lessons to real patient care
* Adapted from the learning objectives of old instructor courses by the authors and P. Dieckmann.
Certification of Instructors
The original simulation instructors were self-taught in these skills. Should instructors receive documented formal
training and certification? CRM-oriented simulation training is probably the most difficult level to achieve. Many
institutions have internal systems of levels of training for simulation instructors; they have their own mechanisms
for assessing instructor skills and moving instructors up the levels of instructor competency. There is at this time,
however, no guideline or agreement regarding criteria for advancement from one level to another.
Certification of instructors is just one piece of a larger puzzle of the certification of simulation centers and
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programs and the certification of specific simulation-based curricula. The ASA in 2008 started a process to
endorse (as opposed to accredit or certify) reputable simulation programs capable of delivering high-quality
continuing medical education (CME) to ASA members. The Society for Simulation in Healthcare is planning an
accreditation program for simulation centers to be accredited in one or more of the areas of assessment, research,
training, and patient safety integration. Various other organizations have started or are considering starting
similar programs. Specialty and subspecialty societies within anesthesia (including the ASA Simulation
Committee) are considering defining one or more uniform curricula to be offered at accredited or approved
programs.
It is likely that the skills and certification needed for an instructor would vary greatly with the particular course
or curriculum being taught. Competence in conducting a video-based CRM debriefing would not be needed, and
would not help, to teach central line placement using part-task trainers for this procedure, and vice versa.
Instructor certification probably would be tied to the specific types of courses each individual is capable of
conducting. A tiered instructor certification system also would likely provide for advancement from novice
instructor to grand master as experience and special training are acquired.
Classification of Patient Simulators
No accepted classification scheme has been devised for the use of patient simulators in anesthesia. Any
classification involves some overlapping and gray areas. [19] Cumin and Merry [61] have published a review about
available simulators. The following classification and definitions are used in this chapter. In addition to
simulators, there are computer-assisted instruction programs and computer-based training devices. Although
training devices may replicate certain portions of the clinical domain, they do not attempt to replicate the bulk of
the work environment. Some individuals consider the screen-only microsimulator (also known as a screen-based
simulator) to be a training device and not a simulator. Computer-assisted instruction programs and training
devices are not reviewed in this chapter. This chapter addresses patient simulators in anesthesia that present the
overall patient as would be seen by anesthesiologists, intensivists, or others. Devices related purely to emergency
medicine (e.g., ResusSim), surgical or procedural simulators that present only the technical work of surgery or
invasive manipulations (e.g., bronchoscopy, intravenous access), and partial-task screen-based simulators (e.g.,
GasMan) are not discussed here.
In this chapter, a patient simulator is a system that presents a patient and a clinical work environment of
immediate relevance to anesthesiologists (e.g., operating room, postanesthesia care unit, ICU) in one of the
following ways:
1. In actual physical reality, defined as a mannequin-based simulator (former and still commonly used
synonyms are full-scale simulator, hands-on simulator, realistic simulator, high-fidelity simulator). These
simulators can be subdivided in terms of the way that vital signs monitoring is accomplished (interfacing
to real clinical monitoring devices or using its own virtual replica of a monitor screen) and in terms of the
primary control logic of the simulator (by individual controls and scripts or by using physiologic and
pharmacologic modeling).
2.
On a computer screen only, defined as a screen-only or screen-based simulator (some prefer the term
microsimulator).
3.
Using virtual reality, defined as a virtual reality simulator. In such a device, parts or all of the patient and
environment are presented to the user by three-dimensional representations with or without touch to
create a more immersive experience. A screen-only simulator could be viewed as a very limited virtual
reality simulator.
Components of a Patient Simulator
A patient simulator system contains several components ( Fig. 7-13 ). [19] A set of outputs make up a
representation of the patient, the clinical environment, and diagnostic and therapeutic equipment. For screen-only
simulators, this representation is generated graphically on the computer screen. For mannequin-based simulators,
the representation is generated by using a patient mannequin, plus either actual clinical equipment or virtual
replicas of monitor screens, placed (typically) in a recreation of an actual clinical setting. The mannequin and,
where appropriate, the clinical equipment are stimulated or actuated by interface hardware. Mannequin-based
simulators often use physical stimulation of clinical equipment in addition to electronic stimulation. The
mannequin can actually be ventilated with any desired mixture of inspired gases. Carbon dioxide and other gases
can be introduced physically by the simulator into the mannequin's lungs to provide the desired elements of gas
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exchange. A real respiratory gas analyzer can be used to measure the inspired and expired gases. The currently
available features of full-scale, mannequin-based patient simulators are presented in Table 7-6 .
Figure 7-13 Schematic diagram of the generic architecture of patient simulator systems. The simulator generates a representation of the patient and the work
environment with appropriate interface hardware, display technologies, or both. The representation is perceived by the anesthesiologist, whose actions are input
to the simulator through physical actions or input devices. The behavior of the simulated scenario is manipulated by the instructor or operator through a
workstation that allows selection of different patients, abnormal events, and other features of the simulated patient. The control may be manual, script-based, or
model-based with manual adaptation to reach optimal learning outcomes. ICU, intensive care unit; OR, operating room. (Figure by D.M. Gaba, Stanford.)
Table 7-6 -- Functionality of Current Mannequin-based Simulator Systems

Clinical Area
Features and Functions
Remarks
Airway
Appropriate pharyngeal and glottic

anatomy
Placement of facemask, ETT, LMA,
LT, Combitube
Laryngospasm, tongue and airway
swelling, cervical immobility, jaw
closure, breakable teeth
Cricothyrotomy
Airway often provides acceptable seal for ETT,

LMA, Combitube and LT
Facemask seal is often difficult as well as placement
of ETT
Transtracheal jet ventilation

Bronchial anatomy (to the lobar
bronchus level)
Head
Eyelid movement, pupil dilation,

and reaction to light or medications
Sweating as prototype available
Patient voice and sounds such as

coughing and vomiting (through
built-in loudspeaker)
The authors prefer live voice over prerecorded

audio clips, due to higher flexibility in scenarios
Palpable carotid pulses

Cyanosis by blue light
Tearing
Physiologic and pathophysiologic
heart and breath sounds
Breath and heart sounds through loudspeakers;

sounds contain artifacts and mechanical noise. Often
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Spontaneous breathing with chest

wall movement
sound level depends on position of stethoscope

relative to loudspeaker
Bronchospasm
Adjustable pulmonary compliance
Adjustable airway resistance
Pneumothorax
Needle thoracotomy and chest tube
placement
Defibrillation, transthoracic pacing
ECG
Chest compressions
Extremities
Palpable pulses (dependent on

arterial pressure)
Still very limited movement capabilities at best (as of

2008)
Cuff blood pressure by auscultation,

palpation, or oscillometry
Modules for fractures and wound
modules
Intravenous line placement
Thumb twitch in response to
peripheral nerve stimulation
Arm movement
Representations of tonic clonic spells
ECG (including abnormalities in
Monitoring
morphology and rhythm)
(waveforms or
numerical readouts) SpO2
Simulators interface to actual clinical monitors or

provide a simulated virtual vital signs display (or
both); may include a virtual heart-lung machine
Invasive blood pressure

CVP, PAP, PCWP
Cardiac output
Temperature
CO2 (may be actual CO2 exhalation)
Anesthetic gases (may have actual
uptake and distribution of agents)
Cardiopulmonary bypass
Automation and
sensors
Chest compressions
Ventilation rate and volume
Quality of sensors varies greatly from rough

ventilation yes/no to almost realistic ventilation
loops, etc.
Defibrillation and pacing (including

energy measurement)
Gas analyzer (inspired O2,
anesthetics)
Drug recognition (drug
identification and amount)
Note: The features listed are each present in some existing simulators, but not all features are present on any
single device. Sets of features depend on the device and model.
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CVP, central venous pressure; ECG, electrocardiogram; ETT, endotracheal tube; LMA, laryngeal mask airway;
LT, larynx tube; PAP, positive airway pressure; PCWP, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure.
Any simulator must have control logic by which changes in the simulated patient's condition can be generated,
controlled, and sent to the appropriate output of the representation. Originally, the control logic was embedded in
the software as a fixed sequence of events, or it consisted largely of continuous input from the instructor working
from a script. Some current simulators use upgraded types of manual control logic that allows scripting of
combinations of changes in control input. Other current simulators incorporate a more sophisticated technique
using mathematical differential equations that model a patient's physiology and pharmacology to provide the bulk
of the control logic. These models can be tailored to represent different patients with different pathophysiologic
abnormalities.
Not all states or changes in a patient can be modeled by differential equations. Ventricular fibrillation is a totally
different state of heart rhythm that does not evolve continuously from normal rhythms. No model can predict
exactly when a patient will have a myocardial infarction or when an ischemic heart will begin to fibrillate. A
model can only predict factors that increase the likelihood of such events. Most simulators incorporate other
modeling techniques in addition to the basic physiologic and pharmacologic mathematical equations, including
finite-state models, instructor initiation of abnormal events, and manual modulation of modeled parameters. In
finite-state models, different underlying clinical states are defined, each of which has appropriate entry conditions
and transition conditions to other states. When an entry or transition condition is met, a new state becomes active,
which may directly trigger new observable phenomena (e.g., ventricular fibrillation), or may alter constants in the
mathematical models that then evolve in time. [62] [63] [64]
The control logic of most simulators is manipulated through an instructor/operator's station that allows the
instructor to create specific patients, select and implement abnormal events and faults, and monitor the progress
of the simulation session. The system may have a remote-controlled, hand-held instructor/operator's station in
addition to the main instructor/operator's station. The instructor/operator's station typically provides logs of
physiologic changes and the anesthesiologist's response, and may provide graphics to support the analysis of a
simulation run. Some screen-based simulators provide advice and tutorials linked to the management of simulated
events. With mannequin-based simulators, especially for applications in which complete work environments are
recreated, it is common to obtain detailed records of the simulation and the actions taken from video and audio
recording of the personnel working in the replicated clinical environment.
Modern simulators still do not provide many of the desired features listed in Table 7-7 . Many different simulator
systems are available. No single system is the best choice for all uses, so the decision about the type of simulator
required must be based on the objectives and needs of the application. In our experience, the success of a
simulator program would not be determined primarily by the type or fidelity of the simulator used, but mostly by
the enthusiasm, skill, and creativity of instructors, and the time and effort devoted to preparing and performing
credible simulation scenarios. [28]
Table 7-7 -- Desirable Features of Future Mannequin-based Simulator Systems
Advanced skin signs such as
Change in skin color to cyanotic or pale
Diaphoresis
Change in skin temperature (e.g., as a result of shock or fever)
Rash, hives, or generalized edema
Regurgitation, vomiting, airway bleeding or secretions
Physical coughing (currently only sounds are simulated)
Realistic convulsions
Purposeful movements of extremities
Support for spinal, epidural, or other regional anesthesia procedures
EEG signals (e.g., for BIS, AEP, PSI)
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Intracranial pressure
Support for physical central venous and arterial cannulation
Fetal/maternal cardiotocogram
Note: This table shows what features are not currently incorporated (April 2008). Some features may be under
development and could be available after publication of this book. In addition, some features are currently
available as third-party or homemade add-ons.
AEP, auditory evoked potential; BIS, bispectral index; EEG, electroencephalographic; PSI, patient state index.
Virtual Reality Simulators
Virtual reality refers to a set of techniques in which one interacts with a synthetic (virtual) environment that exists
solely in the computer. [65] In the typical conception of virtual reality, representation of the synthetic environment
is fed directly to the eyes (three-dimensional head-mounted displays), the ears, and possibly the hands and limbs
(special instrumented gloves and sensors). The actions of the user in the environment are translated directly
from typical physical activities, not through manipulating a special pointing device. Realization of this ideal is a
continuum involving compromises in these input/output modalities. At one end of the continuum, which we call a
complete virtual reality simulation, the participant is immersed in a virtual world that fully replicates at least three
sensory inputsfull three-dimensional vision, hearing, and touch (the last is more technically known as a
haptic/kinesthetic system) [65] and allows complete physical interaction with the world. The Holodeck of Star
Trek would be an example.
At the other extreme of the continuum is a screen-based simulator that generates a limited virtual setting,
restricting its output to a screen display, and provides interaction with the virtual world only through a pointing
device. Screen-based simulators provide an interface to the human sensory system that is very far from physical
reality, whereas a complete virtual reality simulation may be, in its most advanced form, nearly indistinguishable
from the real world. A partial virtual reality simulator would replicate fewer senses (or less complete
replication, such as a three-dimensional visual representation on a two-dimensional screen) or could restrict
physical interaction with the world, or both. Finally, one can imagine hybrids of realistic simulators and virtual
reality simulators (sometimes called mixed reality) in which the virtual reality representation is overlaid onto a real
physical environment.
Some surgical and procedural part-task trainers/simulators, such as those used for laparoscopic, endoscopic, or
endovascular procedures, might be considered virtual reality because the real procedure is performed only using a
two-dimensional television display that can be recreated by the simulator. A comprehensive virtual reality patient
simulator would be very complicated, however, because it requires the following:
Complete computer model of the patient, the environment, and the function of every object in the
environment that could be used (e.g., monitoring devices, carts)
Means of tracking visual, audio, and touch fields of the user to determine what is to be displayed, and to
identify what physical actions are being performed
Appropriate display hardware for every sensory modality and appropriate input hardware for each
action pathway (e.g., touch, speech)
Hardware to compute all the models, to conduct the tracking, and to produce all the output to the display
hardware in real time
Immersive virtual reality is a rapidly developing field. It has stimulated intense interest in numerous domains,
particularly space flight, the military, and entertainment. Although the potential of this approach is very exciting,
virtual reality is still under development. Prototype virtual reality patient simulators in anesthesia or intensive
care have been discussed informally, but as of this writing, there is no published experience with any meaningful
immersive virtual reality patient simulation system.
A related type of simulation is the virtual environment or virtual world. According to the Wikipedia, a virtual
world is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via
avatars (users' graphical [often perspective three-dimensional] representation of their selves). Such systems
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typically allow multiple participants each to control simultaneously over a network their own avatar (including
speech) and to interact verbally and by virtual physical actions within a commonly perceived virtual environment.
This technology currently portrays the virtual world as perspective three-dimensional images on a computer
screen plus sound. Virtual worlds have been commonly used for games (the popular World of Warcraft game
has 9 million monthly subscribers), whereas other virtual worlds encompass online communities (e.g., Second
Life, in which the primary activity is socializing, although commerce and education take place).
In a medical virtual world, the patient may be an automated avatar controlled by the computer, or the patient
may be an avatar inhabited by a human participant (an unusual case of a standardized patient actor). Virtual
worlds are starting to be used in health care, especially concerning acute care settings such as the ICU, the
emergency department, or field resuscitation.
Although virtual reality simulators have many theoretical advantages over screen-based and mannequin-based
simulators (e.g., more overall realism in some cases, instantaneous reset of the environment), these advantages are
currently offset by the immaturity of the field. Despite considerable hype about virtual reality, such systems are
now either very limited in capability or very expensive, and in most cases, they are limited and expensive. A true
virtual reality immersion experience in a patient care setting comparable to that obtainable with a mannequinbased simulator is not yet on the horizon. Nonetheless, it is likely that virtual reality techniques eventually will
eclipse other types of simulators. More than 15 years ago, we (D.G.) predicted this would occur by 2020, but the
rate of development of immersive virtual reality has been slower than expected. [66] [67]
Development of Patient Simulators
The descriptions given in the following sections are very brief, and the introduction of new or upgraded features in
all the simulation systems continues steadily. For up-to-date information about any of the current systems, the
reader is advised to contact the manufacturers or authors directly.
The history of the development of patient simulatorsparticularly the mannequin-based simulators that are in
wide useis well covered in several more recent review articles and book chapters. [5] [68] [69] [70] The history is of
some relevance to anesthesiology because of the dominant role played by anesthesiologists in the early
developments in mannequin-based simulation. Anesthesiologists continue to play a major role in this field today,
far out of proportion to their numbers relative to other medical domains.
In the late 1960s, a mannequin-based simulatorSim Onewas produced by an aerospace company working
with anesthesiologists at the University of Southern California. For that era, it was a technologic marvel and was
years ahead of its time. [71] The Sim One project drifted into oblivion, however, largely because the medical
professions were not ready to understand the applicability of simulation to key issues of training, research, and
assessment, especially regarding the importance of human factors.
Several patient simulators were developed and introduced in the mid to late 1980s. Each was an independent
development, and none had any direct connection with the Sim One project. Several factors led to these advances.
Most prominent was the new availability of powerful (comparable to advanced minicomputers of a decade earlier)
personal computers (PCs) at a relatively cheap price. The popularity of various simulators for PCs (e.g., flight
simulators, driving simulators) showed that simulation of complex systems was possible with a PC, and a screenbased simulator could give users some degree of feel that they had been in the environment. On the applications
side, the public and the anesthesia profession had become more aware of the utility of simulation-based training
for military and commercial aviation, space flight, automobile driving, shipping, military command and control,
and the operation of nuclear power plants. Media coverage of the space program and corrective responses to the
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident highlighted the role of simulators. Another pivotal factor was
growing interest in anesthesiology in studying the anesthesiologist's performance and the human factors and
ergonomics of the anesthesia work environment (see Chapter 6 ). [72] [73] [74] [75]
Screen-Based Simulators (Microsimulators)
Beginning in the mid 1980s, several screen-based simulators were developed by anesthesiologists. These included
part-task trainers that simulated isolated aspects of anesthesia, such as the uptake and distribution of anesthetic
gases in the body given different physiologic and physical chemistry situations (the well-known GasMan simulator
has excelled in this role). Other full screen-based simulators represented nearly all aspects of the patient and
clinical environment. Originally the control logic was based heavily on mathematical models of physiology and
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pharmacology, some of the screen-based simulators have converted to control largely from scripts and finite-state
models. Originally, the patient was represented by drawings or animations, but increasingly in these systems the
representation of the patient is by photos or videos. Vital signs appear on virtual monitors that may mimic real
clinical devices. Actions are selected typically using a graphical user interface, pointing and clicking on menus and
buttons, and using sliders and numerical entry boxes to allow control of most kinds of interventions that clinicians
use on a regular basis.
Experience with Patient Simulators in Anesthesia
Several companies now offer mannequin-based patient simulators with a wide range of capabilities (the term
fidelity is reserved for the apparent veracity of the simulation; the simulator device has a set of features or
capabilities) and with different user interfaces and control logics. The bulk of simulators in use today (coming
from several vendors) are considered medium-capability devices. They do approximately 70% as much as a topof-the-line simulator, but at approximately 15% of the cost of the most expensive simulators. This value
proposition has been persuasive to most customers, although for certain applications the high-end simulators still
may be required.
The new patient simulators have been in use in anesthesia for more than 20 years, and considerable collective
experience with the devices already has been achieved. This section and subsequent sections cover the use of
simulators for education, training, evaluation, and research (the last especially in decision making and human
factors). The results of simulator studies as regards human performance and patient safety are discussed
primarily in Chapter 6 .
Simulation for Education and Training of Health Care Personnel
The various available patient simulators offer an unparalleled opportunity for students to experience physiologic
and pathophysiologic reactions in a realistic manner. Different objectives are possible for teaching sessions. A
study by Morgan and Cleave-Hogg [76] concluded that the simulator environment is somehow unique and allows
different behaviors to be assessed. The objectives of education are to provide conceptual understanding and an
introduction to skills, whereas the objective of training is to implement specific skills and behaviors applicable
directly to real-world surroundings. Consistency in objectives is important for evaluating education and training;
if we are teaching conceptual understanding, but assessing specific skills, we may obtain misleading results. [77]
A Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME, www.bemecollaboration.org
) review by Issenberg and colleagues
[25] concluded that high-fidelity medical simulations are educationally effective, but only if the right conditions
are met, as follows:
Conditions for the Educational Effectiveness of High-Fidelity Medical Simulations (according to a BEME review by Issenbery [25] )
Educational feedback is provided

Repetitive practice is used or is allowed
Simulation is integrated sensibly into the standard curriculum
The range of task difficulty can be adapted to the level of the learner
Simulation for Education and Training of Medical and Other Health Profession Students
The structured review about simulation effects on simulation-based medical education by Issenberg and
colleagues [25] showed that (1) the methodologic quality of educational research is often weak, and (2) in the highquality studies that were evaluated, there was an effect between hours of simulator practice and learning outcomes
equaling a dose-response relationship. Studies by Coates and associates [78] and Gordon and coworkers [79]
showed that simulator education for medical students on patient management skills related to dyspnea was
superior to problem-based learning.
A variety of curricula exist, [54] [77] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88] [89] [90] including the following:
Educational sessions and demonstrations concerning basic cardiopulmonary physiology or
pharmacology; in some institutions, these sessions replace animal laboratory exercises. [91]
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Introduction to integrated management (i.e., interweaving of diagnosis and treatment) of critically ill
patients; this training is offered to immediate preclinical medical students as part of their preparation for
clinical medicine courses.
Anesthesia practicum for clinical students during anesthesia or intensive care clerkships.
Problem-solving skills training; simulation has been tested as a means of educating and training students
in the appropriate response to specific critical events. Morgan and Cleave-Hogg [92] tested simulation
versus instructor-facilitated viewing of a videotape for this purpose and found no difference between the
two. The generalizability of this finding has been questioned, however. [77]
Adaptation of curricula originally aimed at experienced trainees or practicing clinicians to students;
there is increasing interest in providing early exposure to medical students, and possibly students of
nursing or allied health professions, to interdisciplinary team aspects of medical practice. The aim is to
inculcate concepts of teamwork and communication at the earliest stages of education and training as a
vehicle to implement long-term culture change in the health care system.
A stimulating critical overview of medical education in general was written by Hodges, provocatively titled
Medical education and the maintenance of incompetence (emphasis added). [93] The article points out that any
type of education runs a risk of creating or maintaining incompetence in certain areas, especially areas that are
ignored by the actual educational program. Objective structured clinical examinationstyle methods in particular
are criticized because students may learn to pass the objective structured clinical examination, but still have even
gross incompetence in important aspects of real patient care that are not covered by the objective structured
clinical examination rating scale. Simulation offers the promise of targeting more thorough integration of different
kinds of skills into a better representation of the realities of clinical care. Nonetheless, we recommend that all
simulation instructors be especially cognizant of the risks that Hodges articulates.
Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management
In 1989, based on the cognitive process model presented in Chapter 6 and the research results of Cooper and
coworkers, [72] [94] Howard and associates, [95] and Gaba [73] [74] of the VAStanford group identified gaps in the
training of anesthesiologists regarding several critical aspects of decision making and crisis management that were
not systematically taught during standard residency or postgraduate education. These gaps were (1) inadequate
learning of precompiled plans for dealing with perioperative events; (2) inadequate skills of metacognition and
allocation of attention; and (3) inadequate skill in resource management behavior, including leadership,
communication, workload management, monitoring, and cross-checking of all available information. Historically,
it had been assumed that anesthesiologists would acquire these plans and skills by osmosis, solely by experience
and by observing role models who had these qualities. As indicated in a previous section, the aviation field had
learned that such skills were not acquired unless specifically taught, and CRM training was created to address
these issues for flight crews. The VAStanford group modeled their ACRM training [95] after CRM, and this
approach has been highly influential. ACRM-like curricula are taught at simulation centers around the world, not
only in anesthesia, but also in many other domains of health care, including ICU, emergency medicine, labor and
delivery, trauma, and field responders. [16] [35] [38] [41] [43] [44] [54] [68] [96] [97] [98] [99] [100] [101] [102] [103] [104] [105]
[106] [107] [108] [109] [110] [111] [112] [113] Figure 7-14 shows a typical ACRM team training scenario.
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Figure 7-14 Anesthesia crisis resource management team training scenario. A full operating room team (enacted surgeons and nurses) is doing a complicated
endoscopic surgery case (replayed on screen). The anesthesia team consisting of the trainee (hot seat) and the nurse has to solve complex problems. Video
cameras (ceiling), microphones, and loudspeakers provide the necessary connectivity and debriefing tools. (Picture by team TuPASS, taken at Center for Patient
Safety and Simulation, University Hospital, Tubingen, Germany.)
To target the identified gaps in training, approximately 40% of the emphasis of ACRM is on the medical and
technical management of specific high-risk perioperative situations, but at least 60% of the emphasis is on generic
principles of crisis management that apply to nearly every complex patient care situation. The key teaching points
of ACRM are shown in Table 7-8 . These points are emphasized during the ACRM simulation course, and their
occurrence or omission is highlighted during the video-assisted debriefing sessions (see more on CRM in Chapter
6 ).
Table 7-8 -- Key Points in Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management
1.
Know the environment
2.
Anticipate and plan
3.
Call for help early
4.
Exercise leadership and followership with assertiveness
5.
Distribute the workload (10 seconds for 10 minutes)
6.
Mobilize all available resources
7.
8.
Use all available information
9.
Prevent and manage fixation errors
10. Cross and double check (never assume anything)

11. Use cognitive aids
12. Re-evaluate repeatedly (apply the 10 seconds for 10 minutes
concept)
13. Use good teamwork
14. Allocate attention wisely
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15. Set priorities dynamically

(Detailed explanation of the CRM Key Points are given in Chapter 6 .
A working group of the original ACRM centers (VAStanford, Boston CMS, Toronto Sunnybrooke) has
promulgated a set of criteria to be met by a curriculum to be called ACRM or ACRM-like. Table 7-9 presents
an excerpt of the criteria. The full set of criteria is available at http://anesthesia.stanford.edu/
VASimulator/ACRM_Criteria.htm.
Table 7-9 -- Characteristics of Anesthesia Crisis Resource Managementlike Simulator Training
Objectives
Learn generic principles of complex problem solving, decision making, resource management, and teamwork
behavior
Improve participants' medical/technical, cognitive, and social skills in the recognition and treatment of realistic,
complex medical situations
Enhance capacity for reflection, self-discovery, and teamwork and building a personalized tool kit of attitudes,
behaviors, and skills
Aim
Prevent, ameliorate, and resolve critical incidents
Setting Characteristics
Realistic simulation environment replicating a relevant work setting (or an actual patient care setting with insitu simulation)
Personnel to represent individually those found in the typical work environment of the participant, including
nurses, surgeons, and technicians
Bulk of the training course consists of realistic simulations followed by detailed debriefings
Primary participant can request and receive help from other participants
Participants may rotate between different roles during different scenarios to gain different perspectives
Simulation scenarios may be supplemented by additional modalities, including activities such as assigned
readings, didactic presentations, analysis of videotapes, role playing, or group discussions
Training involves significant time (>4 hours, typically 8 hours) and is conducted with a small group of
participants
Content Characteristics
Scenarios require participants to engage in appropriate professional interactions
At least 50% of the emphasis of the course is on crisis resource management behavior (nontechnical skills),
rather than medical or technical issues (nontechnical skills are discussed in Chapter 6 )
Observation only is not equivalent to actual participation in the course
Faculty Characteristics
Training is intense and entails high level of involvement of faculty with the participants and a low participant-tofaculty ratio
Faculty, especially those leading debriefing, have special training or experience in conducting crisis resource
managementoriented training
Debriefing Characteristics
Debriefings are performed with the whole group of participants together and use (as appropriate) audio/video
recordings of the simulation sessions
Debriefings emphasize constructive critique and analysis in which the participants are given the greatest
opportunity possible to speak and to critique and to learn from each other (debriefing facilitation)
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These criteria delineate that special training is needed for instructors in ACRM-like curricula. Experience
suggests that the most difficult aspect of ACRM instructing is debriefing, and new instructors require a significant
period of experience, preferably under supervision by more senior instructors, before being ready to be fully
independent instructors. Several groups working separately or collectively have developed comprehensive training
programs on simulation instruction, including substantial modules on debriefing and scenario design.
ACRM-like curricula use several teaching modalities to achieve these goals, including the following:
A comprehensive textbook on anesthesia crisis management (Crisis Management in Anesthesiology). This
book includes didactic material on ACRM principles and a comprehensive catalog of critical incidents in
anesthesia that provides guidelines for preventing, recognizing, and managing 83 perioperative situations
in a uniform format. The catalog section of the text is intended to provide study material to increase
anesthesiologists' stock of precompiled response plans to common and uncommon situations. This
textbook has been translated into Japanese and German (by one of this chapter's authors).
A brief presentation reviewing the principles of CRM and patient safety.
Analysis of a videotape of an aviation accident.
Small group exercises analyzing a videotape of an actual patient care mishap or analyzing written or
video presentations about difficult cases.
Several hours of complex multifaceted realistic simulations in which training participants rotate through
different roles, including primary anesthesiologist, first responder (called cold with no knowledge of
the situation), and scrub nurse. Other personnel play the roles of surgeons, nurses, and technicians as in a
real operating room. Each situation is followed by a detailed debriefing with video feedback (see earlier
discussion of debriefing).
Several publications have detailed the response of participants with varying levels of experience to ACRM
training. [95] [109] Participants have been extremely positive about their experience in the ACRM course, and most
believe that it contributes to their safe practice of anesthesia. Table 7-10 shows the results of one of the earliest
studies on that topic.
Table 7-10 -- Evaluation of Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM) Course in Harvard Anesthesia
Simulation Training
Attending Staff (n= 30)
Residents and Fellows (n= 34)
Rating
Scale
Evaluation of Simulator
Environment (%)
Value of ACRM
Course (%)
Evaluation of Simulator
Environment (%)
Value of ACRM
Course (%)
Less
favorable
13
10
15
15
11
10
25
28
28
More
5
33
54
46
75
favorable
Modified from Holzman RS, Cooper JB, Gaba DM, et al: Anesthesia crisis resource management: Real-life
simulation training in operating room crises. J Clin Anesth 7:675-687, 1995.
At VAStanford, ACRM has been extended to a multilevel course conducted over several years (i.e., ACRM 1, 2,
3). As the course levels progress, the scenarios become more complex and involve subspecialties of anesthesia. In
addition, additional teaching modules cover other important aspects of organizational safety, such as systems
thinking in morbidity and mortality conference settings or peer review settings, follow-up response to severe
adverse perioperative events, and disclosure to the patient or family of bad news after an adverse event.
ACRM courses and ACRM-like variants are now being offered worldwide and are often mandatory for trainees
(and in some cases for experienced personnel). In Denmark, ACRM-like training courses are a legal requirement
for nurse anesthetists (3-day course) and first-year (2-day course) and third-year residents (4-day course), in
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addition to some other simulator training courses (e.g., difficult airway). Further plans are being made to require
simulation training for ICU and recovery room nurses and ICU residents. [114] [115] [116] Salas and colleagues [33]
published an excellent critical overview about prerequisites for effective CRM training.
Simulation for Training of Anesthesia Residents
Simulation is now a widely used technique in the training of anesthesia residents. It is used in various waysfor
technical training on particular procedures or patient care protocols (especially for airway management), for
supplementing didactic instruction about anesthesia equipment, and for training about issues of decision making
and nontechnical skills as outlined earlier concerning ACRM. Nearly every anesthesia residency program in the
United States now offers some cogent simulation training experiences, although the scope, frequency, and target
content vary.
Other disciplines and other countries may not have adequate simulation training coverage during residency, as
evidenced by a study by Hayes and colleagues [117] about the perception of Canadian internal medicine residents
to be qualified for their service on the cardiac arrest team: 49% felt inadequately trained, 50% felt that the
provided advanced life support course did not prepare enough to lead the arrest team, and almost none got
postevent debriefing or feedback.
Special Considerations in Pediatric Simulation
A sizable body of international experience with simulation in pediatric settings now exists (see Chapter 82 ). [43]
[111] [118] A study by Overly and coworkers [119] assessing airway management skills in pediatric residents
identified many areas of concern about residents' abilities. The authors concluded that high-fidelity simulation can
be used to assess residents' airway management, and that the training program was effective to teach these skills.
Many centers use pediatric simulators predominantly for training of the management of critical incidents and
medical emergencies, targeting trainees and specialists in anesthesia and pediatric critical care medicine. Because
there is frequent organizational and clinical overlap between personnel engaged in pediatric anesthesia, critical
care, and emergency medicine, multispecialty (physician crews from different specialties) and multidisciplinary
(crews from different professional disciplines), team training can be particularly helpful to prevent failures of
cooperation at treatment interfaces (Figs. 7-15 and 7-16 [0150] [0160]). A review by Eppich and colleagues [35] on
team training in pediatric acute care settings underlines the impact and effectiveness of team training addressing
pediatric teams. The American Academy of Pediatrics now specifically recommends teamwork and
communication training for all health care professionals in pediatric emergency settings, and the American Heart
Association has included a team concept video and eight elements of team dynamics in its training programs. [120]
[121] [122]
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Figure 7-15 Pediatric full team simulation training. The primary trainees (anesthesia) have to solve problems with the infant simulator, while urologic surgical
team members perform their procedure. (Courtesy of C. Eich, University Hospital, Gttingen, Germany.)
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Figure 7-16 Neonatal CRM and resuscitation training at a neonatal emergency workplace. All treatment steps need to be performed in the simulation to show the
need to coordinate and delegate. The experienced instructor (on the right side of the infant) is taking part as a team member, while another instructor team is in
the control room, presiding over simulation control and debriefing videos. CRM, crisis resource management. (Picture taken at Stanford Simulation Center.)
In contrast to adult medicine, the demand in pediatrics for simulation has been largely to address particular
points of medical knowledge and technical skill, perhaps because many personnel have little experience with
pediatric care, especially for cases involving neonates and infants ( Table 7-11 ). [123] Many simulation courses in
pediatric anesthesia or intensive care need extensive involvement by experienced pediatric clinicians. More senior
clinical personnel who work regularly in pediatric settings may be comfortable with their pediatric clinical skills,
but may be more interested in the generic nontechnical skills that are equally applicable to pediatric and adult
care. [120]
Table 7-11 -- Unique Aspects of Simulation in Pediatric Anesthesia
Huge discrepancy between high degree of required clinical proficiency and often limited level of expertise
Strong demand for training on medical-technical aspects of managementrecommendation to participate in a
pediatric advanced life support course before simulation team training course
Need to familiarize with parental presence during pediatric anesthetic care by combination of simulation and
role play
The small patient requires an even better organization of the work environment and task responsibilities (in-situ
training)
High-impact multidisciplinary team training, including CRM
High level of interest in assessment and certification of trainees and subspecialists for work in pediatric
anesthesia
There is a positive correlation between the difficulty of pediatric scenarios and the participants' own perception of
the learning effect. [123] Scenarios that participants rarely encounter in their clinical practice (e.g., an infant in
circulatory shock owing to extensive thermal injury) on the one hand are thought to be threatening, but on the
other hand are considered to be particularly beneficial in terms of training effect. A commonplace but interesting
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aspect inherent in pediatric simulation is the incorporation of role play by family members. Although family
members may be present in adult medicine, their presence in pediatrics is nearly ubiquitous. [124] This presence
can put further strain and stress on the provider, making it particularly useful to add family role players (either
trained actors or instructors or even the participants themselves) to pediatric simulation scenarios. [118]
Continuing Medical Education
Most simulation centers offer CME for experienced practitioners, and nearly all aspects of simulation training for
residents (except novice training) can be expanded for this purpose. Several studies have shown that experienced
anesthesiologists also have deficiencies in the management of critical patient situations and make severe errors
comparable to those of anesthesia residents. [64] [116] [125] [126] [127] [128] [129] A study by Jacobsen and associates
in Denmark [130] involving 42 specialist anesthesiologists showed major deficiencies in the diagnosis and treatment
of anaphylactic shock and in application of the ACRM principles when a score adopted from Gaba and Howard
was used. [69] [131] Because crisis situations are rare during routine clinical work, these results are not unexpected.
In addition, experience in terms of years on the job and hierarchy probably do not correspond to expertise and
excellence. It cannot be overemphasized that crisis management training with simulators should be started early
in education and training and applied on a recurring basis during practice.
An aspect of CME training in the United States is that it is regulated separately by each of the states, and it is
nearly uniformly based only on the number of hours spent in the activity. Reading a short article and answering a
handful of questions can generate 1 hour of credit, as can sitting through a lecture. Simulation training is
generally much more interactive and much more intensive than other activities. In Australia and Germany, CME
requirements are expressed in terms of points to be accrued. Simulation training counts for a large number of
points per hour spent, commensurate with its intensity, which might make simulation-based CME financially
competitive relative to simpler methods.
The ASA has established a standing Committee on Simulation. The ASA offers an endorsement (analogous to but
different from an accreditation) of simulation programs that can show their capability to offer excellent CME
curricula to ASA members. The Committee began reviewing applicants for endorsement in 2008.
At the Harvard hospitals, the captive insurer, Harvard Risk Management Foundation, has taken unprecedented
steps to link simulation-based CME training to discounts for medical malpractice premium rates for experienced
clinicians in anesthesia and in obstetrics (Cooper J: personal communication, 2005). This forward-thinking
program is now being adopted by other malpractice carriers. In some jurisdictions, risk managers have chosen to
invest directly in simulation activities at their institution, rather than to use the premium discount approach.
Use of Patient Simulation for Training Health Care Personnel outside Anesthesia
Anesthesiology remains a driving force in the use of simulation in health care, but simulation has spread to nearly
every discipline and domain. It is proven to be particularly applicable to other areas that share the cognitive
profile of anesthesiologydynamic decision making (played out over seconds, minutes, and hours), with complex
teams, wielding highly lethal interventions. ACRM-like training has been performed in settings that include, but
are not limited to, intensive care, [113] [132] emergency medicine and emergency field responders, [133] [134] [135]
[136] [137] [138] trauma medicine and surgery, neonatology (neonatal resuscitation and neonatal ICU), labor and
delivery ( Fig. 7-16 ), [139] [140] cardiac arrest and rapid response teams, [141] [142] [143] and radiology. Simulation
is such a diverse technique that it is equally applicableusing different modalities of simulationto nearly all
domains. Knudson and colleagues [36] found a significant improvement in overall and teamwork scores in surgical
residents when taking care of critically injured simulated trauma patients if they have undergone CRM-like
simulation training.
The military and Homeland Security also have been heavy users of simulation in health care, where it has been
applied to the initial training of new field medics and to the recurrent training of experienced clinicians and
clinical teams. [144] Figure 7-17 shows one room with 10 simulators in a training center for military medics that
has more than 100 simulator mannequins altogether.
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Figure 7-17 Simulation-based training center for military medics. The room is equipped with 10 SimMan training stations. During training sessions, one
instructor team is sitting at each foot of each mannequin. Teaching is provided on scene during the sessions.
Simulation is now used more frequently in training for the management of chemical, biologic, or nuclear threats
from accidents, weapons of mass destruction, or terrorism. One of our groups in Tbingen, Germany, used their
simulator to test the constraints of treating patients in full chemical protection gear (publication of the results is in
preparation) to optimize the strategies of the German Ministry of Internal Affairs for dealing with terror attacks
or chemical plant disasters (Figs. 7-18 and 7-19 [0180] [0190]) (see Chapter 74 ). Several investigators have
performed multidisciplinary studies with combined simulation modalities (script-based, model-based mannequin
simulators, and simulated acted patients) to teach the management of victims of an attack with weapons of mass
destruction and terrorism. [59] [60] The demand for such training is substantial in nations engaged in active
military conflicts or with an ongoing need to prepare for war or terrorist attacks (e.g., the United States and
Israel).
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Figure 7-18 Realistic patient simulation as a test bed for studying the performance of medical rescue teams in full chemical protection gear. Teams wore normal
uniforms or full protection suits while performing basic resuscitation actions (e.g., placement of intravenous lines, drawing up drugs, intubation). (Picture taken
at the TuPASS Center for Patient Safety and Simulation, Tbingen, Germany.)
Figure 7-19 In rescue situations with full protective gear, communication within the team and with the patient is difficult. (Picture taken from a video screen at
the TuPASS Center for Patient Safety and Simulation, Tbingen, Germany.)
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Use of Patient Simulation for Research
Research in simulation falls into two categories: (1) research about simulationtesting or improving the
techniques, technologies, and pedagogy of simulation, and (2) research that uses simulation as a tool to study other
things, such as human performance, clinical cognition, or clinical care processes (see Chapter 6 ). Table 7-12
provides a sampling of these latter types of questions. As a research tool, simulation offers some unique features,
and it can be thought of as a complementary window on the clinical world relative to other modalities. One can
study clinical work using prospective observation of real cases. This has the benefit of being prospective, but by
nature, more cases in most domains would be unremarkable, and one would mostly observe the routine and banal.
For some purposes, this study would be more than sufficient. Another source of information is in case reports of
challenging cases, whether the challenges were expected or unexpected. These also are real cases, and they are out
of the ordinary, but the data obtained from such retrospective reports are usually scanty and biased.
Table 7-12 -- Research Issues That Can Be Addressed by Using Simulation
Cognitive Science of Dynamic Decision Making (see Chapter 6 )
What is the interaction of precompiled procedural knowledge versus deep medical knowledge and abstract
reasoning?
How does supervisory control of observation relate to vigilance, data overload, and visual scanning patterns?
What is the information content of watching the surgical field?
How are optimal action planning and scheduling implemented?
How does re-evaluation fail and result in fixation errors?
Human-Machine Interactions
What is the distraction penalty for false alarms?
Is there an advantage to integrated monitors and displays versus multiple stand-alone devices and displays?
How easy to use are the controls and displays of existing anesthesia equipment in standard case situations and in
crisis situations?
Teaching Anesthesia in the Operating Room
How much teaching can be accomplished in the operating room without sacrificing the anesthesia crew's
vigilance?
How well can faculty detect and categorize the performance of anesthesia trainees?
What teaching styles are best integrated with case management in the operating room?
Issues of Teamwork
How does an anesthesia crew (attending anesthesiologist plus resident or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist)
interact during case and crisis management?
How is workload distributed among individuals?
How do crew members communicate with each other, and how do they communicate with other members of the
operating room team?
Effects of Performance-Shaping Factors on Anesthesiologist Performance
How do sleep deprivation, fatigue, aging, and the carryover effects of over-the-counter medications, coffee, or
alcohol affect the performance of anesthesiologists?
Intelligent Decision Support
Can smart alarm systems or artificial intelligence provide correct and clinically meaningful decision support in
the operating room or intensive care unit?
Development of New Devices and Applications: Research Regarding Technique of Simulation
How well do simulators resemble the operating room and provoke the same actions as use in the operating room
(ecologic validity of simulators)?
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How much does debriefing add to learning from simulation? Are specific techniques of debriefing (e.g., use of
video; participant-centered discussion) of significant utility?
How does the setting of simulation scenarios influence aspects of perceived reality, and how does it influence
transfer into the real world?
Does simulation training lead to better clinical practice and improved clinical outcomes?
Simulation provides an alternative view of clinical work that can be prospective and about challenging cases,
albeit simulated cases. The simulation centers around the world probably have the largest experience by far of
observing anesthesiologists managing (simulated) malignant hyperthermia. It is hard to imagine how else one
might gather systematic data about how clinicians work while managing this uncommon life-threatening situation.
An important milestone for simulation-based research of both types is the publication by the Society for
Simulation in Healthcare since 2007 of a peer-reviewed journal titled Simulation in Healthcare (one of the authors,
D.G., is the founding editor-in-chief of the journal). In addition, for research that is linked tightly to a specific
clinical domain, the traditional medical specialty journals have become more welcoming to articles about
simulation or that use simulation as an experimental technique.
Cooperation between simulation directors and instructors with psychologists, human factors engineers, or
educators has proved to be helpful in research and training. Such collaborations have helped to delineate the
theoretical foundations of simulation-based experiential learning, for improving the understanding of debriefing,
and for research on work psychology and human performance in health care. [19] [21] [22] [26] [27] [145] [146] Many
institutions have integrated psychologists or educators or both into their simulation center staff. [104] Ways to
make such collaborations fruitful and rewarding also have been described.
Use of Patient Simulation in Support of Biomedical Industries
Various simulation activities have involved the pharmaceutical or medical equipment industries. Numerous
centers (perhaps the University of Florida at Gainesville was the first) offer training to executives and sales
representatives of equipment and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The simulator allows these individuals to gain
some understanding of the clinician's task demands during patient care and the situations in which their
company's drugs or devices could be useful. At the Boston Center for Medical Simulation, this course is dubbed
Anesthesia for Amateurs. Other industrial uses include training personnel in the use of novel pharmaceuticals.
Simulators have been featured in a multifaceted approach to launch the opioid remifentanil. Simulators were used
to train the manufacturer's representatives and clinicians in safe use of the drug, and it was possible to train
anesthesiologists in the application of remifentanil with the simulator before remifentanil was approved by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (WB Murray: personal communication, 1998.) Besides offering important
educational benefits, the industrial activities are an important source of income for simulation centers to help
defray the costs of training students and residents.
Simulators have been used to conduct research on human factors issues in the development of new monitoring and
therapeutic devices. The simulator also provides a unique test bed and demonstration modality for
preprocurement evaluation of the usability of medical devices from different manufacturers. In our own hospitals
(Stanford and Tbingen, Germany), simulators enabled us to conduct evaluations of prototype monitoring
systems that were not yet approved for clinical use and could not be evaluated in a preprocurement clinical trial.
Other Uses of Simulators
Other unique applications of simulators have surfaced. Some centers use simulators for conducting outreach
programs with high school or college students interested in health care. Simulators have been used to help produce
educational videotapes on various patient safety issues. It has been suggested that a legislator day could be held
in a simulator center to familiarize legislators with the demands of dynamic patient care.
Simulators have been used as adjuncts in medicolegal proceedings. [147] Current patient simulators cannot predict
the exact physiologic behavior of a specific patient, but they can be used to illustrate typical perioperative
situations and the role of different monitors and therapeutic actions, and provide context for the patient
management questions of the litigation.
Effectiveness of Simulation Training
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Flanagan and associates [148] provide a thorough review on the literature to date on the efficacy of simulationbased training for learning and assessment. The investigators identified more than 3500 articles, of which 458
were included in the review. The conclusion was that simulation makes a valuable contribution to learning for
students, trainees and clinicians. It enables learning of both routine and non-routine procedures and management
of patients. [148] They further concluded that simulation is widely used in teaching and learning, is increasingly
being used for formative and low-stakes assessments, and is rarely used (but under growing consideration for)
high-stakes summative assessment. Flanagan and associates [148] also observed that the range of simulation
modalities used for these activities varies widely. Similar to the BEME review by Issenberg [25] , they found that
many studies lacked a robust design, and that the level of outcome effectiveness as measured with a modified
Kirkpatrick scale rarely exceeded 3 out of 6, with most at the level of 2 or below.
The most important question concerning simulator-based training in anesthesia is its cost-effectiveness. This
complicated question has two independent components. The first component is the impact and benefit of the
training on the performance abilities of participants, and the second is the cost to achieve that impact. In
principle, simulation has many advantages as a training tool, as follows [149] :
There is no risk to a patient.
Exercises in routine procedures can be repeated intensively, whereas situations and events involving
uncommon, but serious problems can be presented at will.
Participants can learn to use actual complex devices (with a hands-on simulator).
The same situation can be presented independently to multiple subjects for evaluating individual or
group performance.
Errors can be allowed to occur that in a clinical setting would require immediate intervention by a
supervisor.
The simulation can be frozen to allow discussion of the situation and its management, and it can be
restarted or begun anew to show alternative strategies or techniques.
Recording, replay, and critique of performance are facilitated because patient safety or confidentiality is
not an issue.
The fidelity required of the simulator and the choice between screen-only and realistic simulators depend on the
intended goals of the training and the relevant target population. A spectrum of computer-based training is
possible. Computer-assisted instruction programs and partial-task trainers can be used to teach basic concepts
and technical material, such as the uptake and distribution of inhaled anesthetics or the pharmacokinetics of
intravenous drugs. These uses are appropriate for students, novices, advanced residents, and experienced
practitioners. Screen-only simulators are inexpensive and easy to use. They allow the presentation of and practice
with the concepts and procedures involved in managing normal and abnormal case situations. They also are useful
for numerous user populations. Realistic simulators can be used to capture the full complexity of the real task
domain, including human-machine interactions and the complications of working with multiple personnel. They
are most appropriately used for residents and experienced practitioners. Regardless of the device used, the
simulator is only a teaching tool that must be coupled with an effective curriculum for its use. [25]
The evaluations conducted so far suggest that simulator-based training is a powerful technique that novice and
experienced anesthesiologists believe to be highly beneficial, and that participants and instructors alike believe
may improve clinical performance. As the developers of Sim One 7 pointed out, when simulation provides an
opportunity to teach material that cannot be taught in another way, as for the systematic instruction of
anesthesiologists in handling severe critical events such as cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, or malignant hyperthermia,
there is nothing with which to compare the simulator. Assessing whether the actual outcome of patients can be
affected by this or any other training modality would be extremely difficult and expensive. Individuals
investigating simulator-based training do not believe that definitive outcome studies of this type are logistically
feasible. [150] Determining the impact of a given type of simulator training on the intermediate variables of
performance and ability is feasible, but it would not be easy. The Leiden group provided data supporting the
contention that simulation training improves performance in handling a malignant hyperthermia situation. There
is a potential, however, for substantial bias when attempting to measure the impact of simulator training by using
performance in the simulator as a criterion. The control procedures used by the Leiden group alleviate this bias,
but they cannot eliminate it. [151]
Perhaps of even greater importance, no methodology is currently accepted for measuring the clinical performance
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of anesthesiologists either in the simulator or in actual practice. [152] Ironically, the simulator itself provides a tool
for presenting the same calibrated situation to multiple anesthesiologists and may be a crucial tool in developing
such performance measures. Many groups around the world are trying to refine performance measurement
tools, [107] [140] [153] [154] [155] [156] [157] [158] [159] [160] [161] [162] [163] [164] [165] [166] [167] [168] [169] [170] [171] [172] but
no gold standard measurement is yet available to assess a simulation's effectiveness (see the later section on
evaluation of performance). [152]
How Simulation Can Be More Effective
Health care has not yet scratched the surface of assessing the impact of simulation-based training. Most simulation
is currently targeted at students and trainees (i.e., residents), although programs targeting experienced personnel
are growing. The assessment of the impact of simulation to date can be seen using the following analogy to drug
development and testing. Suppose we wished to test whether a purported antihypertensive drug actually
succeeded in reducing blood pressure in patients, and, more importantly, whether it reduced the occurrence of
adverse cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Imagine then that we proceeded as
follows: Administer a relatively small dose of this drug only a few times per year. Acknowledge variable
compliance in taking even these few doses of drug. Immerse all subjects in an environment full of stress and other
factors predisposing to cardiovascular events. Use only a few patients, and follow them for a very short time.
Using this methodology, would anyone wonder if no significant effect was found even for a drug otherwise known
to be effective? Simulation in health care has so far been tested in this way: very small short-term studies of
infrequent (often short) simulation sessions, whose lessons are not fully reinforced in real clinical environments
full of production pressure and stress. In truth, the question is not Does one run through a simulation course
make a practitioner better? To follow the lead of other industries of intrinsic hazard, such as commercial
aviation or nuclear power production, the real question is: What is the impact of health care as an industry
adopting a comprehensive integrated strategy of intensive simulation-based training and continued performance
assessment of clinical personnel, over a long period of time? This is the approach in aviation, where no matter
how senior and how experienced pilots are, they still undergo training and assessment in simulation every year,
for the entirety of their careers.
Even so, industries such as aviation do not have anything resembling level 1A evidence for the benefits of
simulation, even though such studies could be grafted onto the existing structure of yearly training and testing. It
is unlikely that aviation would ever attempt randomized trials. For one thing, as the saying goes, Pilots are the
first ones at the scene of the accident. It seems unlikely that pilots would forgo simulation training and
assessment when their own lives are on the line. For another thing, the public has come to expect that there is a
regulatory safety floor imposed by the government to ensure the competency of pilots. The regulator is unlikely to
forgo its requirement for mandatory training and testing of pilots. If such requirements continue, there may be
only two options: conduct them in real airplanes, with the attendant costs (e.g., fuel) and risks, or conduct them
using simulation. With health care heading toward that direction, [37] [38] [43] [46] [173] [174] [175] [176] [177] we may
be able to assess the impact of more effective simulation programs, although we might lose a control group.
Avoiding Subthreshold Training Effects
To date, simulation training has largely been employed in small doses given intermittently, not sustained over
the long-term, and ignoring many personnel who are crucial in the chain of patient care. When conducted this
way, simulation training may not achieve a critical mass and may produce a subthreshold effect. It seems likely
that a long-term cumulative effect would be achieved only with a long-term comprehensive program of training
and performance assessment.
It is possible that it is worth the inherent logistical difficulties and costs to undertake bulk training (>75% of
personnel trained in a short time, rather than starting a program of training a few individuals a month and
achieving a high penetration rate only in months or years). Where the training is about teamwork and behavioral
issues (CRM-focused), this might be especially important so that the lessons taught in the simulator are
continuously reinforced by experiences in real patient care. The hope is that creating a critical mass of adherents
to CRM principles via simulation would create a self-sustaining reinforcement of safety-oriented behaviors that
continues with only occasional refresher sessions of simulation.
An analogy for that effect would be the starting of a fire with wood logs: If you take away the match too early, you
do not light the fire, and all you get is a black mark on the wood, but if you keep the match on the wood long
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enough (similar to activation energy), the fire starts to burn and spread to all logs without any more input
similar to what we would like to see with CRM team behaviors.
Ecologic Validity of Simulators Compared with the Operating Room
The question whether full-scale simulators are an ecologically valid representation of the operating room (i.e., to
what extent the environment experienced by the subjects in a scientific investigation has the properties it is
supposed or assumed to have by the experimenter [178] ) has been investigated by an interdisciplinary research
group in Tbingen and Zurich. [145] If the actions in the simulator resemble the actions in real operating room
environments (behavioral validity), it is much more likely that the results of research conducted in a simulator
setting or lessons learned in the simulator environment would be transferable to the context of actual patient care.
The group developed an improved task analysis method that allows the recording of overlapping activities (41
actions from five categoriesmonitoring, actions, communication, documentation, and other) to analyze and
describe the performance of anesthesia. [179]
This method is described in more detail in Chapter 6 . Each of the six anesthesiologists participating in the study
was observed during two clinical cases and during three comparable simulator cases (one routine and two
involving critical incidents). Analysis of the study showed good comparability of the different action categories
( Fig. 7-20 ). The interpretation of the group is that overall comparability between the operating room and the
simulator setting is good, indicating high ecologic validity for simulators in anesthesia. The results of the study
also show few, but distinct variations in the task structure of operating room and simulator cases. These variations
are mostly due to organizational factors (e.g., fewer additional tasks required in the simulator). These studies
provide objective confirmation of the favorable subjective impressions of realistic simulation scenarios by
anesthesiologists of varying levels of experience. [126] [127] [159] [161] [180] [181] [182]
Figure 7-20 Validity of simulator systems versus the operating room (OR). The same anesthesiologists were observed in the OR and the simulator environment
with full enactment of the OR personnel, surgical team, and anesthesia nurse. Even though the two settings have some interesting differences, the overall
ecologic validity of the simulator is good. (Courtesy of T. Manser, ETH Zurich, and University Hospital, Tbingen, Germany.)
Some differences between simulation and real patient care are inherent to simulation. Subjects realize that they
are in a simulator and are likely to be hypervigilant (e.g., many participants neglect documentation in the
simulator while waiting for a disaster to happen). In addition, there might be some organizational factors that are
usually different in the simulator than in the real operating room (e.g., reflected in fewer additional tasks in the
simulator compared to the real OR in the study of Manser and Rall). Careful and creative scenario design and
introductory briefings may mitigate the hypervigilance and organizational effects. [47] [183]
Evaluation of Clinical Performance during Simulation Scenarios
The introduction of patient simulators allowed the study of human performance when responding to critical
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events (see Chapter 6 ). Techniques are needed to assess anesthesiologists' performance. Performance can be
divided into two components: technical performance, which is the appropriateness and thoroughness of the
medical and technical response to the critical event, and behavioral performance, which is the appropriate use of
sound crisis management behavior (e.g., leadership, communication, distribution of workload). [184] [185] (See
Chapter 6 on CRM.) Assessment of medical and technical responses has resulted in technical scores suggested
by different authors. [151] [152] [160] [161] [186] [187] [188] [189]
Simulation offers some benefits in assessing performance. Because the nature and cause of the critical incident are
known, one can construct in advance a list of essential or appropriate technical activities with relative weights of
importance. When assessing technical performance in managing malignant hyperthermia, terminating the trigger
agent and administering intravenous dantrolene would be essential items, whereas cooling measures,
hyperventilation, and bicarbonate therapy would be among many appropriate (but less critical) technical
responses. One also can predict in advance specific technical pitfalls. For malignant hyperthermia, such pitfalls
could include diluting dantrolene with the wrong diluent (not sterile water) or an insufficient quantity of diluent.
These pitfalls are known to plague clinicians unfamiliar with therapy for malignant hyperthermia.
Can the clinical outcome of the simulator's mathematical physiology predict how a real patient would have fared
under that individual's care? This would be possible only where the simulator's control logic used detailed
mathematical models of physiology and pharmacology, and not with the script-based control logic. In the latter
case, the physiologic state achieved is no different than the checklist of the actions taken that followed the branch
points in the script leading to the outcome. The outcome and the actions are essentially the same. Even when
mathematical models are used, they are insufficient to predict what would happen to any actual patient after
complex sequences of therapy and more subtle patient care judgments. The models have not proven to be robust
and have shown a lack of reproducible outcomes even when the same patient is given identical perturbations
and treatments at exactly the same times.
In extreme cases, the clinical outcome probably does indicate failure or success of performance. A subject who
shows totally erroneous decision making (e.g., failure to defibrillate a simulated patient with ventricular
fibrillation) unmistakably allows the patient's state to deteriorate quickly. The converse may not be true. Perfect
decision making in a resuscitation cannot guarantee that electric countershock would successfully restore a
normal cardiac rhythm. We suggest that even with model-driven simulators, the clinical outcome of the simulated
patient is at best one datum that can be used to assess the performance of the anesthesiologist on a simulation
scenario, but for the foreseeable future, any credible performance measurement technique must involve subjective
and semiobjective judgments by clinical experts. In the last few years, there have been many empirical studies
attempting to use simulation for different forms of performance assessment in various domains and disciplines. *
* References 11 , 32 , 36 , 40 , 44 , 60 , 119 , 127 , 162 , 173 , 176 , 190-215 [190] [191] [192] [193] [194] [195] [196] [197] [198] [199] [200] [201] [202] [203] [204] [205]
[206] [207] [208] [209] [210] [211] [212] [213] [214] [215].
Pitfalls of Performance Assessment
Previous trials, experience in other industries, and theoretical analysis suggest that simulation offers substantial
opportunities to facilitate performance assessment. Various issues must be resolved, however, to make
performance assessment a robust capacity, as follows:
Technical versus nontechnical (CRM) skills. As indicated in previous sections, it is feasible (if difficult) to
assess a technical response to specific events and generic nontechnical behaviors (CRM). For which kinds
of assessments is it appropriate to measure only technical performance, only nontechnical performance,
or some combination of the two?
Number of scenarios. How many different scenarios are needed to achieve robust performance assessment
of individuals in all relevant aspects (technical and nontechnical) of patient care? Some emerging results
suggest that increasing the number of scenarios is more effective in improving the reliability of ratings
than increasing the number of raters is.
Rating individuals versus rating crews or teams. Anesthesiologists work as individuals and in crews and
teams with other anesthesiologists and with surgeons, nurses, technicians, and others. Should the
performance of individuals working alone be assessed? Should anesthesiologists be able to call for and use
help in solving problems? If so, can one still rate the individual when working with a team?
Performance fluctuation. How can performance that fluctuates substantially over time be aggregated into
a single rating? This issue was recognized by Gaba and colleagues [185] as a major apparent source of
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inter-rater disagreement. It is not addressed by the Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills (ANTS)

system. [162] [233] Which techniques would best address this issue, especially as applied to scenarios that
represent the actual complexity of clinical practice?
Criterion thresholds. What level of performance should be set as criterion thresholds for different
purposes? Can benchmarks of performance be established by truly expert clinicians (recognizing that
years of experience or hierarchic rank is not a surrogate for expertise or skill)? Similarly, how does the
rating system deal with single actions or behaviors that were lethal or harmful in the presence of
otherwise good performance? If used for formative assessment, a rating system should indicate the
successes of the examinee and the failures. If used for summative or high-stakes assessment, however, it
may be critical to ensure that the examinee who risks harming a simulated patient cannot outscore
another examinee whose overall performance is less strong, but who at least did not endanger the patient.
Not performing chest compressions in a cardiac arrest situation would be such a knockout criterion.
Appropriate statistical analysis of validity, inter-rater reliability, and reproducibility of these assessments.
Various statistical tests and approaches have been used to evaluate these characteristics. The data on
performance show various levels of inter-rater variance and high interindividual (and interteam)
variability. [127] [151] [159] [160] [161] [180] [185] [216] As detailed by Gaba and colleagues, [185] some interrater reliability statistics are more stringent than others, especially in terms of the nature of the by
chance benchmark. No firm consensus has been reached regarding which tests are most appropriate to
answer key questions about simulation-based performance assessment. Some of the rating systems
(including ANTS) have used less stringent tests of inter-rater reliability. Generalizability theory [217] [218]
offers a set of statistical techniques to sort out the impact of scenario, subject, rater, number of scenarios,
and other facets on such assessments. This technique also specifies how comparisons can be made against
reference performance levels or as relative comparisons between subjects without a fixed benchmark.
Although simulation should enable performance assessment, a robust set of performance measures of
anesthesiologists' skill would be difficult to develop, [219] even if the simulator is used as a tool to present
standardized patient scenarios. [220]
Klemola and Norros [221] published a new way of looking at performance that involves anesthesiologists' habit of
actions. These authors distinguish between reactive habits (conservative, self-contained, reluctant to construct
subjective evaluations) and interpretative habits (creative, interactive, continuous integrative reasoning). This
article shows that a lot of issues need to be considered when discussing the best method of education and
evaluation. Additional issues include defining and assessing professional competence. A more consultant-based
method was introduced by Greaves and Grant, [222] who compiled an inventory of characteristics of the
anesthesiologist's practice. Epstein and Hundert [223] provide a current review.
Although there are presumed advantages to using simulation as a tool for performance assessment (known
scenarios, errors can be allowed to occur and play out, intensive recording and archiving of performance is
possible), the anesthesia community should be careful to introduce simulation-based performance evaluation on a
slow and measured basis. [224] Performance assessment is expected to be a hot topic for discussion in the
simulation and clinical anesthesiology communities in the early 21st century. This controversy should not divert
attention from the major application of simulation, which is to improve clinical performance through individual
and team training in preventing and managing adverse clinical events.
Can Simulators Be Used for the Evaluation and Testing of Residents or Practitioners?
As discussed previously, patient simulators should be useful tools for evaluating the performance of trainees and
others. Scoring or certifying competence by using the simulator is more problematic, however, than using it as a
teaching tool.
Anesthesiologists have discussed the possibility of using the simulator as a tool for examinations, either for
graduation from a residency or for American Board of Anesthesiologists certification. This use would require
independent evaluation of the simulation scenarios and assessment of the predictive power of the subjective
judgments made by experts scoring the examinee. An obstacle is the lack of any well-accepted standard for
performance evaluation. Another difficulty with using simulation for board certification testing is that the
operating room equipment would rarely be the same as that used by the candidate, and the operating room staff's
operational protocols could differ from the protocols familiar to the candidate. In the training situation, these
difficulties can be overlooked as part of the global suspension of disbelief needed to maximize the benefits of
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simulator training. In the test situation, these differences potentially could skew the results. This issue could be
addressed by allowing candidates preparing to take their examination to undergo sufficient practice sessions to
familiarize themselves fully with the standard simulation environment used for the test.
Despite these difficulties, it is likely that if the use of anesthesia simulators does become more widespread,
anesthesiologists would become more interested in using them to assist in evaluating performance. The existing
system of performance evaluation, which uses a haphazard system of subjective judgment of clinical competency
in residency along with written and oral examinations, has itself never been validated. Many believe that the
written examination does not correlate well with clinical ability, and the degree to which the oral examination
process tests actual clinical skill is unknown. Simulation could offer candidates the opportunity to show their
clinical abilities in a controlled clinical domain, while still showing their consulting and language skills through
oral examination.
More recently, there have been a few projects on using simulation as a high-stakes test for clinicians. [37] [38] [96]
[173] [175] [197] [225] [226] Simulation is being used more commonly for no-jeopardy formative evaluations of
performance in some residencies. This use may then evolve into graded pass/fail examinations or
demonstrations of skill. Another situation of simulation-based performance assessment would be for the
evaluation of residents who have been placed on probation, or for whom dismissal from the residency program is
already a distinct possibility. For these residents, the burden of proof is on them to show their skills. The simulator
could offer a more controlled environment for them to do so. The same could be true for practitioners who wish to
return to clinical work after a hiatus.
In Israel, a simulation examination has become part of the Board certification process. In the United States, the
American Board of Anesthesiology has been monitoring the progress of simulation for training and performance
assessment. As of 2008, however, there is no prospect of simulation-based board examinations in the United States.
Characteristics of Simulation Centers
Although one can install a simulator in a laboratory or conference room, or conduct only in-situ simulation, many
institutions have chosen to construct complete simulation centers. Figures 7-21 and 7-22 [0210] [0220] show floor
plans by the authors (D.G. and M.R.) of medium-sized centers (two to four simulation rooms) for mannequinbased simulation. Figure 7-23 shows the equipment of such a center in more detail. Typically, these centers
provide a separate control room to allow complex simulations to be presented without an instructor intruding on
the simulated case. The center also provides a debriefing room where videotapes of the simulation session can be
reviewed. Some centers have elaborate computer-controlled audio-video systems allowing the recording of
multiple views with real-time annotation rapid search to annotated portions of the recording. Figure 7-24 shows
the simulator control room with advanced audio-video equipment at the TuPASS Center for Patient Safety and
Simulation of one of the authors (M.R.) in Tbingen, Germany.
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Figure 7-21 Multiroom simulation center at the VAPalo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University. Two control rooms and two audiovisually
interconnected lecture rooms provide the opportunity to run three patient simulators at the same time. ER, emergency room; ICU, intensive care unit; OR,
operating room.
Figure 7-22 An intermediate-sized simulation center with four simulation rooms, a computer-based training room, and several multipurpose rooms, equipped
with audio-video patch panels to adjust the room use flexibly to the needs of the different training activities (e.g., the big seminar room also can be used as a big
intensive care unit or postanesthesia care unit). (Picture by E. Stricker from TuPASS Center for Patient Safety and Simulation, Tbingen, Germany.)
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Figure 7-23 Prototypical example of a simulation center (former simulation center at University of Tbingen, Germany). The instructors in the control room
look through a one-way mirror into the operating room/intensive care unit (ICU) while they control the patient from the simulator workstation and direct the
audiovisual recording. Various remote-controllable video cameras, microphones, and loudspeakers in the simulator room provide the best possible view and
sound from the scene. Trainees perform on the simulator mannequin and the vital sign monitors and have to interact with the personnel involved at the same
time. Nonactive participants can watch the scenarios live from the adjacent debriefing room, including real-time vital sign transmission, where the video-assisted
debriefing session occurs immediately after every scenario. (From Decker K, Rall M: Simulation in anaesthesia: A step towards improved patient safety. Minim
Invasive Ther Allied Technol 9:325-332, 2000.)
Figure 7-24 Simulator control room. On the left side is the simulator workstation for control of the simulator system itself. In the middle is the audio control desk
with integrated control of the simulated patient voice and several wireless headset channels and the remote mixer. On the right are flat screens for selection and
control of the multiple views of the video cameras. For anesthesia crisis resource management courses, a multiquad-split view, including the vital sign monitor, is
digitally recorded on a hard disk and used for playback. Marks allow jumping to interesting scenes without fast forward or rewind delay. (Taken at the control
room of the TuPASS Center for Patient Safety and Simulation, Tbingen, Germany.)
Universities and hospitals or hospital networks are increasingly constructing very large multidisciplinary and
multimodal simulation facilities. Often, these facilities combine all the types of simulation and immersive learning
in one large unit, including standardized patient actors (usually in clinic settings), mannequin-based simulation,
part-task and surgical/procedural trainers, wet and dry work (e.g., plaster casting or procedures on food
products), and different forms of virtual reality. Sometimes these also incorporate facilities for dissection of
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cadavers or the use of anesthetized animals. Having all forms of simulation together also fosters the hybrid
techniques, as when a standardized patient actor is combined with a part-task trainer, or when a surgical
simulator is combined with a mannequin-based patient simulator. Large multidisciplinary facilities may have
anesthesiologists in leadership positions. Figure 7-25 shows an example of such big centers, the floor plan by one of
the authors (D.G.) of the new center for immersive learning at Stanford University, currently under construction
(2008).
Figure 7-25 Floor plan of a very big interdisciplinary simulation center for multiple domains (anesthesia, surgery, students) with several multipurpose simulation
rooms, and skills laboratories. (Picture by D. M. Gaba, from the Center for Immersive and Simulation-based Learning at Stanford Medical School. Ground floor
built as of June 2008.)
The cost structure of a simulation center is a complex issue (see section on Costs). The cost varies greatly
depending on the scope of the facility and its programs, the nature of the target populations, and the extent of use
by the different possible stakeholder groups. How the costs are allocated to different elements of an institution or
consortium is equally complicated and depends highly on local conditions. There is no one formula for success. In
some models, the center is wholly responsible for its own costs, but is completely free to generate and retain
revenue. At the other extreme is a model whereby the host institution bears all costs of operating a central core
facility, but it also collects any and all revenues and may even tax components of the institution (e.g.,
departments) to offset the costs. Perhaps most common are mixed models in which the central authority bears
costs of initial construction and outfitting (often funded via philanthropy) and some portion of the ongoing
infrastructure (simulation operations personnel, capital refurbishment, utilities), while each user (e.g.,
department) is responsible for providing instructors and paying for the marginal costs of any specific course or
application. To date, few, if any, centers truly generate a profit, but many sites have successfully garnered external
funds to offset some of the costs of training their own key target populations.
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Costs
What are the costs of simulator-based training? These costs depend on many of the same factors that determine
the curriculum, as follows:
Types of training involved, ranging from technology in-service to training in basic anesthesia skills,
critical incident management, or CRM
Target populations for the training, whether equipment technicians, medical students, novice residents,
experienced residents, nurse anesthetists, teaching faculty, or private practitioners
Organizational and financial characteristics of the institution
The hardware and software costs of the screen-only simulators are quite low (a few hundred dollars), whereas the
equivalent cost of a complete hands-on simulator is higher (the prices of commercial simulators range from
around $25,000 for intermediate-fidelity simulators to more than $150,000, depending on features; one should
contact the manufacturers for detailed information). Cumin and Merry [61] report on available simulators. This
cost does not include the necessary clinical equipment (approximately $150,000) and space. [227] Even these large
expenditures do not dominate in the cost equation, however, because the capital equipment can be amortized over
a relatively long useful life, with appropriate provisions for service and upgrades.
The dominant cost is likely to be the salaries of expert instructors and trainees. An expert must oversee the
curriculum, but the type of training and the target population determine the amount of expert instruction
required. A single faculty member can review the summaries of exercises performed by residents on a screenbased simulator in a few hours per resident per year. Nonphysician instructors may be suitable for some task
training or for drill and practice sessions. A single instructor can use the simulator to show pulmonary or
cardiovascular physiology to a whole class of medical students. When training novice residents in basic anesthesia
skills, it may be possible to have senior residents or fellows conduct the sessions at a low marginal cost. When
training experienced residents and practitioners in complex material, such as the handling of critical events, there
is likely to be no substitute for expert instructors. The cost of expert instruction depends on the organizational
arrangements of the institution. In a teaching institution where the faculty all have at least some time allocated for
teaching or scholarly activities, some of them may choose to fulfill this requirement in simulation-based teaching
or scholarship. Where further staffing is needed, payment for clinical release time may be needed.
Another organizational factor that affects the cost has to do with making trainees available for what can be
complex, exhausting, and lengthy training sessions. Removing residents from revenue-producing work for training
purposes is expensive. If simulator training could allow residents or other anesthesiologists to work more safely
and efficiently, the benefit would outweigh the cost. Some residency programs provide protected time for
education of residents (e.g., one half day per week). In such cases, residents should be available for educational
activities, but faculty time may be even more scarce. Many anesthesia programs have used simulation training as a
recruiting tool for residency candidates, although some believe that with the high proportion of programs that
already have simulation activities (the scope and quality of which are hard for applicants to judge), the
competitive value of simulation has disappeared. Programs that lack such facilities and activities would not be the
exception and would likely be seen negatively by applicants.
There is no question that simulation-based training is more costly than exhorting learners to read or putting them
in a room with a lecturer. Simulation-based training allows a host of issues to be addressed that cannot be easily
tackled in other ways. It is our beliefone that has been borne out by programs voting with their feet over the
past 15 yearsthat if simulator-based training is deemed to be desirable, innovative changes in organization
would evolve to allow it to occur.
Proliferation of Simulation Centers
Currently, despite the lack of definitive cost-effectiveness data, training with realistic simulators is under way in
many sites around the world, [228] with many of them choosing to conduct high-end crisis management and
critical incident training sessions. Table 7-13 lists useful websites of simulation centers and other resources. These
programs have already voted with their feet on the issue of cost versus benefit. With so many centers exploring
the realities of simulation training, we can expect to see additional data on efficacy and cost within the next few
years. A definitive study is in principle possible, but it would require a very large number of subjects evaluated by
multiple raters and would be complex and costly.
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Table 7-13 -- Websites of Simulation Centers and Other Useful Resources on Simulation
http://www.ssih.org
Homepage of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, the largest interdisciplinary society around simulation in
Healthcare. Journal Simulation in Healthcare, Elsevier Annual IMSH Meeting (see below).
http://www.hmc.psu.edu/simulation/
Penn State Medical Center, lists of available simulator systems (and links to manufacturers)
www.sesam.ws
Homepage of SESAM (Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine)
http://www.simulation-users.fsnet.co.uk/
Patient Simulation User's Group, website run by Barts and the London Medical Simulation Centre
http://web.anes.rochester.edu/simulate/simusers.htm
http://web.anes.rochester.edu/simulate/webpages.htm
University of Rochester Medical Center providing lists of and updated links to many simulation centers around
the world
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/BMSC/europe.htm
Bristol Simulation Center, map-based list of simulator sites in Europe and worldwide
http://anesthesia.stanford.edu/VASimulator/simulator.htm
VAPalo Alto HCS/Stanford University (D. Gaba)
http://www.tupass.de
Center for Patient Safety and Simulation, University of Tbingen (M. Rall)
Still other factors complicate assessment of the effectiveness of simulator-based training. Studying the impact of a
single session of a course that uses a new technology and a new approach to training may underestimate the
course's impact when it is used on a regular and repetitive basis. It is widely believed in commercial aviation that
CRM training must begin with the initial training of pilots and must be continued throughout their career. Social
psychologists Helmreich and Foushee, two of the main architects of CRM training, have written: Data indicate
that even intensive initial CRM training constitutes only an awareness phase and introduction to the concepts, and
that continuing reinforcement is essential to produce long-term changes in human factors practice. [229]
Similarly, United Airlines states in its CRM manual: Command/Leadership/Resource management [United's
terminology for CRM] cannot be a one-shot approach. It has to be a coordinated long range program. It must
therefore be an integral part of the entire training effort: new hire training, transition and upgrade programs, and
recurrent training. [230]
Finally, the principles and procedures taught in training must be reinforced within the operational environment.
Simulator-based safety training can be totally negated if production pressures or latent failures in the workplace
make it impossible to implement its teachings effectively.
It is still too early to make definitive statements about either the benefits or the costs of simulator-based training
in anesthesia. To some extent, a catch 22 is involved. One cannot attempt to determine the true cost-effectiveness
until simulation is widespread enough for complex and expensive studies to be undertaken, and until there is more
experience on the different organizational aspects of providing the training. Many institutions are likely to shy
away from taking the risk until the cost-effectiveness is proven.
Simulation Societies: Society for Simulation in Healthcare and Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine
One measure of the evolving maturity of simulation in health care is the formation and growth of professional
societies focused on this topic. Although anesthesiology was the medical field that initiated work on the fully
interactive mannequin-based simulator and that dominated the early developments in the field, simulation is a
broad strategy that has now been widely adopted by many different disciplines and domains in health care. For
the most part, simulation professional societies have sprung up as explicitly multidisciplinary organizations.
Major leadership roles in these societies have been played by anesthesiologists and engineers associated with
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anesthesiology, however.
The largest simulation organization is the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH; www.ssih.org
), which
was founded in 2004 as the outgrowth of the group that had operated the International Meeting on Medical
Simulation for several years as a satellite to the annual meeting of the Society for Technology in Anesthesia. Under
the new auspices of SSH, the meeting was transformed into the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare
(IMSH), encompassing all health care disciplines and domains, not just medicine. Regular scientific congresses on
simulation had been under way since the mid 1990s (the Rochester Conferences on Simulation in Anesthesia).
Although they originally had about 100 attendees, Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine (SESAM)
meetings have now around 400 attendees. The IMSH meeting in 2009 is expecting more than 2000 attendees. This
puts it in the category of a medium-sized scientific meeting; to put this in the context of anesthesiology, it would
rank as the third largest scientific meeting in the United States, falling below only the ASA meeting and the New
York Postgraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology (PGA) conference, but ranking ahead of the International
Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) annual meeting.
Another sign of the mainstream nature of simulation is that SSH has published a quarterly peer-reviewed journal,
Simulation in Healthcare, since 2006. It has been integrated in PubMed citations recently (2008). The journal is an
official publication of many international professional societies of simulation in health care, including SESAM
(www.sesam.ws
), the Australian Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and the Association of Standardized
Patient Educators. The organizations have become affiliates of the SSH.
Another sign of maturity is the emergence of a trade organization for simulation in health care dedicated to
educating and influencing policy makers, primarily concerning federal legislation and health policy. The
Advanced Initiatives in Medical Simulation (AIMS) is a 501c6 organization that is allowed to lobby the U.S.
government. Supported by universities and industry, AIMS promotes legislation and offers an annual exhibition
about simulation in health care on Capitol Hill. What was previously seemingly the province of a few
technologically minded anesthesiologists has blossomed into a substantial industry and profession with all the
trappings of organizations, meetings, journals, and even lobbyists.
Future of Patient Simulation in Anesthesia
The future is nowwe are it. [231]

Although nearly past 2 decades of consistent development, the field of simulation in health care is still relatively
new. [5] [16] [232] Although there are hundreds to thousands of simulators in use around the world, many targeting
anesthesiology and critical care, the fraction of clinicians in these fields who have undergone a meaningful
simulation experience is still small.
Simulators have become more sophisticated, and users now can choose from many different models offered by
multiple manufacturers. Improvements in simulators depend on the demand for the devices and on the tradeoff
between fidelity and cost. Many otherwise desirable improvements may be too costly for the impact that they can
be expected to produce. Technologic advances are likely to be targeted at portability and reliability, rather than at
supporting increasingly esoteric feature sets. Many users have opted for simpler and cheaper simulators that use
direct control, modest scripts, and finite state machines to control the changing state of the simulated patient
rather than complex mathematical models. This is partly because the production and use of robust mathematical
models has been more difficult than anticipated.
In contrast to aeronautical engineers, physicians do not design and build the system that they wish to model. The
fundamental differential equations of fluid mechanics and aerodynamics are firmly established, allowing
supercomputers to provide technically meaningful simulations as replacements for many wind tunnel tests. There
are still wind tunnel tests, however, and test flights of actual prototype aircraft. Sophisticated instrumentation can
be built into test structures to define their behavior accurately. Physicians will never have this type of knowledge
about the human body. The advantages and disadvantages of the different types of control logic for different
applications is still being sorted out.
There has been growing interest in purely virtual reality simulations, often of a type similar to massive online
games or to the popular Second Life system. Participating with others in the same virtual world, linked by the
Internet, is appealing for many purposes. Such simulations are only as good as the engines that drive the
underlying patients that may be found there, and the quality of the data provided and interventions and choices
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supported for implementation in these settings. Virtual reality proponents imagine a virtual reality so realistic that
it rivals, or is indistinguishable from, the real world. This would approach the Star Trek Holo-Deck. Although
we once predicted that such systems might be in place by 2020, the development of such high-veracity virtual
reality has not proceeded as quickly as previously imagined, and it is unclear whether full virtual reality of this
nature will be available in the next decade.
Patient simulation has now become a regular part of the initial and recurrent training of most anesthesiologists
and many other clinicians in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and in some European
countries. With patient simulation, the human errorbased CRM concept was introduced to medicine as ACRM
training, revolutionizing the traditional way and content of teaching and learning. The anesthesia community can
be proud of its pioneering role in developing patient simulation technology and simulation-based training
curricula, and anesthesiologists and others working with them continue to play dominant leadership roles in many
settings of simulation, even those devoted to fields outside anesthesia.
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8 Teaching Anesthesia
Alan Jay Schwartz
Key Points
1.
Education is an all-encompassing process (not merely a specific activity) that results in a change in
behavior on the part of the student/learner. The focus of education is the learner, not the teacher. It is the
student who is educated by interacting with an environment that provides experiences. Education is
change in behavior based on experiences.
2.
Adult learners learn anesthesiology. Adult learners are those with strong motivation to participate in a set
of experiences to learn a specific discipline. The discipline that they want to learn is one that they are
interested in or need to know, or both. Adult learners participate in life-centered situational learning in
the area or areas in which relevance is most likely.
Adult learners enter the learning activity with a wealth of previous experience and view the current
education in light of their background. Adult learners can capitalize on this previous learning; however,
the previous learning may color how the current learning takes place.
Adult learners are self-directed and initiate their own activities. Adult learning is goal oriented toward
relevant life-centered needs. An adult learner tends to pick and choose some, not necessarily all, of the
educational activities available.
Inherent differences among people tend to increase with aging. Adult education must provide for
differences in style, time, place, and pace of learning among adult learners. The time factor for learning is
especially crucial for adults. Adults perceive that time passes more rapidly; that is, there is less time
available to learnor to do anything for that matter. With time perceived to be in short supply, adult
learners tend to be selective in their learning to use what time they have more efficiently.
3.
In 2006, there were 4970 resident anesthesiologists in 131 accredited American core anesthesiology
residency programs and 360 subspecialty residents in 213 accredited American subspecialty
anesthesiology programs.
4.
Silber and colleagues, [29] in their study of almost 6000 patients undergoing prostate or gallbladder
surgery in multiple hospitals, demonstrated that patient recovery or rescue from an adverse event
correlated with the proportion of board-certified anesthesiologists in the hospital.
5.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has defined six educational areas for which
residents and fellows must demonstrate competency. These areas additionally are major components of
Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology:
a. Patient CareResidents must be able to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate,
and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health.
b.
Medical KnowledgeResidents must demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving

biomedical, clinical, epidemiologic, and social-behavioral sciences, as well as the application of
this knowledge to patient care.
c.
Practice-Based Learning and ImprovementResidents must demonstrate the ability to

investigate and evaluate their care of patients, to appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and
to continuously improve patient care based on constant self-evaluation and lifelong learning.
d.
Interpersonal and Communication SkillsResidents must demonstrate interpersonal and

communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with
patients, their families, and health professionals.
e.
ProfessionalismResidents must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional
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responsibilities and adherence to ethical principles.

f.
Systems-Based PracticeResidents must demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the

larger context and system of health care, as well as the ability to call effectively on other
resources in the system to provide optimal health care. *
6.
Full-time anesthesiology faculty positions in U.S. medical schools in 2006-2007 numbered 5836. [30]
Anesthesiologists represent 5.6% of the clinical teachers and 4.7% of all American medical school
teaching faculty. [30] The 5836 anesthesia faculty members in medical schools bear the major
responsibility for teaching some or all of the 69,028 enrolled undergraduate medical students, the 4970
graduate trainees in anesthesiology residency training programs, the 360 graduate trainees in
anesthesiology subspecialty fellowship programs, and many of the approximately 104,879 physician
house-staff trainees. [12] [32]
7.
Effective clinical teachers who are able to succeed at the bedside teaching encounter display specific
actions noted by their students and themselves. [35] These actions include
a. Allocating time for teaching
8.
9.
b.
Creating a teaching/learning environment of trust and concern
c.
Demonstrating clinical credibility
d.
An initial orientation
e.
A final evaluation
f.
Learners being able to present a case
g.
Teachers managing the case presentation
h.
Didactic sessions being used to enhance clinical case material
i.
Teaching taking place at the bedside so that students can learn physician-patient relationships
j.
Teachers and students discussing psychosocial issues
k.
Attention being paid to transferring the teaching responsibility
Teaching content requires attention to increasingly complex cognitive functions. As described by Bloom,
[39] teaching/learning in the cognitive domain for any topic addresses the following:
a. Knowledgerecall
b.
Comprehensionunderstanding
c.
Applicationuse of abstractions
d.
Analysisbreak down; seeing the relationship of parts
e.
Synthesisput together; creating a new entity
f.
Evaluationjudgment of value
A systematic methodology to develop a psychomotor skill lesson includes the following steps [54] :
a. Analyze and separate the skill into its component parts and determine which aspects of the skill
are most difficult to perform.
b.
Provide students with a model of the skill, effectively demonstrated in its entirety, that they are
expected to perform.
c.
Make provisions for students to practice until the expected behavior is mastered.
d.
Provide adequate supervision and an evaluation of the final performance.
Pedantic is a description teachers wish to avoid. In the interest of doing so, I offer a fifth grader's biography of
the great teacher Socrates [1] :
Socrates was a man.
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Socrates was a Greek.

Socrates went around telling people what to do.
They poisoned him!
This chapter on anesthesia education is not intended in such a manner that I risk Socrates fate, but rather it is
meant to be provocative, to give cause for thought on an important subject not often reflected on. All anesthesia
education can be easily considered in the following question (Greenhow DE: personal communication, 1982):
How shall who teach what to whom for what purpose now and in the future?!
Anesthesia education is presented by using this question as the framework for consideration. This chapter
provides a philosophy of teaching anesthesia rather than a detailed account of the many aspects of anesthesia
education (e.g., operating room anesthesia versus critical care medicine versus cardiopulmonary resuscitation
versus chronic pain management). Also, this chapter is exclusively directed toward the teaching organization,
regulations, and philosophy of teaching that exist in the United States. See Chapter 3 for perspectives on how
other countries are teaching anesthesia and their philosophic approaches that parallel their needs.
* Adapted from ACGME Outcome Project. Available at www.acgme.org/outcome
Teaching and Education
Teaching, in a narrow sense, the way most of us think about it, is an activity by an individual aimed at causing
another person to know some new fact or to know how to accomplish some new task. The focus appears to rest on
the teacher and the activity of teaching. It does not take long to realize, however, that this way of looking at the
teaching/learning activity has misplaced emphasis. If not with the teaching activity, where does the emphasis
belong? The answer to this question lies in understanding the definition of education.
Education is an all-encompassing process (not merely a specific activity) that results in a change in behavior on the
part of the student/learner. The focus of education is the learner, not the teacher. It is the student who is educated
by interacting with an environment that provides experiences. Education is change in behavior based on
experiences. The experience most often includes the student interacting with a teacher, but it is almost never
limited to that alone. The entire milieu defines the total experience ( Fig. 8-1 ). When the milieu changes, so may
the education; that is, the change in behavior exhibited by the student may vary dramatically if the milieu is
varied.
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Figure 8-1 Diagrammatic representation of the educational experience. The two major components are the plan for teaching and the process of education that
actually occurs. At the core is the content (cognitive, psychomotor, affective, or any combination of the three) to be taught and learned. Growing out of the
content are the planned goals of education, the methods and program of instruction, and the environment in which the teaching and learning will occur. In the
diagram, each building block of the plan is added to the previous one in an all-encompassing fashion. What is planned as education and what is experienced may
or may not be the same. As represented by the diagram, the educational process that actually occurs includes all of the plan and layers on it, both the real
environment and the teacher/student interactions that provide the education, that is, the experiences that provide the basis for the ultimate change in student
behavior. (Modified from Atkins E: Curriculum Theorizing as a Scientific Pursuit: A Framework for Analysis [unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of
Pennsylvania, 1982.)
Picture the educational setting in which an anesthesiology resident is learning how to use epinephrine when
weaning a patient from cardiopulmonary bypass. The knowledge and skills that must be learned include
application of the pharmacologic principles of catecholamines to the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease by
turning on a mechanical infusion pump to deliver the indicated dose of a medication while technically monitoring
for dose response and toxicity. Learning these facts and the skills sufficient to use them is much different when
done from a textbook or a preoperative conference with a staff preceptor than when done during the operating
room interaction between the surgeon and anesthesiologist, where varied opinions may consider dopamine a more
sound physiologic choice or intermittent boluses a better administration technique. The interposition of the
concerned surgeon and real-time patient setting between the student and knowledge and skills to be learned
changes the learning environment and hence the educational experience for the resident. More is learned than the
facts and psychomotor skills. As the attitudes of both the anesthesiologist and the surgeon are displayed during
resolution of the question about the best drug to use and the right way to give it, the resident learns how these
two types of practitioners are supposed to relate to one another.
It seems obvious, therefore, that there is more to consider than just teaching. What more is there to the
anesthesiologist's responsibility than just teaching those around him or her? The answer is provided by answering
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the component parts of the question posed at the beginning of this chapter.
Teach to whom?
Why teach?
Who teaches?
What to teach?
How to teach?
Teach to Whom?The Students
The simplest answer to the question who learns anesthesiology? is those who will provide anesthetic care to
patients. Included are the anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, and dentist who administers anesthesia for dental
procedures. [2] Also to be included are the many varied paramedical personnel who participate in patient care
activities related to primary anesthetic care: the anesthesia technician, anesthesia aide, nurse practitioner,
postanesthesia recovery room nurse, physician assistant, surgeon assistant, respiratory therapist and aide,
intensive care/critical care/emergency room/trauma nurse, perfusionist, emergency medical technician/paramedic,
cardiopulmonary technologist, pulmonary function technician, and blood gas laboratory technician. [2] Each of
these occupations is intimately related in some way to the body of knowledge that constitutes the practice of
anesthesiology.
In a much broader sense, the entire medical community can be considered appropriate learners of anesthesiology.
Medical students, for example, are appropriate candidates for learning a core of anesthetic knowledge and skills,
specifically those essential for the training of all physicians. Basic central nervous system, cardiovascular, and
pulmonary diagnostic monitoring, emergency airway management, and the clinically applied pharmacology of
sedative/hypnotic and analgesic medications and local anesthetics are some of these essentials. Medical students,
graduate physicians, and paramedical personnel of many types are appropriate learners because all are often
faced with the task of educating the lay public about anesthesiology. Who learns anesthesiology, therefore, are
those who practice it or perform related duties that require some understanding of the subject.
Another way to address the question of who learns anesthesiology is to answer adult learners. What describes an
adult learner? [3] How are adult learners unique? Adult learners are those with strong motivation to participate in
a set of experiences, such as a curriculum, to learn a specific discipline. The discipline that they want to learn is
one that they are interested in, need to know, or both. The resident actively seeks education in anesthesiology. A
sixth grader (a child learner), in contrast, does not seek education in arithmetic. Adult learners participate in lifecentered situational learning in the area or areas for which relevance is most likely.
Adult learners enter the learning activity with a wealth of previous experience. They view the current educational
experience in light of their background. An internist who enters an anesthesiology residency in preparation for a
career in intensive care medicine has a rich resource background in medical practice. Adult learners can
capitalize on this previous learning. At the same time, however, the previous learning may color how the current
learning takes place. The key for the teacher is to acknowledge the adult learner's expertise and build the new
education on it rather than downplay it and, in essence, reject the adult learner.
Working together in a mutual peer relationship with the teacher, adult learners are self-directed. Whereas child
learners need a set of directions that originate from the teacher, adult learners initiate their own activities.
Because adult learning is goal oriented toward relevant life-centered needs, an adult learner tends to pick and
choose some, not necessarily all, the educational activities available.
Strong commitment and specific intentional attachments uniquely characterize adulthood. Marriage and child
rearing are examples of such commitments and attachments. At the same time that adults make commitments,
their lives are evolving and they pass through many critical life stages (e.g., assuming financial responsibility,
coping with the illness or death of a parent). These strategic choice points in life have an impact on adult learning.
The decision by an anesthesiology resident, for example, to extend education an additional year to learn a
subspecialty or to participate in research training may be based on the total financial debt incurred for medical
education up to the end of residency and the need to repay that debt, weighed against the acuteness of the family's
financial needs.
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Inherent differences among people tend to increase with aging. Adult education must provide for differences in
style, time, place, and pace of learning among adult learners. The time factor for learning is especially crucial for
adults. Adults perceive that time passes more rapidly, that is, there is less time available to learnor to do
anything for that matter. With time perceived to be in short supply, adult learners tend to be selective in their
learning so that they use what time they have more efficiently. The anesthesiology resident may devote time to
learning in the operating room and weekly departmental case conference but may choose to skip the journal club
to spend time with the family.
Recognition of the special traits that adult learners possess allows the anesthesiology educator to provide an
educational program embraced by the student rather than one that is rejected. Assessing the needs of the adult
learner and using these needs as a springboard from which a curriculum is designed are more likely to result in a
good educational outcome than to impose on the learner what the teacher alone thinks is right.
Why Teach?The Reasons
An obvious reason for teaching anesthesiology is that we as a specialty have defined it as part of our identity (see
Chapters 1 and 2 [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [4] :
The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) exists in order tomaintain the highest standards of practice
by fostering educational facilities and training in anesthesiology which the ABA defines as the practice of
medicine dealing with but not limited toteaching of cardiac and pulmonary resuscitation,supervision,
teaching and evaluation of performance of both medical and paramedical personnel involved in perioperative
care,administrative involvement in health care facilities and organizations, and medical schools necessary to
implement these responsibilities. [4]
In addition to our own description, others define anesthesiology in similar terms:
[An anesthesiologist] May instruct medical students and other personnel in characteristics and methods of
administering various types of anesthetics, signs and symptoms of reactions and complications, and emergency
measures to employ. [2]
Teaching anesthesiology is clearly one component of an anesthesiologist's daily activity. In some instances, it
means providing the experience needed for physician trainees to achieve consultant anesthesiologist status. In
other settings, it means providing the experience needed for other medical and paramedical professionals to
achieve a level of expertise appropriate to their required competenciesas examples, for an internist, the ability to
understand anesthesiology sufficiently to relate to anesthesiologists and educate patients about anesthesiology; for
a postanesthesia recovery room nurse, the ability to understand anesthesiology sufficiently to care appropriately
for patients emerging from anesthesia and to be versed in the critical care aspects of the preanesthesia and
postanesthesia periods to provide life support if necessary.
A major purpose of teaching anesthesiology is to provide a common set of learning experiences that when
mastered by students, will lead to relatively standardized knowledge and behavior. These standards (minimum
standards though they may be) become the criteria by which a student candidate can be evaluated (certified) for
entry into a specified mastery level. [4] [5] [6]
Becoming a consultant anesthesiologist certified by the ABA depends on being able to demonstrate that one
possesses a minimum standard of knowledge of, skills in, and attitudes about anesthesiology. [4] Public trust is
gained by this process of specialty certification, which ensures that a certified specialist has met the defined
standards of anesthesia practice. [4] [5] [6] Although specialty certification in anesthesiology culminates in
evaluation mechanisms (achieving clinical competence as attested to by the training program and successfully
passing written and oral examinations), the certification process is driven by educational activities focused on
teaching the resident how to become a consultant anesthesiologist. [4] [5] [6] A key part of this process is
establishment of the training curriculum or continuum of education in anesthesiology by the ABA. [4]
A resident trainee in anesthesiology voluntarily enrolls in a graduate medical education program and accepts the
ABA's approved curriculum and evaluation (testing) protocol. Coupled with the physician candidate certification
process is the residency education accreditation process. [7] Residency program accreditation is a voluntary
process whereby an institution applies for recognition of its anesthesiology graduate medical education as meeting
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a minimum set of teaching standards that will support the curriculum. Such recognition is achieved from the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The ACGME represents the combined
wisdom of all specialty residency review committees in its publication dealing with institutional requirements of
accredited residencies. [7] More focused training guidelines published as program requirements are defined by the
Anesthesiology Residency Review Committee (RRC), a group representing the ABA, the American Society of
Anesthesiologists (ASA), and the American Medical Association. [8] These guidelines include program
requirements for residency education in (1) anesthesiology (the core program) and fellowship education in its
accredited subspecialties, (2) adult cardiothoracic anesthesiology, (3) critical care, (4) pain medicine, (5) pediatric
anesthesiology, and (6) undersea and hyperbaric medicine. [8] [9]
The teaching responsibilities addressed by the candidate certification and the residency and fellowship education
program accreditation processes are clearly articulated by the ABA [4] :
Establish and maintain criteria for the designation of a Board certified anesthesiologist.
Inform the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) concerning the training
required of individuals seeking certification as such requirements relate to residency training programs in
anesthesiology.
Establish and conduct those processes by which the Board may judge whether a physician who voluntarily
applies should be issued a certificate indicating that the required standards for certification or recertification
as a diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology have been met.
A Board certified anesthesiologist is a physician who provides medical management and consultation during
the perioperative period, in pain management and in critical care medicine. A diplomate of the Board must
possess knowledge, judgment, adaptability, clinical skills, technical facility and personal characteristics
sufficient to carry out the entire scope of anesthesiology practice. An ABA diplomate must logically organize
and effectively present rational diagnoses and appropriate treatment protocols to peers, patients, their
families, and others involved in the medical community. A diplomate of the Board can serve as an expert in
matters related to anesthesiology, deliberate with others, and provide advice and defend opinions in all aspects
of the specialty of anesthesiology. A Board certified anesthesiologist is able to function as the leader of the
anesthesiology care team.
Because of the nature of anesthesiology, the ABA diplomate must be able to manage emergent life-threatening
situations in an independent and timely fashion. The ability to independently acquire and process information
in a timely manner is central to assure individual responsibility for all aspects of anesthesiology care. Adequate
physical and sensory faculties, such as eyesight, hearing, speech and coordinated function of the extremities,
are essential to the independent performance of the Board certified anesthesiologist. Freedom from the
influence of or dependency on chemical substances that impair cognitive, physical, sensory or motor function
also is an essential characteristic of the Board certified anesthesiologist.
Establish and conduct those processes by which the Board may judge whether a physician who voluntarily
applies should be issued a certificate indicating that the required standards for subspecialty certification or
recertification in an ABA designated subdiscipline of anesthesiology have been met. [4]
The ABA-ACGME model addresses the purpose of education in anesthesiology and clearly outlines the
anesthesiologist's responsibilities in teaching colleagues. Other organizational models similar to the ABA-ACGME
example serve the same function for teaching physician anesthesiologists outside the United States.
Meeting the teaching responsibilities for nurse anesthesia is standardized in a fashion similar to that of the ABAACGME model. For nurses, the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists and the Council on Accreditation
of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs serve functions similar to those of the ABA-ACGME model. In 2007,
108 nurse anesthesia educational programs of 24 to 36 months duration (80% are 27/28 months long) graduated
nearly 1200 students educated in approximately 1547 clinical training sites staffed by 8248 certified registered
nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and 4689 anesthesiologists serving as faculty (Council on Accreditation of Nurse
Anesthesia Educational Programs: personal communication, 2007). After the first 2 years of certification, CRNAs
are required to achieve biennial recertification under the auspices of the Council on Recertification of Nurse
Anesthetists.
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Education of nonphysician health care professionals is coordinated by 26 agencies that accredit/approve training
programs in 71 professions. [10] [11] These agencies provide guidelines for education in a standardized fashion so
that professionals in 71 allied health occupations can gain certification in their respective disciplines. [10] [11] More
than 50 professional organizations (including the ASA) serve as experts in their fields and work hand in hand with
the 26 agencies to accredit/approve the educational programs for health professions. [10] [11] The magnitude of
this teaching responsibility becomes clear when one realizes that in 2007-2008, 2468 institutions sponsoring 6873
educational programs educated more than 231,000 students. [10] [11]
Occupations related to anesthesiology for which standardized educational programs have been defined by the
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (www.arc-pa.org
), American
Society of Health SystemPharmacists (www.ashp.org
), Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics
and Information Management Education (www.cahiim.org
), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
Education Programs (www.caahep.org
), and Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology
(www.jrcert.org
) (5 of the 26 accrediting agencies referred to earlier) include anesthesiologist assistant,
cardiovascular technologist, electroneurodiagnostic technologist, emergency medical technician-paramedic, health
information technician, perfusionist, pharmacy technician, physician assistant, radiation therapist, respiratory
therapist (entry level and advanced), specialist in blood bank technology, surgical assistant, and surgical
technologist. [10] [11] In 2006, these occupations were taught in 1572 accredited or approved programs. [10] [11]
Students enrolled in these training programs during the 2006 academic year numbered 45,285. [10] [11]
In contrast to the teaching responsibility for nonphysician health care professionals, in 2006, 4970 physician
resident anesthesiologists (5.6% of all residents in the United States) were educated in 131 accredited American
core anesthesiology residency programs and 360 physician subspecialty fellows (2.3% of all subspecialty fellows in
the United States) in 213 accredited American subspecialty anesthesiology programs (30 adult cardiothoracic
anesthesiology, 49 critical care medicine, 89 pain medicine, and 45 pediatric anesthesiology programs) ( Table 81A and B ). [12] [13] A yearly summary of recruitment of graduating medical students into anesthesiology
residencies via the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) process and how these individuals advance
through the residency education years is published in the ASA Newsletter. [14] [15] Adding the tasks of teaching
medical and allied health care students, participating in continuing education for anesthesiologists, and teaching
other practicing physicians and allied health care professionals increases the educational responsibilities of
anesthesiologists in an exponential fashion.
Table 8-1 -- Number of Anesthesiology Specialty and Subspecialty Graduate Medical Education Programs,
Residents, Fellows, and U.S. Medical Students and Full-Time Faculty
A. Core Anesthesiology Residencies and Residents in Graduate Medical Education (GME)
Programs in the United States Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate
Medical Education (ACGME)
Number (%) of
Number of
Number of
Total Number Core
Residencies/Residents on
Accredited Core of Core
Anesthesiology
Academic
Duty in All ACGMEAnesthesiology Anesthesiology Residents on
Year
Accredited and
Residency
Residents on
Duty Who Are
Combined Specialty
Programs
Duty
U.S. Medical
GME Programs
Graduates
1990
157
4362
3871 (88.7)
4144/69,798
1995
149
5490
4395 (81.1)
4245/85,732
2000
134
3837
1627 (42.4)
4268/85,460
2005
132
4785
3450 (72.1)
4151/86,975
2006
131
4970
3731 (75.1)
4134/89,269
B. Subspecialty Anesthesiology Fellowships and Fellows in ACGME-Accredited GME

Programs in the United States
Number of
Accredited
Academic Subspecialty
Number (%) of
Subspecialty
Total Number of Anesthesiology
Subspecialty
Fellows on Duty
Number of
Subspecialty
Programs/Fellows on
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1990
1995
2000
2005
2006
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Anesthesiology
Fellowship
Programs
Anesthesiology Who Are U.S.

Fellows on Duty Medical
Graduates
Duty in All ACGMEAccredited GME

Programs
Critical care
medicine, 27
4 (57.1)
2447/8,006
Critical care
medicine, 46
70
52 (74.3)
Pain medicine, 55 112
83 (74.1)
Critical care
medicine, 53
29 (49.2)
59
100 (46.5)
Pediatric
63
anesthesiology, 37
33 (52.4)
Critical care
medicine, 47
20 (46.5)
43
88 (46.3)
Pediatric
91
anesthesiology, 43
43 (47.3)
Adult
cardiothoracic,
30
0 (0)
Critical care
medicine, 49
44
22 (50)
127 (61.7)
Pediatric
110
anesthesiology, 45
78 (70.9)
Critical care
2007-2008 medicine
Projected
Pain medicine
Pediatric
anesthesiology
3678/12,529
4095/14,316
4368/15,610
Adult
cardiothoracic
3264/12,100
0
129
264
166
C. Number of Medical Students and Full-Time Faculty (Total and Anesthesiology

Specific) in U.S. Medical Schools
Number of Medical Total Number of
Number (% of Total Faculty) of
Academic
Students in U.S.
Full-Time Faculty in Full-Time Anesthesiology Faculty
Year
Medical Schools
U.S. Medical Schools in U.S. Medical Schools
1990
65,081
72,320
3393 (4.7)
1995
67,030
90,016
4535 (5.0)
2000
66,500
102,446
4979 (4.9)
2005
68,280
119,025
5471 (5.7)
2006
69,028
124,725
5836 (4.7)
Data abstracted from the Journal of the American Medical Association, yearly Medical Education editions: 264, 1990;
274, 1995; 284, 2000; 294, 2005; and 298, 2007; and Warner MA: Residency Review Committee for Anesthesiology.
ASA Newsl 71:26-27, 2007.
One fundamental reason that we teach anesthesiology is that we recognize the need to provide uniform
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educational experiences so that students participating in these activities can reach a goal; that is, they will be
acknowledged (certified) as competent in their discipline. So important is this process that it has been
incorporated into the very definition that we use to describe ourselves. Now more than ever, competence and
physician performance are concepts that are key in the minds of the public consuming medical care, the agencies
paying for medical care, and the institutions and individuals providing medical education. [16] [17] [18] The United
States has a system designed to assess medical competence by defining and ensuring the processes of education,
licensing, accreditation, and certification. [16] [17] [18]
The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) oversees the certification of physician specialists by 24
medical specialty member boards (including the ABA) in more than 130 specialties (residencies) and subspecialties
(fellowships) ( Table 8-2 ).
Table 8-2 -- American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Certificates Issued
Before 1997 1997-2006 2000-2006
Anesthesiology *
28,515
Critical care medicine []

Pain medicine []
Hospice and palliative medicine []
All specialties
12,012
7,592
480
267
1,941
1,233

602,578
242,684
167,656
All subspecialties
76,782
51,057
Data abstracted from 2007 Reference Handbook and Certificate Statistics. Evanston, IL, American Board of Medical
Specialties, 2007.
* First ABMS certificate issued in 1938; first time-limited (10 year) certificate issued in 2000.
First ABMS certificate issued in 1986; first time-limited (10 year) certificate issued in 2000.
First ABMS certificate issued in 1993; first time-limited (10 year) certificate issued in 1993.
First ABMS certificate to be issued in 2008; first time-limited (10 year) certificate to be issued in 2008.
The primary function of ABMS is to assist its Member Boards in developing and implementing educational
and professional standards to evaluate and certify physician specialists. [19]
The ABMS states its mission as being
the organization that establishes standards for physician specialty certification and Maintenance of
Certification (MOC), including performance assessment. ABMS communicates information about these
standards to support the public's quest for safe, high-quality healthcare. [5] [19]
The ABMS has eloquently articulated the goal of MOC by stating that
ultimately, the measure of physician specialists is not merely that they have been certified, but how well they
keep current in their specialty. That's why in 2006, ABMS 24 Member Boards adopted a program of
continuous professional developmentABMS Maintenance of Certificationas a formal means of measuring
a physician's continued competency in his or her certified specialty and/or subspecialty. By following MOC,
physicians demonstrate their commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing self-assessment to advance specialty
practice. They live the standards by which medical care is evaluated and demonstrate leadership in the
national movement for healthcare quality and patient safety. [19]
In 1989, the ABA established a mechanism (continued demonstration of qualifications [CDQ]) for revalidation of
an individual's primary board certificate to address the multitude of questions that had been posed about
recredentialing and continued competence of physicians initially certified as consultants, especially questions
related to public trust. [4] [20] [21] This program allowed anesthesiologists to demonstrate their continuing
qualifications through a voluntary recredentialing program. [21] The first implementation of CDQ with its two
componentsdocumentation of an anesthesiologist's approved practice credentialing and administration of a
secure written examination to assess an anesthesiologist's current knowledge of anesthesia practicetook place in
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1993. The CDQ certificate allowed anesthesiologists a means to accomplish recredentialing for needs defined by
governmental, health care finance reimbursement, hospital, or other regulatory bodies.
The ABA/ABMS has developed more formal recertification processes since implementation of the voluntary CDQ
recredentialing mechanism. In 1994-1995, the ABA adopted time-limited certification; all specialty
(anesthesiology) certificates issued by the ABA on or after January 1, 2000, were designated valid for only 10 years
from the time of completion of the examination for the initial certification and all subsequent recertifications. [4]
[22] In 1996, the ABA converted the CDQ mechanism to the recertification process containing the same two
components described earlier. Anesthesiologists wishing to remain board certified at the end of the time limit on
their certification are required to formally recertify and obtain a new board certificate rather than revalidate the
primary certificate. [4] [22] Current discussion is focusing on shortening the recertification cycle from 10 years to 5
to 7 years from the time of completion of the examination for the initial certification or subsequent
recertifications.
The ABA has also had a certification process for its subspecialties (see Table 8-2 ). [5] A certification process has
existed for critical care medicine since 1985. In 1991, the ABA began certification of pain management
subspecialists, and in 2006, the ABA began certification of subspecialists in hospice and palliative medicine. In
1998, time-limited certification for subspecialties in anesthesiology was approved. As of January 2000, all newly
issued ABA subspecialty certificates in critical care medicine and pain management were designated valid for only
10 years from the time of completion of the examination for the initial certification. Recertification in critical care
medicine, pain management, and hospice and palliative medicine is operative in a fashion similar to that described
earlier for recertification in anesthesiology. Similar models for continuing medical education and documentation
of physician competence are being developed in other countries as well. [23] [24]
Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA) is the
program [that] enables ABA diplomates holding nontime limited certificates (issued before 2000) to
demonstrate continuing qualifications and those with time-limited certificates to maintain their certification.
Each MOCA cycle is a 10-year period of ongoing Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment; continual assessment
of Professional Standing; periodic assessments of Practice Performance; and assessment of Cognitive
Expertise. MOCA is an opportunity for physicians to document maintenance of their skills in six general
competencies, namely, Medical Knowledge; Patient Care; Practice-Based Learning and Improvement;
Professionalism; Interpersonal and Communication Skills; and System-Based Practice. There are four
requirements for MOCA:
Professional Standing
Diplomates must hold an unrestricted license to practice medicineno medical licensecan be revoked,
suspended or surrendered.
Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment (LL-SA) Activities
LL-SA is personalized and self-directed professional development,an assessment ofcurrent knowledge and
practice of anesthesiology[and] continuing medical education (CME) activities and other learning
opportunities that meetprofessional development needs.
Cognitive Examination
The Cognitive Examination is designed to assess core knowledge of the discipline of anesthesiology. It is very
clinically oriented, with an emphasis on customary practice.
Practice Performance Assessment and Improvement (PPAI)
The PPAI process consists of the ABA obtaining attestations and evidence of[an anesthesiologist's] clinical
activity and ongoing program of practice assessment and performance improvement. The ABA minimum
clinical activity requirement is the practice of anesthesiology or a recognized anesthesiology subspecialty, on
average, at least one day per week during one of the previous three years.Evidence of PPAI acceptable to the
ABA is a prerequisite for the MOCA Cognitive Examination and is a requirement for maintenance of
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certification in anesthesiology. [25]

The six general competencies for which anesthesiologists need to document maintenance of their skills for the
MOCA program are rooted in the graduate medical education process of residency and fellowship education for
anesthesiologists. Being concerned that the full range of learning had not been adequately provided for or ensured
by an evaluation process, the ACGME developed its Outcome Project in 1999. [26] The ACGME defined six
educational areas for which graduate trainees must demonstrate competency (see Appendix 1 ). [27] The ACGME
Outcome Project places the educational responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the residency programs and
their faculty to develop innovative curricula and evaluation methods to ensure that trainees graduate with these
competencies. [28]
Anesthesiology education for physicians and other health care professionals is, as described earlier, a specific
application of assessing medical competence by process evaluation. An equal, and perhaps even more important,
question is how to evaluate the outcome of the education rather than the process by which it is achieved. [16] [17]
The question of why we teach medicine, specifically anesthesiology, is best answered by saying that we want
physicians and other health care professionals to perform the activities of anesthesia patient care at a specific level
of achievement. Although we are very good at evaluating knowledge, assessment of patient care outcomes is not
easily measured. Outcome assessment, that is, evaluation of the practice aspects of anesthesiology, represents the
greatest challenge for the future. [16] [17]
One such assessment demonstrates the value of the ABA-ACGME model of educating and certifying physician
anesthesiologists. Silber and colleagues, [29] in their study of almost 6000 patients undergoing prostate or
gallbladder surgery in multiple hospitals, demonstrated that patient recovery or rescue from an adverse event
correlated with the proportion of board-certified anesthesiologists in the hospital.
Outcome analysis is also becoming a part of the training process for anesthesiologists. [30] An example of this type
of approach has been described in an educational setting that makes use of the quality improvement concepts
developed in industry. [30] Such an approach is also appearing in post-training practice settings as a form of
continuing medical education, as well as a quality assessment tool. [31] We are seeing more of this type of approach
as the pressures of health care economics help restructure our clinical practice.
Who Teaches?The Teachers
Anesthesiology is taught by physician anesthesiologists, the experts in the field, as well as by other expert
individuals in related disciplines, examples of whom include pharmacologists, physiologists, biomedical engineers,
pediatricians, and neurosurgeons. Full-time anesthesiology faculty positions in U.S. medical schools in 2006
numbered 5836 (see Table 8-1C ). [31] Anesthesiologists represent 5.6% of the clinical teachers and 4.7% of all
American medical school teaching faculty (see Table 8-1C ). [32] The 5836 anesthesia faculty members in medical
schools bore the major responsibility for teaching some or all of the 69,028 enrolled undergraduate medical
students, the 4970 graduate trainees in accredited anesthesiology residency training programs, the 360 graduate
trainees in accredited anesthesiology subspecialty fellowship programs, and many of the other 104,879 physician
house staff trainees (see Table 8-1A to C ). [12] [32]
Clinical care, teaching, research, and administration are major roles assumed by faculty. For anesthesia faculty,
clinical care is a prime activity for obvious reasons. The other functions are attended to as time and resources
permit. For this reason, teaching is often relegated to a lower level of priority, not always adequately
acknowledged in career advancement decisions. Junior faculty members are frequently expected to take on a large
part of the teaching load. This expectation, however, could be viewed as a case of reversal of the proper roles for
the junior and senior faculty. [33] Junior faculty members have a heavy teaching load during the phase of their
career when they lack experience. [33] Senior faculty members, on the other hand, are responsible for
departmental, institutional, and specialty roles that limit their availability for teaching, although these same
individuals have vast experience and could teach much. [33] The extreme example of this dichotomy is the
expectation that house staff teach the more junior of their ranks and medical students. Perhaps the teaching role
for house staff would best be accomplished by making the resident a teaching apprentice who not only receives
general medical and anesthesiology specialty education but is also educated about education.
Little specific information exists about the teaching credentials or qualities of anesthesiologists, unlike the
situation for other physician groups. [34] [35] These descriptions can be used to infer what does or could
characterize anesthesiology teachers. Physician teachers in general are not trained as educators. [34] They have not
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had formal training in educational psychology or methodology. [34] Physicians who teach do not use the
educational resources available. [34] When faced with a new or difficult educational assignment, physician teachers
rarely read medical education journals, nor do they consult educational experts, as they might consult a
cardiologist, for example, when treating a patient with a difficult rhythm disturbance. [34] Physician teachers, for
the most part, mimic their own teachers, who also had little or no formal training as educators. [34] It seems
curious, for example, that at the same time we would not trust a general surgery resident to perform a
complicated neurosurgical dissection and achieve a good outcome for the patient without extensive education, we
do entrust an anesthesiology trainee to faculty who have limited educational expertise in the hope of achieving a
good learning outcome.
What characterizes a good teacher? Effective clinical teachers who are able to succeed at the bedside teaching
encounter display specific actions noted by their students and themselves. [35] Table 8-3 presents a schema that
was developed by observing internists teaching internal medicine residents and medical students. The similarity of
the attending anesthesiologist teaching at the bedside in the intensive care unit or in the operating room is striking.
Table 8-3 -- Traits of Effective Clinical Teachers
Overall instructional effectiveness
depends on
A complete educational experience

requires
Teaching rounds are facilitated

when
1.
Allocating time for teaching
2.
Creating a teaching/learning environment of trust and concern
3.
Demonstrating clinical credibility
4.
An initial orientation
5.
A final evaluation
6.
Learners are able to present a case
7.
Teachers manage the case presentation
8.
Didactic sessions are used to enhance clinical case material
9.
Teaching takes place at the bedside to allow students to learn

physician-patient relationships
10. Teachers and students discuss psychosocial issues

Maintained teaching effectiveness
11. Attention is paid to transferring the teaching responsibility
occurs when
Adapted from Mattern WD, Weinholtz D, Friedman CP: The attending physician as teacher. N Engl J Med 308:1129,
1983.
A teaching responsibility that anesthesiology faculty might consider is how to blend their expert status as
anesthesiologists with their novice status as teachers. As the experts, teachers of anesthesiology can define
educational objectives based on the competencies that they believe newly trained anesthesiologists need. Having
set the objectives, the teacher can direct the educational process by selecting the appropriate learning activities
and then designing tests that assess the learning. As described, the authoritarian teacher, the expert, determines
the educational ends that must be met, defines the means to these ends, and requires conformity to these ends by
the students.
Although anesthesiology faculty provide education with this type of curriculum design, few if any know that they
are using Tyler's model, nor do they realize that there might be equally good or better alternatives. [36] Dewey's
progressive education offers one such alternative. [37] Dewey's philosophy of education elevates students to a level
where they can join in a partnership with the teacher. For students of anesthesiology, the adult learners described
previously, this type of student-teacher relationship may make very good sense.
An example of these two philosophies put into action clarifies their differences. Let us consider teaching/learning
how to manage a patient who is being mechanically ventilated in the operating room. A Tylerian teacher might
lecture to residents on how to use the ventilator. It is hoped that the residents will remember what they heard and
be able to put what they have learned into action. In contrast, a teacher using Dewey's approach might create a
patient simulation exercise in which residents can experiment with differing ventilator setups to infer what
might occur clinically. A much more meaningful learning environment might be provided by the simulation
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coupled with the anesthesiologist faculty member's reactions to and guidance about how the residents tinkered
with the ventilatorthan might be provided by the lecture format. In addition, a teacher using Dewey's
philosophy might be more likely to encourage students with previous experience, such as residents who have used
different types of ventilators during their internship, to share their know-how with other, less experienced peers.
This chapter is discussing the component parts of the question How shall who teach what to whom for what
purpose now and in the future? It should be obvious that individually studying the component parts of the
question is an artificial separation for teaching purposes. To fully understand the question, its parts must be
linked. The consideration Who teaches anesthesiology? is an example of how the blending of the individual
parts of the total picture of anesthesia education must occur. It is virtually impossible to talk about the teacher
without bringing the student and the educational needs into the discussion. This key concept, that is, the
importance of knowing not only the component parts of education but also how they interrelate, is essential for
understanding and implementing anesthesiology education.
The CurriculumWhat to Teach?
The table of contents from any standard anesthesiology textbook provides a broad outline of what to teach in
anesthesiology. Similar to a medical school course outline, anesthesiology is a mix of the fundamental basic
sciences applied to clinical practice as they relate to specific pathophysiologic disease entities. Patients with these
problems are encountered in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative settings; therefore, the content is
taught as it specifically applies to the time progression of their disease process in these different patient
environments. This framework of basic and clinical science is used for teaching anesthesiology to all health
professionals, with particular emphasis placed on the areas most pertinent to the particular group being taught
(e.g., detailed teaching about the mechanics and clinical application of ventilators is provided to student
respiratory therapists).
An accepted uniform content outline exists and has been agreed on for teaching physician anesthesiologists. [38]
The major outline headings are listed in Appendix 2 . Few teachers would be at a loss to define the content of
anesthesiology teaching. Anesthesiology education, however, is not limited to content teaching alone.
The three major areas for teaching/learning all subjects are cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. For
anesthesiology, it appears that the cognitive teaching/learning area is well defined. It is the responsibility of the
anesthesiology teacher, however, to go further than just listing the content topics. Teaching in the content area
requires attention to increasingly complex cognitive functions. Described by Bloom, [39] teaching/learning in the
cognitive domain for any topic addresses the following:
1. Knowledgerecall
2.
Comprehensionunderstanding
3.
Applicationuse of abstractions
4.
Analysisbreak down; seeing the relationship of parts
5.
Synthesisput together; creating a new entity
6.
Evaluationjudgment of value
Knowing the facts about pulmonary function is obviously much more basic than being able to apply them to the
management of a multiple-trauma patient maintained on a ventilator. Teachers of anesthesiology serve students
well by considering the more complex aspects of cognitive learning.
A general taxonomy of psychomotor skill teaching/learning for universal application to all educational settings
does not exist because of the great variability among disciplines in this type of domain. A broadly accepted,
standardized outline of psychomotor skill learning for anesthesiology also does not exist. There are many
psychomotor skills that anesthesiologists and other related health care professionals need to learn. Perhaps a
major challenge for teachers of anesthesiology is to codify the fundamental and supplemental psychomotor skills
that must be taught and learned. This process is beginning to occur with the introduction of practice parameters
or practice guidelines developed by medicine in general and anesthesiology in particular. [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45]
[46]
Affective teaching/learning deals with feelings or emotions. The taxonomy of affective learning addresses the
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following [47] :
1. Receiving
2.
Responding
3.
Valuing
4.
Organizing
5.
Value complexing
Although we actively and consciously teach in the cognitive and psychomotor areas, we are much less aware of our
affective teaching. Even though we may not be aware of it, we are nonetheless constantly teaching in the affective
arena by the role modeling that we perform. Earlier in this chapter, an example of how affective teaching/learning
takes place was described. In the real-life setting, the aggressive, passive-aggressive, or passive posture of the
anesthesiology teacher interacting with the surgeon provides a lasting lesson in the affective domain for the
resident anesthesiology learner.
Thinking about affective learning results in goals for such learning and permits the development of teaching plans
to achieve these goals. Only if we decide how we believe we as anesthesiologists and health care professionals in
related fields need to behave in relation to others will we be able to teach professionalism and these psychosocial
skills to our students. [48]
Another example of the importance of affective learning concerns our approach to the teaching task. When our
students sense our own enthusiasm about and commitment to a particular topic, their attitudes about it follow
suit. In similar fashion, if we as teachers are negative about some aspect of learning, we can expect our students to
mimic these feelings. The charge that teachers of anesthesiology must accept is that they must be conscious of the
emotions that they display and prospectively decide on the values that they wish to teach because affective
teaching and learning occur all the time.
Defining the areas of learning (i.e., what to teach) makes it possible for the teacher to devise methods to evaluate
the success of the teaching endeavor. For anesthesiology education of physicians, the ABA examination and
certification protocol evaluates the three areas of learning. The written examination tests cognitive learning,
although perhaps at its simpler levels. Psychomotor and affective learning is evaluated in an ongoing manner by
the anesthesiology faculty of residency training programs and is attested to by the faculty granting a certificate of
clinical competence to successful learners.
The Board [ABA] requires every residency training program to filean Evaluation of Clinical Competence in
January and July on behalf of each resident who has spent any portion of the prior six months in Clinical
Anesthesia training in or under the sponsorship of the residency program and its affiliates.Entry into the
examination system is contingent upon the applicant having a Certificate of Clinical Competence on file with
the Board attesting to satisfactory clinical competence during the final period of Clinical Anesthesia training in
or under the sponsorship of each program.The Board, therefore, will deny entry into the examination system
until this requirement is fulfilled. [4]
The oral examination evaluates cognitive learning, one hopes at its more complex levels. In addition, the oral
examination may assess affective learning, although such assessment is accomplished in an unsystematic
approach. The goal of the ABA oral examination process is to access the candidate's ability to (1) apply knowledge
in the development of a treatment plan, (2) exhibit sound medical judgment in making medical/anesthetic
decisions, (3) demonstrate adaptability in handling complications and changing medical situations, and (4)
communicate logically and in an organized manner the anesthetic issues and plans for anesthesia patient care. [4]
The MethodsHow to Teach
When faculty members talk about education, one of their first considerations is how to teach. Although obviously
an important aspect of instruction, it is of relatively minor importance when viewed in the entire context of
education. Before one can decide whether a lecture is a better method to teach a specific topic than a group
discussion or whether slides, a chalkboard, or computer-assisted instructional software should be used to facilitate
making a concept clear, it is essential to understand the student, the student's needs, the purpose of the education,
and the content to be taught.
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Too often, the instructional methodology, which is easy to consider, receives the major emphasis, whereas the
difficult questions about education, such as what is its rationale, are glanced over or never even considered. After
the fundamental questions about educational philosophy are answered, selection of a particular instructional
technique becomes critical. The specific teaching method selected is intended to be the one best suited to the
specific educational goal desired.
The use of simulation games is a good example of how the method satisfies the educational goal. In
cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, for example, a simulated cardiac arrest is an exercise during which
students play the resuscitator roles and use all the real-life equipment in a real-time setting. The involved students,
as well as other students and the teacher or teachers who observe the simulation, review and critique the
resuscitation to point out correct knowledge, skills, and attitudes displayed and which of these actions could have
been performed better. The goal of the exercise is to teach students to coordinate the entire cardiopulmonary
resuscitation effort by bringing together the facts and skills in an atmosphere in which reasonable attitudes are
exhibited despite the tense nature of the emergency situation, all without jeopardizing any patient. A lecture, a
slide show, or even a small group discussion could not achieve this goal.
Simulation is becoming an integral teaching methodology in anesthesia education. [49] [50] Borrowed from flight
simulation, which is an essential part of the training and certification of commercial and military pilots, anesthesia
patient simulators have been developed and used to educate individuals in the discipline of anesthesiology in two
major ways: (1) for specific recognition and management of critical events and (2) in the general comprehensive
education about all aspects of anesthesia patient care, such as crew resource management. By coupling a
mannequin with a computer and anesthesia patient care equipment, a simulation setting is created that so closely
mimics real life that it is a virtual reality. Physiology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and crisis management are
a few of the curricular areas that can be most effectively taught by the anesthesia simulator approach, that is,
modeling a real patient scenario for students to manage with zero risk to the simulated patient and no real risk to
the student (except for the trainee's self-imposed stress to achieve). Use of this technology is limited only by the
ability of the educators and students to create and live the scenarios. [49] [50] [51] Additional advantages of
human patient simulators include their use in teaching all types of students (e.g., medical students, student nurse
anesthetists, allied health professionals in a wide variety of disciplines, practitioners in continuing education
programs) and the ability to conduct educational research and collect simulated patient management outcome
data. [49] [50] [51]
Scientific evaluation of simulation is being conducted, but there are considerable study design difficulties. [52] [53]
In addition to the difficulty of designing studies to evaluate simulation, the evidenced-based data that are being
collected deal with the performance of providers of simulated care and have yet to effectively answer the question
about patient benefit related to simulation-educated physicians. [52] [53] Undoubtedly, the field of human
simulator education and research will continue to grow exponentially in the next few years.
An in-depth study of individual teaching techniques is appropriate after the links between the questions about
educational philosophy and rationale and the methods of teaching have been established. At the teacher's disposal
for effective use in the proper situation are lectures; small group discussions; the use of questions; clinical problem
solving; psychomotor skill learning at the bedside, in the operating room, or in the classroom; and the use of
adjunctive educational media such as slides, chalkboard, videotape, audiotape, overhead projector, computer, and
teaching models. Each of these techniques can be used more effectively and efficiently when the method is studied
and understood.
Effective use of questioning, for example, occurs when the teacher understands the difference between closed and
open questions. [54] Closed questions are used when the teacher is interested in having the student remember facts.
Because the range of responses to closed questions is limited, students answer with facts and have limited
opportunity to delve into more complex cognitive learning (i.e., problem solving). A teacher uses open questions as
a teaching device when desirous of directing the teaching/learning activity toward the application of knowledge to
new settings or analysis of information for conceptual learning rather than mere regurgitation of facts. There is a
considerable difference in the learning that might occur when a question such as What might explain
postanesthetic stupor in a patient operated on for head trauma? is asked of a student versus asking a question
such as What are the signs and symptoms of increased intracranial pressure?
Developing a psychomotor skill lesson is another example of how understanding instructional methodology can
lead to effective teaching and learning. The old adage about teaching psychomotor skills in medicine is see one,
do one, teach one. The absurd nature of this approach has been highlighted in the following way: This is akin to
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a piano instructor playing The Minute Waltz for a beginner and then saying, Now, try it yourself. [54] Rather
than using the repetitive trial-and-error approach to teaching/learning psychomotor skills, systematic
methodology can be used. [54]
1. Analyze and separate the skill into its component parts and determine which aspects of the skill are most
difficult to perform.
2.
Provide students with a model of the skill, demonstrated effectively in its entirety, that they are expected
to perform.
3.
Make provisions for students to practice until the expected behavior is mastered.
4.
Provide adequate supervision and an evaluation of the final performance.
Anesthesiology instructors need only think of the protocol that they are using to teach, for example, pulmonary
artery catheterization by the internal jugular venous route, to assess whether they are expecting their students to
perform (learn) with the type of plan just outlined or rather to learn as they go on each successive patient as
they probe in the neck. The learn-as-you-go method can be quite stressful for both patient and trainee. [55]
A final example of an answer to the question of how to teach comes from review of the effective use of audiovisual
aids. Although it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, the anesthesiology teacher must be sure that
this image is the text that the teacher wishes the students to read and absorb. Slides, for example, focus the
viewer's attention on an idea or ideas that the lecturer wishes to amplify in some manner. By definition, the entire
lecture cannot be put on slides. Only a few important portions of the presentation are conveyed by slides, and
these points are emphasized in some specific way by the visual image or images, which add to the verbal
presentation. Slides are not the TelePrompTer, although they are often used this way.
Even more basic is the need to understand the proper production formatting of slides so that the message on a 35mm transparency or a PowerPoint computer image can be seen clearly when projected onto a 12-foot-high screen
in a large 800-seat lecture hall. If format is not considered, the slide is not visible and undoubtedly detracts from,
rather than enhances, the lecture. Finally, even the best-produced slide is useless if nobody, including the lecturer,
knows how to troubleshoot a nonfunctional computer or projector. Surely, the thousands of hours that have been
devoted to slide lectures about anesthesiology could have benefitted from teachers taking more responsibility in
the preparation of effective visual aids.
Summary
What is the anesthesiologist's responsibility in teaching colleagues and other health care professionals? The
answer lies in the answers to the many aspects of the following question:
How shall who teach what to whom for what purpose now and in the future?!
For many, however, this type of review of education is soft material that lacks the hard research data to prove
its validity. Perhaps there is some truth to this. Perhaps by its very nature (i.e., psychosocial) the science of
education has its limits. On the other hand, however, enough experimental studies of education may not have been
performed. A model to conduct such studies might view the preceding question in terms of educational outcome
analysis ( Fig. 8-2 ). Although the educational setting is not a pure, controlled laboratory environment, accepted
quasi-experimental design techniques exist for this naturalistic research setting. [56]
Figure 8-2 Diagrammatic representation of a model to conduct educational outcome analysis. The six components are joined in chain-link fashion to signify
that the outcome analysis is as strong as its weakest link. Essential to the model, therefore, is sound development and implementation of the educational plan and
process. This includes definition of the educational objectives, understanding of both the teaching faculty and student participants, and execution of the
instructional activity. Having established the educational experience, its outcome can be assessed by applying an appropriate evaluation design [56] and using the
measurement techniques to collect the data for analysis. The final step in the analysis is to apply the results to the program objectives and instructional activities
to enhance future desired learner outcomes. (From Hutchins EB: Unpublished lecture notes: Evaluation Methods in Professional Education. Course ED668,
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Graduate School of Education. University of Pennsylvania, 1981.)
What then is the anesthesiologist's responsibility in teaching? It is twofold: to understand all aspects of education
and then to scientifically study educational outcome so that future students of anesthesiology will be more
effectively taught and better prepared as experts in the field.
Acknowledgment
I wish to thank George E. Miller, M.D., for the insight on Socrates.

Suggested Readings
Barrows HS: Simulated (Standardized) Patients and Other Human Simulations. Chapel Hill, NC, Health Sciences
Consortium, 1987.
In: Bunker JP, ed. Education in Anesthesiology, New York: Columbia University Press; 1967.
Dick W, Reiser RA: Planning Effective Instruction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1989.
In: Epstein J, ed. Masters: Portraits of Great Teachers, New York: Basic Books; 1981.
Gagn RM, Briggs LJ: Principles of Instructional Design. 2nd ed. New York, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1979.
Gawande A: Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance. New York, Metropolitan Books, 2007.
Greenberg LW, Jewett LS: Commitment to teaching: Myth or reality?. South Med J 1983; 76:910.
Greene NM: Anesthesiology and the University. Philadelphia, JB Lippincott, 1975.
Groopman J: How Doctors Think. New York, Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
Jason H, Westberg J: Instructional Decision-Making Self-Study Modules for Teachers in the Health Professions
(Preview Package). Miami, National Center for Faculty Development, University of Miami School of
Medicine, 1980.
Joyce B, Weil M: Models of Teaching. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1980.
Knowles MS: Andragogy in Action. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1984.
(Committee on Quality of Health Care in AmericaInstitute of Medicine) (eds)
In: Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, ed. To Err Is Human. Building a Safer Health System, Washington,
DC: National Academy Press; 2000.
Lear E: Virtual reality in patient simulators. Am Soc Anesthesiol Newsl 1997; 61(October):
Lyman RA: Disaster in pedagogy. N Engl J Med 1957; 257:504.
In: McGaghie WC, Frey JJ, ed. Handbook for the Academic Physician, New York: Springer-Verlag; 1986.
McGuire CH, Foley RP, Gorr A, et al: Handbook of Health Professions Education. San Francisco, JosseyBass, 1983.
McKeachie WJ: Teaching Tips: A Guidebook for the Beginning College Teacher. 7th ed. Lexington, MA, DC
Heath, 1978.
Miller GE: Adventure in pedagogy. JAMA 1956; 162:1448.
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In: Miller GE, ed. Teaching and Learning in Medical School, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1961.
Miller GE: Educating Medical Teachers. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1980.
Popham WJ, Baker EL: Establishing Instructional Goals. Planning an Instructional Sequence. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1970.
Rosenthal MH, Hughes FP: A History of the American Board of Anesthesiology 1938-2003. Raleigh, NC, The
American Board of Anesthesiology, 2005.
Schwenk TL, Whitman NA: Residents As Teachers: A Guide to Educational Practice. Salt Lake City, University of
Utah, 1984.
Schwenk TL, Whitman NA: The Physician As Teacher. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1987.
Segall AJ, Vanderschmidt H, Burglass R, et al: Systemic Course Design for the Health Fields. New York, John
Wiley & Sons, 1975.
Whitman NA: There Is No Gene for Good Teaching: A Handbook on Lecturing for Medical Teachers. Salt Lake
City, University of Utah, 1982.
Whitman NA, Schwenk TL: A Handbook for Group Discussion Leaders: Alternative to Lecturing Medical Students
to Death. Salt Lake City, University of Utah, 1983.
Whitman NA, Schwenk TL: Preceptors As Teachers: A Guide to Clinical Teaching. Salt Lake City, University of
Utah, 1984.
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32.. Barzansky B, Etzel SI: Medical Schools in the United States 2006-2007. JAMA 2007; 298:1071.
33.. Ratzan RM: On teachers. N Engl J Med 1982; 306:1420.
34.. Jason H, Westberg J: Teachers and Teaching in U.S. Medical Schools. East Norwalk, CT, Appleton &
Lange, 1982.
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35.. Mattern WD, Weinholtz D, Friedman CP: The attending physician as teacher. N Engl J Med 1983; 308:1129.
36.. Tyler RW: Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1949.
37.. Dewey J: Democracy and Education. New York, Macmillan, 1916.
38.. American Board of Anesthesiology, American Society of Anesthesiologists: Content Outline. Joint Council on
In-Training Examinations. American Board of Anesthesiology Examination Part I. RevisedSeptember 2006.
Available at http://www.asahq.org/publicationsAndServices/ContentOutlineREV2006.pdf
39.. In: Bloom BS, ed. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain, New York: David
McKay; 1956.
40.. Woolf SH: Practice guidelines: A new reality in medicine. I. Recent developments. Arch Intern
Med 1990; 150:1811.
41.. Woolf SH: Practice guidelines: A new reality in medicine. II. Methods of developing guidelines. Arch Intern
Med 1992; 152:946.
42.. Arens JF: A practice parameters overview [editorial]. Anesthesiology 1993; 78:229.
43.. American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Pulmonary Artery Catheterization: Practice guidelines
for pulmonary artery catheterization. Anesthesiology 1993; 78:380.
44.. American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Management of the Difficult Airway: Practice guidelines
for management of the difficult airway. Anesthesiology 1993; 78:597.
45.. American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Pain Management: Practice guidelines for acute pain
management in the perioperative setting. Anesthesiology 1995; 82:1071.
46.. American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Blood Component Therapy: Practice guidelines for
blood component therapy. Anesthesiology 1996; 84:732.
47.. Krathwohl DR, Bloom BS, Masia BB: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Handbook. II: Affective Domain.
New York, David McKay, 1964.
48.. Schwartz AJ, Blank LL, Horrow JC, et al: Are anesthesiology residents educated to be professionals?.
Anesthesiology 1997; 87:A950.
49.. Good ML, Gravenstein JS: Training for safety in an anesthesia simulator. Semin Anesth 1993; 12:235.
50.. Latif R, Loyd GE, Henson L: Anesthesiology and medical simulation: Past, present and future. AUA
Newsletter, Winter 2007. Available at http://www.auahq.org/Winter2007.pdf
51.. Euliano T, Good ML: Simulator training in anesthesia growing rapidly. J Clin Monit 1997; 13:53.
52.. Murray DJ, Boulet JR, Avidan M, et al: Performance of residents and anesthesiologists in a simulation-based
skill assessment. Anesthesiology 2007; 107:705.
53.. Weinger MB: Experience expertise. Can simulation be used to tell the difference?.
Anesthesiology 2007; 107:691.
54.. Foley RP, Smilansky J: Teaching Techniques. A Handbook for Health Professionals. New York, McGrawHill, 1980.
55.. Gawande A: Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science. New York, Metropolitan Books, 2002.
56.. Campbell DT, Stanley JC: Experimental and Quasi-experimental Designs for Research. Boston, Houghton
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Mifflin, 1963.
Appendix 1 Common Program Requirements: General Competencies (Abridged) Approved by the Accreditation Council for the
Graduate Medical Education Board on February 13, 2007
The program must integrate the following Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
competencies into the curriculum:
Patient Care
Residents must be able to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment
of health problems and the promotion of health.
Medical Knowledge
Residents must demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical, epidemiologic, and socialbehavioral sciences, as well as application of this knowledge to patient care.
Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
Residents must demonstrate the ability to investigate and evaluate their care of patients, to appraise and
assimilate scientific evidence, and to continuously improve patient care based on constant self-evaluation and
lifelong learning. Residents are expected to develop skills and habits to be able to meet the following goals:
Identify strengths, deficiencies, and limits in one's knowledge and expertise
Set learning and improvement goals
Identify and perform appropriate learning activities
Systematically analyze practice by using quality improvement methods, and implement changes with the
goal of practice improvement
Incorporate formative evaluation feedback into daily practice
Locate, appraise, and assimilate evidence from scientific studies related to their patients health problems
Use information technology to optimize learning
Participate in the education of patients, families, students, residents and other health professionals
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Residents must demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in effective exchange of
information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals. Residents are expected to
Communicate effectively with patients, families, and the public, as appropriate, across a broad range of
socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds
Communicate effectively with physicians, other health professionals, and health-related agencies
Work effectively as a member or leader of a health care team or other professional group
Act in a consultative role to other physicians and health professionals
Maintain comprehensive, timely, and legible medical records, if applicable
Professionalism
Residents must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities and adherence to ethical
principles. Residents are expected to demonstrate
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Compassion, integrity, and respect for others

Responsiveness to patient needs that supersedes self-interest
Respect for patient privacy and autonomy
Accountability to patients, society, and the profession
Sensitivity and responsiveness to a diverse patient population, including but not limited to diversity in
gender, age, culture, race, religion, disabilities, and sexual orientation
Systems-Based Practice
Residents must demonstrate awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, as
well as the ability to call effectively on other resources in the system to provide optimal health care. Residents are
expected to
Work effectively in various health care delivery settings and systems relevant to their clinical specialty
Coordinate patient care within the health care system relevant to their clinical specialty
Incorporate considerations of cost awareness and risk-benefit analysis in patient- or population-based
care as appropriate
Advocate for quality patient care and optimal patient care systems
Work in interprofessional teams to enhance patient safety and improve the quality of patient care
Participate in identifying system errors and implementing potential systems solutions
Available from http://www.acgme.org/outcome/comp/GeneralCompetenciesStandards21307.pdf
Appendix 2 Content OutlineJoint Council on In-Training Examinations
I.
Basic Sciences
A. Anatomy
1. Topographic anatomy as landmarks
2.
B.
Radiologic anatomy
Physics, monitoring, and anesthesia delivery devices

1. Mechanics
2.
Flow velocity
3.
Properties of liquids, gases, and vapors
4.
Gas laws
5.
Vaporizers
6.
Uptake and distribution of inhalation agents
7.
Physics of the anesthesia machine/breathing system
8.
Monitoring methods
9.
Instrumentation
10. Ventilators
11. Alarms and safety features
12. Defibrillators
13. Pacemakers
14. Electrical, fire, and explosion hazards; basic electronics
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15. Drug delivery devices

C.
D.
II.
Mathematics
1. Simple mathematics
2.
Statistics
3.
Computer
Pharmacology
1. General concepts
2.
Anestheticsgases and vapors
3.
Anestheticsintravenous
4.
Anestheticslocal
5.
Muscle relaxants
Clinical Sciences
A. Anesthesia procedures, methods, and techniques
1. Evaluation of the patient and preoperative preparation
2.
Regional anesthesia
3.
General anesthesia
4.
Monitored anesthesia care and sedation
5.
Intravenous fluid therapy during anesthesia
6.
Complications (etiology, prevention, treatment)
7.
Special techniques
8.
Postoperative period
III. Organ-Based Basic and Clinical Sciences (Outline for Sections May Include Physiology, Anatomy,
Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Clinical Science)
A. Respiratory system
B.
Cardiovascular system
C.
Central and peripheral nervous systems
D.
Gastrointestinal/hepatic
E.
Renal/urinary
F.
Endocrine/metabolic
G.
Hematologic
H.
Neuromuscular
IV. Clinical Subspecialties

A. Painful disease states
B.
Pediatric anesthesia
C.
Obstetric anesthesia
D.
Otolaryngologic anesthesia
E.
Anesthesia for plastic surgery
F.
Anesthesia for laparoscopic surgery
G.
Ophthalmologic anesthesia
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H.
Orthopedic anesthesia
I.
Trauma, burn management, mass casualty, biological warfare
J.
Anesthesia for ambulatory surgery
K.
Geriatric anesthesia/aging
L.
Critical care
Special Problems or Issues in Anesthesiology

A. Electroconvulsive therapy
B.
Organ donors
C.
Radiologic procedures
D.
Physician impairment or disability
E.
Ethics, practice management and medicolegal issues
Adapted from American Board of Anesthesiology, American Society of Anesthesiologists Joint Council on InTraining Examinations: American Board of Anesthesiology Examination Part I. RevisedSeptember 2006. [38]
9 Ethical Aspects of Anesthesia Care

Gail A. Van Norman,
Stanley H. Rosenbaum
Key Points
1.
Anesthesiologists have ethical obligations to promote patients abilities to make medical decisions, as well
as obligations to respect those decisions.
2.
Competent patients have the right to refuse medical treatments or tests, even if it appears to be a bad
decision. Coercing or restraining competent patients is unethical.
3.
Children should be involved in medical decision-making to the degree that their abilities allow, and their
wishes should usually be respected.
4.
Advance directives and decisions by surrogate decision-makers are legally binding.
5.
Do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders require reconsideration before anesthesia and surgery and cannot be
automatically suspended.
6.
Withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatments at the end of life requires specialized training or
experience.
7.
Anesthesiologists play a pivotal role in caring for both brain-dead and nonheart-beating organ donors
and must be familiar with the medical, legal, and ethical issues involved.
8.
Human and animal research carries special obligations to protect the subjects from inhumane treatment.
Whenever possible, alternatives to human and animal research should be sought.
9.
State-sponsored activities such as executions (1) are not the practice of medicine, (2) undermine the
medical profession, and (3) place the physician on dubious moral grounds.
10. Although physicians have a right to withdraw from some situations in which patient care presents them
with personal moral conflicts, this right is limited, and professionally accepted standards and obligations
usually prevail (e.g., well-established standards, such as informed consent).
History of Ethics in Medicine and Ethical Theory
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Medicine is a respected profession with codes of behavior and definite rules of conduct. In modern times, medical
practitioners have tremendous powers, recognized social import, and powerful financial interactions that touch
nearly everyone's lives. It is in the context of long-held and highly developed rules and practices that we examine
the ethical bases of the practice of medicine and its implications for anesthesiologists.
Ethical Theory
Virtue Ethics, Utilitarianism, and Duty-Driven Ethics
The classic style of medical practice, called paternalism, is derived from virtue-based ethics. In this view, the
physician is a genuinely virtuous person with inherent qualities of competence, sincerity, confidentiality, and
altruism who naturally knows and does what is correct for the patient. The patient, who is not knowledgeable in
the art of medicine, should trust the physician to decide what is best. Our society and legal system have changed
substantially since paternalism flourished, but some patients and physicians still see this style as a desirable
component of medicine.
In utilitarian ethics, actions are judged right or wrong on the balance of their good and bad consequences. A
right action produces the most good, based on a perspective that gives equal weight to the interests of all
affected parties. Although utilitarian theory is compelling (who would not want to do the most good and minimize
evil?), it falls short in defining which benefits are most important. Is it the good that all reasonable people want
or the good defined by the individual patient? What if the only way to maximize good is to commit an entirely
immoral act? Suppose, for example, the only way to win a war is to systematically torture children?
Utilitarian theory may be best when applied to analyzing broad-based policies, in decisions regarding rationing of
resources, and when attempting to resolve conflicting ethical obligations.
The premise of Kantian-based ethics (also called deontological theory) is that there are features of actions other
than their consequences that make them right or wrong. Intention is more important than outcome. Furthermore,
no person should use another exclusively as a means to an end because each person is the end for which we should
act. Each person is uniquely valuable and should not be used to further the purposes of other persons without
their autonomous consent. Kantian philosophy would, for example, forbid killing one innocent person to save
another innocent person.
Deontological and utilitarian theories are both applied to varying degrees in modern medical ethics. Individualism
and autonomy are highly valued in Western society, and people tend to turn to Kantian philosophy when ethical
questions arise that balance the authority of the physician against the goals and values of individual patients.
When broad-based social issues are at stake, such as allocation of scarce medical resources, utilitarian arguments
are often used. Some of the toughest ethical questions in medical practice occur when the rights and desires of
individual patients are in conflict with social policies. Clashes between deontological and utilitarian principles are
common in the intensive care unit (ICU), managed care settings, and the care of poor and elderly patients whose
medical management is funded by the government. In each of these settings, the will of the individual patient may
be in conflict with the broader principles of minimizing expense, fairly allocating scarce resources, and
determining where and how society's health care dollars are best spent. [1]
The American political tradition provides a clear underpinning to individual freedom, hence translation of the
Jeffersonian life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness into the contemporary interest in physician beneficence
and patient autonomy. It was with the background of this political tradition that contemporary bioethics shifted
away from paternalism. At the beginning of the 20th century, the concept of autonomy of patients began to
emerge.
Clinical Ethics
Informed Consent
Legal and moral imperatives for informed consent are based on the ethical principle of respect for patient
autonomy. Autonomy refers to the ability to choose without controlling interference by others and without
personal limitations that prevent meaningful choices, such as inadequate information or understanding. [1]
Individuals have the right to determine what happens to them to the degree that they are capable of doing so. In
the United States, this right is rooted in constitutional guarantees of privacy and noninterference. In 1914, the case
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of Schloendorff v Society of New York Hospital established that it was the right of every human being of adult
years and sound mind to determine what shall happen to his own body. [2] In 1957, the term informed consent
was first used in the case of Salgo v Trustees of Leland Stanford Hospital, which established that it is not sufficient
for physicians to simply secure consent; physicians have a duty to inform patients about the risks and alternatives
to treatment, in addition to the procedures themselves and their consequences. [3]
Respect for patient autonomy requires physicians to respect decisions made by competent patients and to promote
autonomy by removing barriers to competent participation in making decisions. Such obstacles range from
incomplete or inaccurate information to reversible medical conditions that interfere with a patient's ability to
understand the information provided.
Competence or Capacity
Autonomy to make medical decisions cannot exist in the absence of competence. Because competence is a legal
term, most medical experts prefer the term capacity to describe the necessary skills to participate in medical
decisions.
Impairment of capacity can be temporary or permanent. Examples include some mental illnesses, dementia,
immaturity, anxiety, pain, and effects of medications. The elderly, those suffering from mental impairment, and
children are particularly vulnerable to having their participation in medical decisions inappropriately curtailed or
even denied because their capacity to participate is frequently underestimated. Hearing loss, dysarthria, and
expressive aphasia can create the false impression that capacity is impaired. Many children make medical
decisions in ways similar to adults but may be mistakenly excluded from the decision-making process solely
because of their age. Language barriers can present significant challenges to communication.
Capacity is both relative and task specific. Patients may be able to understand and make decisions about medical
issues while being unable to care for themselves in other ways.
Both prejudice and paternalism permeate physician behavior in the informed consent process. Challenges to
patient competence rarely occur unless there is a difference of opinion or values between the patient and
physician. Patients are often referred for competency evaluation because they refuse medical advice, although
refusal of treatment is not by itself evidence of incompetence. [4] Physicians frequently disagree with patient
decisions because they regularly ascribe a lower quality of life to impaired and handicapped patients than the
patients themselves do. Doctors are mistaken about patients preferences regarding life-extending therapies in the
majority of cases and underestimate older patients desire for life-extending therapies in up to 30% of cases. [5]
Moreover, surveys indicate that physicians and other health care workers are likely to act on personal prejudices
regarding handicapped or impaired patients. [6]
Functional capacity for decision-making must be judged separately from the perceived quality of the decision
itself. Patients have the right to make bad decisions if they are competent and have appropriate information.
Otherwise, physicians could merely substitute their own judgment for that of the patient, and autonomy in
medical decision-making would be nonexistent.
How do we recognize competence? When assessing a patient for anesthesia care, the anesthesiologist should focus
on the following concerns: (1) Can the patient formulate and communicate a decision? (2) Can the patient receive
and understand the information relevant to the decision? (3) Can the patient understand potential consequences of
the decision, including potential risks and benefits, even if in a very simplified way? (4) Can the patient express a
decision and communicate values regarding the medical advice being given?
It is the anesthesiologist's ethical duty to treat reversible conditions that interfere with medical decision-making.
Elective surgery may have to be postponed until expert consultation for determination of mental capacity or
treatment of reversible conditions can take place. When surgery is urgent or a patient is impaired by an
irreversible condition, anesthesiologists may have to rely on a surrogate decision-maker or proceed with their best
determination of the patient's interests in mind.
Disclosure
The informed consent process requires honest disclosure of medical information to the patient. U.S. courts
currently rely on two standards of disclosure: the reasonable person standard and the subjective standard. A
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third, professional standard, in which the physician is obliged to disclose only what other physicians of the same
specialty would disclose, was subject to abuse and manipulation and is essentially no longer recognized. In the
reasonable person standard, the physician must disclose any information that a theoretical reasonable person
would want to know. This standard does not require an exhaustive recitation of facts and acknowledges that not
all information related to the procedure is integral to making a decision about whether to undergo the procedure.
The subjective standard recognizes that some patients may have special needs for specific information and that
when that need is obvious or has been brought to the attention of the physician, the information must be disclosed.
For example, a concert violinist may have a specific need to know about the potential for nerve damage from an
axillary block. In general, legal and ethical standards now require that (1) the physician accurately discuss the
therapy and its potential alternativesincluding no therapyand (2) disclose the common risks (because they are
more likely to happen) and the serious risks (because the consequences are severe).
The doctrine of therapeutic privilege is sometimes cited to avoid discussing risks under the reasoning that the
stress of discussing risks can harm the patient psychologically or physically. Studies of patient stress during the
informed consent process do not support this concept. [7] Therapeutic privilege is probably invoked in many cases
because the physician is uncomfortable with disclosure or wants to curtail discussion. Although it is ethical to
forgo or curtail risk discussions at the patient's request, it is not generally ethical for the physician to unilaterally
decide to do so.
The physician-patient relationship is an inherently unequal one because of physicians knowledge and authority
and the patient's dependence on them for care. Physicians have ethical obligations to avoid exploiting their
influence for the purpose of accomplishing their own ends. Although it is acceptable to offer a rational basis for a
medical choice, it is generally unethical to coerce or manipulate patients into decisions by presenting real or
implied threats or by omitting or misrepresenting key information.
Legal implications of Informed Consent
The informed consent process does not prevent legal liability when adverse events occur. Flawed informed consent
processes have been cited, however, as evidence of a lack of quality of care by the physician. The American Society
of Anesthesiologists (ASA) closed claims database reveals that the absence of informed consent is cited in
approximately 1% of claims and that cases with inadequate documentation of informed consent are associated
with larger monetary awards. [8] Studies repeatedly show that the risk of filing a malpractice claim is directly
related to patients perception of their relationship with the physician. [9] The informed consent process provides
one of the few opportunities that anesthesiologists have to establish that relationship, however brief, and should
not be underestimated in its medicolegal importance.
Informed Refusal
Informed consent is meaningless if the patient cannot also refuse medical therapy because the consent process is
then merely an exercise in patient acquiescence to the physician's will. Examples of informed refusal in
anesthesiology include requests to withdraw or withhold life-supporting care in the ICU; do-not-attemptresuscitation (DNAR) orders in the operating room; cases in which the patient has objections to certain forms of
therapy, such as a Jehovah's Witness who refuses blood transfusions; and cases in which a patient refuses
preoperative testing, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or pregnancy testing.
Informed refusal has similar concerns and requirements as informed consent. When patients refuse medical care
or insist on what the physician believes is suboptimal care, disclosure of the risks and benefits becomes even more
important because these decisions may veer from options that are already widely accepted and for which the risks
are believed to be lowest. It is easier to justify agreeing to the unusual preferences of a well-informed patient than
to subject a poorly informed patient to unorthodox care.
Despite full information, patients may sometimes request or demand care that is unreasonable, either because it
will adversely affect the performance of surgery or because it would be associated with unreasonably high risk.
When a patient demands a technique that is inappropriate or outside the realm of reasonable practice, the
anesthesiologist is under no ethical obligation to provide that care. No physician can be compelled by a patient to
practice negligently.
Special Issues in Informed Consent and Informed Refusal
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Jehovah's Witness Patients
The classic example of a patient who refuses therapy in anesthesia practice is that of Jehovah's Witnesses, many of
whom believe that accepting a blood transfusion violates a Biblical injunction (also see Chapters 5 and 6 [Chapter
5] [Chapter 6] ). The Jehovah's Witness doctrine has been subject to change over time, which has resulted in
inconsistencies in religious practice with regard to which, if any blood components might be acceptable.
Individuals interpret religious doctrines in light of their own spiritual contexts, and not all believers hold to the
same tenets with equal fervor. Church doctrines, like medical practices, evolve over time, and practices that are
acceptable at one time may not be acceptable years later. Anesthesiologists and surgeons have cited individual and
doctrinal inconsistencies as justification for ignoring the wishes of Jehovah's Witness patientsbut to do so is no
more logical than assuming that every hypertensive patient needs or will respond well to identical treatment or
that optimal treatments will not evolve over time. [10] Moreover, it is the right of any patient to refuse blood
transfusion therapy, regardless of whether this desire is founded in a religious preference. Such refusals have
become more common in nonJehovah's Witness patients because blood transfusion therapy was connected to
cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the 1980s and patients began questioning the value and
necessity of transfusion therapy in light of its risks.
Because beliefs differ regarding which, if any, blood replacement therapies are acceptable, it is important to have
a thorough and detailed discussion of possible therapies with a Jehovah's Witness patient before surgery, and the
conclusions should be documented in the patient's chart. If anesthesiologists believe that they cannot comply with
an adult patient's desire to forgo transfusion, they have the ethical obligation to find an alternative caregiver
whenever possible. [11]
The courts strongly support the rights of adult patients to refuse blood products for themselves but have been
inconsistent and have interfered in the cases of some pregnant patients. Transfusion of pediatric Jehovah's
Witness patients by court order is common at this time but may become ethically and legally less acceptable as
therapy other than blood transfusion to maintain oxygen-carrying capacity evolves, as the Jehovah's Witness
church further defines its doctrines with regard to children, and as the capacity of children to consent to or refuse
therapy is better understood.
The Pediatric Patient and Other Patients with Impaired Competence
The ethical practice of medicine weighs heavily toward adherence to respect for autonomy in patients who are
competent to make medical decisions (also see Chapter 82 ) or who have executed advance directives when they
were competent to do so. Medical care of individuals who have never been autonomous relies on principles such as
respect for human dignity, beneficence, avoidance of harm, and adherence to the principle of justice.
Children are an example of persons who may or may not yet be autonomous. Laws in each state define the age at
which children become legally competent to make medical decisions (usually age 18), but many younger children
have the mental and emotional capacity to make medical decisions. Forcing such individuals to undergo
treatments that they do not want is unethical and could be illegal as well.
Decision-making capacity in children is variable. Most 2-year-olds are clearly not able to make medical decisions,
but there is a wide range of capability present in children as young as 7 or 8, and studies suggest that the average
14-year-old makes medical decisions similar to adults. In one study, children from 6 through 9 years of age invited
to participate in influenza vaccine research asked pertinent questions about individual risks and benefits and
whether their community and other children would benefit. [12]
Most states recognize emancipated minor status whereby a court determines that minors can legally make
medical decisions for themselves. Legal exceptions to the age of consent are recognized in most states when
treatment is believed to be in the minor's best interest and a requirement for parental consent would interfere
with the child's ability to receive medical help. The law recognizes that tragically, some conditions for which a
minor seeks therapy may even be the result of parental abuse and that seeking parental permission for treatment
may actually further endanger the minor. Thus, minors are allowed in many states to consent to treatment for
substance abuse, sexually transmitted disease, mental illness, and medical care affecting pregnancy, including
abortion. In situations in which a minor has decision-making capacity but is not emancipated, a judge may
declare the child to be a mature minor with decision-making rights.
Ideally, individuals of any age should be involved in medical decisions to the degree that their capacity allows. A
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minor who possesses the capacity to make decisions should not be coerced or restrained under most
circumstances. [13] Determining whether a minor has such capacity may require formal consultation and
assessment. The term assent rather than consent is used to refer to agreement with treatment by children who
do not fall into legal categories awarding them adult rights. The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that
physicians who care for children should give serious consideration to each patient's developing capacities for
participating in decision-making, including rationality and autonomy. [14]
When children dissent to undergo medical care, persistent refusals may be ethically binding, particularly in the
case of participation in research. Medical personnel should respect the wishes of patients who withhold assent and
try to gain a better understanding of their situation or deal with their fears. A patient's reluctance or refusal to
assent should also carry considerable weight when the proposed intervention is not essential to his or her welfare
and/or can be deferred without substantial risk. [14] [15]
Consent for Laboratory Tests: HIV and Pregnancy Testing
HIV and pregnancy testing has serious ethical considerations (also see Chapters 69 and 101 [Chapter 69] [Chapter
101] ), has limited, if any beneficial impact in the setting of surgery, may create serious social and economic
consequences for the patient beyond the operating room, and may require the patient's informed consent.
HIV tests are usually ordered for the purpose of singling out patients for whom extra universal precautions
could be taken to reduce transmission in the operating room. Most surgeons and anesthesiologists believe that
compulsory AIDS testing would reduce their risk of exposure, and many believe that it is the physician's
prerogative and can be done without the patient's consent. [16]
However, HIV testing does not necessarily yield safer anesthetic management and is more costly than diligent
application of universal precautions. [17] In low-prevalence populations, testing is more likely to give false-negative
results that wrongly reassure operating room workers that a patient is not infected. This may paradoxically
increase the risk for transmission of HIV if relaxation in vigilance is the result.
Positive HIV tests can result in loss of employment or insurance coverage, or both. Seropositive women often
experience marital breakup, abandonment, verbal abuse, and physical violence if their status is disclosed. [18] The
threat of compulsory AIDS testing almost certainly would prevent some patients from seeking needed surgical
care. [19]
Routine preoperative pregnancy testing has ethical ramifications analogous to HIV testing. Despite pervasive
beliefs to the contrary, large, well-designed population studies do not demonstrate that anesthetics lead to early
fetal loss or an increased frequency of fetal malformations. [20] [21] Studies have also shown that even adolescent
girls generally report the possibility of pregnancy accurately when asked privately. [22] Legal ramifications of not
routinely testing for pregnancy preoperatively have been virtually nonexistent, and less than a third of U.S.
practices require it. [23] A positive pregnancy test may have extremely negative consequences if a vulnerable
patient is in a social situation in which pregnancy is not accepted. Abandonment, negative family interactions, and
violence to the patient or her fetus (or both) all occur. Adolescent pregnancies are sometimes the result of child
abuse or rape, and referral of adolescents who are pregnant to Child Protective Services should be considered. [23]
In many states it is illegal to disclose or even insinuate a child's pregnancy status to her parents regardless of her
age, thus leaving an anesthesiologist who discovers an adolescent pregnancy with few comfortable or legal options.
Many patients may choose not to undergo elective surgery if they know that they are pregnant. However, coercing
a female patient to have a test against her wishes and which she may find insulting explicitly violates patient
autonomy. Physician self-interest is not a sufficient justification for disregarding patient autonomy or violating a
patient's privacy. It was the joint recommendation of the ASA Task Force on Preoperative Testing and the ASA
Committee on Ethics that anesthesiologists offer the choice of preoperative pregnancy testing to any female
patient who might desire one, explain the potential risks and benefits, and obtain informed consent for the test. [24]
Maternal-Fetal Conflicts
In general, the rights of pregnant women to refuse therapy, even if refusal would be detrimental to their fetuses,
are protected under right-to-privacy provisions in the U.S. constitution (also see Chapter 69 ). These rights are
weighed against potential harm to the fetus in a decremental fashion as the fetus approaches and surpasses viable
age. When the fetus is of nonviable age, mother's rights prevail. Court decisions have consistently upheld the
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rights of pregnant women to have abortions, to not be subjected to drug testing, and to forgo transfusions early in
pregnancy. Attempts to charge women with child abuse, child endangerment, drug trafficking, murder, and
attempted murder for activities deemed dangerous to their fetuses have almost uniformly failed. [25] In general,
women do not lose their rights to bodily integrity and informed consent when they become pregnant, and neither
fetal rights nor state interests supersede a pregnant woman's right as medical decision-maker.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Ethics has outlined conditions that in their view are necessary
to override a mother's refusal of care: (1) the fetus will suffer irrevocable harm without the treatment, (2) the
treatment is clearly indicated and likely to be effective, and (3) the risk to the woman is low. [26] However, the
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists condemns the use of coercion on pregnant women and
advocates counseling the patient carefully about risks, in addition to recommending consultation with an ethics
committee. [27]
The Uncooperative PatientCoercion and Restraint
The use of physical restraint to control medical research subjects was first addressed directly in the Nuremberg
Code after the Doctor's Trial in 1947-1949 and is a continuing subject of intense scrutiny (also see Chapter 71 ).
[28] For anesthesiologists, chemical restraints often replace physical ones, but the ethical issues are the same.
Anesthesiologists are often asked by medical colleagues to chemically restrain uncooperative patients. Use of
restraint is antithetical to promotion of autonomy, and anesthesiologists have both ethical and legal obligations to
determine whether such extreme intervention is warranted. Coercing or using physical or chemical means to force
competent patients to undergo treatment that they are refusing is both unethical and illegal. Refusal of medical
care and angry behavior are not proof of incompetence, intoxication, or inability to make medical decisions. [29]
When faced with an uncooperative adult patient, questions to ask include (1) Is the patient clearly incompetent or
merely angry and uncooperative? Is there evidence of neurologic impairment, acute intoxication, or severe mental
disability? (2) Is the patient in immediate danger? (3) Does the patient pose a direct threat to staff or other
patients? (4) Is there a compelling need to treat life-threatening injuries? In the absence of these considerations,
the use of coercion or physical or chemical restraint is neither ethical nor legal. Physicians may be forced in some
situations to act within a timeframe that does not permit lengthy evaluation of a patient's competence or a
protracted search for a surrogate decision-maker. In such cases, the physician must rely on professional judgment
in deciding how to care for uncooperative patients who either cannot speak for themselves or appear incompetent
to refuse care at a time when a decision must be made. The standard applied here would be to do what a
reasonable person would wish. Coercion or restraint (or both) in such situations is not ideal but may be
necessary and ethically permissible.
An uncooperative child presents special ethical concerns. When a patient who does not have the capacity to make
health care decisions dissents to medical care, the anesthesiologist is ethically required to provide care that is most
likely to benefit the patient and prevent harm while preserving the dignity and safety of the patient. Although
violation of respect for autonomy is technically not possible in a patient who does not have autonomy, violation of
the principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and respect for dignity certainly is. Indiscriminate use of physical or
chemical restraint is not without physical risk, and the fear and anger provoked by such tactics can lead to future
aversion toward medical care and mistrust of health care providers. The American Academy of Pediatrics
Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect states that restraint should not be used in pediatric care unless it is
necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment in a sick child, as in the case of a child with a high fever and
potential ear infection, or in emergency situations. [30]
Behavioral control in an uncooperative child or incompetent adult should focus on alternatives to physical
restraint, such as offering choices on how to go to sleep and use of fantasy or hypnotic suggestion. Although there
may be many social, economic, and scheduling pressures to the contrary, delaying or rescheduling surgery on a
hysterical patient is better than coercion or force. Delaying elective surgery may reduce stress, allow adequate
premedication, and promote safer induction conditions. If medical care is urgent or if delay is unlikely to result in
better conditions for the patient, the anesthesiologist should proceed in a manner designed to preserve the
patient's dignity and safety.
Advance Directives and Surrogate Decision-Makers
Critical decisions regarding medical care often arise when patients are too ill to formulate or express decisions
regarding medical interventions. Advance directives were developed after several legal decisions affirmed that
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patients can refuse even lifesaving medical care and that clear and convincing evidence of the patient's wishes is
needed to allow surrogate decision-makers to request withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies. [31] An advance
directive is a document executed by patients before incapacity to provide physicians with guidance in medical
decision-making when the patients cannot communicate for themselves. Such directives include living wills, which
detail which therapies a patient would accept or refuse in the case of terminal incapacity; DNAR orders; and any
other information regarding medical care decisions.
A surrogate decision-maker may be someone whom the patient has appointed to make health care decisions for
them (a durable power of attorney [POA]) or an individual with other legally recognized authority by virtue of
their relationship with the patient.
A durable POA for health care decisions may be given by patients to a specific person whom they designate to
make health care decisions for them if they become incapacitated. The authority vested in a POA supersedes most
other decision-makers, including family members, except court-appointed guardians.
When the patient has not designated a durable POA, doctors rely on family members to make decisions for the
patient. In many states there is no legally defined hierarchy of decision-makers. Usually, the spouse or legally
recognized domestic partner is considered the first-line surrogate. Commonly, the surrogate hierarchy after the
spouse is the children, if all are in agreement, and then the parents, if both are in agreement, and then the siblings,
if all are in agreement. In cases in which there are no advance directives and either a surrogate decision-maker is
not available or family members cannot agree, the courts may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the patient
in medical decision-making.
Surrogates explicitly act in substituted judgment to provide what the patient would have wanted and,
theoretically, are not being asked merely for their own preferences. However, surrogate decision-makers at best
only approximate the patient's decisions because their interpretation is subject to their own biases, values, and
psychological agendas. Incompetent patients can be emotionally and financially burdensome, and decision-makers
may have conflicts of interest that distort their beliefs and testimony about what the patient would have wanted.
Studies demonstrate that patients and their proxies only infrequently discuss issues and values involving lifesustaining technologies. There are often significant discrepancies between patients and proxies in the assessment
of patients emotional health and satisfaction. Neither physicians nor proxies can always accurately predict a
patient's preferences for life-sustaining therapy. [32] [33] [34] Nevertheless, with all of its imperfections, proxy
decision-making may be the only option if a patient has not left specific directives.
Medical Decisions That Cannot Be Made by a Surrogate Decision-Maker
Some medical treatments have intense cultural connotations, may involve limitation on private freedoms such as
reproduction, or may have historically been subject to abuse. Decisions regarding such interventions cannot be
made by a surrogate decision-maker, even if one is available, and require court review. Examples in some states
are sterilization and electroshock therapy.
The anesthesiologist should review the patient record before taking a patient to the operating room and ascertain
(1) whether the patient has advance directives, (2) who the patient's surrogate decision-makers are, (3) if the
procedure is legally allowed with consent from a surrogate decision-maker, and (4) in special cases, whether an
appropriate court order has been obtained.
Special Issues with Advance DirectivesDo-Not-Attempt-Resuscitation Orders in the Operating Room
Up to 60% of anesthesiologists incorrectly believe that DNAR orders are automatically suspended during
anesthesia and surgery (also see Chapter 97 ). The ASA, [11] the American College of Surgeons, [35] the
Association of Operating Room Nurses, [36] and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations [37] all have published practice guidelines requiring reconsideration, not abandonment, of DNAR
orders in the perioperative period.
The DNAR order is, in essence, documentation of the patient's wishes to avoid the medical interventions associated
with resuscitation. Because the causes and outcomes expected with cardiac arrest in the operating room are
different from what may happen elsewhere and the prognosis is much more favorable, it is very important to
reassess the patient's desires when surgery is anticipated.
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The ASA has issued guidelines for the management of a patient with DNAR orders and other directives limiting
medical care. [11] Although the patient's primary care physician may have introduced the idea of DNAR orders to
the patient or surrogate, it is specifically the anesthesiologist's duty to discuss the risks and benefits of
resuscitation in the setting of anesthesia and surgery before undertaking the patient's care. The anesthesiologist
should include in the discussion the following steps: (1) determine what the patient's goals are regarding surgery
and resuscitation; (2) establish exactly what is meant by resuscitation, in contrast to routine anesthetic care; (3)
educate the patient about the risks and benefits of resuscitation in the operating room setting; and (4) document
the agreements reached with the patient about which interventions commonly associated with resuscitation are
acceptable to the patient. Such interventions might include, but are not limited to, intubation, administration of
vasoactive drugs, administration of DC countershock, and institution of chest compressions. Many patients who
express reluctance about resuscitation during surgery are fearful of burdensome outcomes, such as permanent
neurologic impairment. Education and discussion may reassure them about the favorable outcomes of
resuscitation in the operating room and can establish ground rules for discontinuing interventions postoperatively
if they do not lead to a chance of meaningful recovery.
Surgery is dependent on the cooperation of many caregivers with differing expertise, each of whom has
independent ethical obligations to the patient. It is therefore imperative that resuscitation agreements be discussed
with other members of the operating room team. Such a policy prevents crucial disagreements from occurring
during a critical event when treatment decisions must be made quickly. It also allows conscientious objectors to
withdraw from the health care team.
Advance directives are legally and ethically binding. Despite clear, consistent, and forceful legal decisions, many
physicians still resist imperatives to respect patient wishes regarding resuscitative care, life-sustaining therapies,
or both. Anesthesiologists have ignored DNAR directives under the false assumptions that the legal authority of
advance directives and living wills is not binding in the operating room or that the physician has discretion in
deciding when to follow or ignore such directives. In response, courts have awarded significant monetary damages
for the cost of continued health care and punitive damages for the pain, suffering, and mental anguish of the
patients survivors when DNAR instructions are ignored. [38]
Finally, DNAR orders must never be construed as an excuse to not care for the patient. A patient's decision to
forgo resuscitation does not imply a wish to avoid other beneficial interventions. Placement of a pulmonary artery
catheter, for example, may help ensure optimal management of a frail patient who has a DNAR order by enabling
the anesthesiologist to avoid situations in which the patient's DNAR status becomes pivotal.
End-of-Life Decision-Making
A 1996 review by the American Medical Association showed that end-of-life issues of foremost importance to
patients were control over the timing and location of death; management of symptoms such as pain, dyspnea,
anxiety, and depression; financial management of medical care; and maintenance of therapeutic options, including
physician-assisted suicide. [39] [40]
Withdrawal/Withholding of Medical TherapyCuring versus Caring
More than 80% of deaths in the United States occur in health care facilities, and the majority of deaths in ICUs
take place after an explicit decision to withdraw or withhold treatment. [40] Patients and doctors alike recognize
that aggressive medical therapy may not be desired or even appropriate in the face of advancing disease.
Continued therapy may not be warranted or desired when quality of life is extremely poor, even if the patient is
not suffering from terminal disease.
Before the mid-20th century, the concept of beneficence in the eyes of physicians was strongly tied to preventing
death. Ethical distinctions between acts of omission (letting die) and acts of commission (killing) were and
remain confusing at best. Worse, physicians faced threats of criminal punishment if patient death resulted from
withdrawal of medical treatment. In 1976, the case of Karen Ann Quinlan [41] established that patients have a
right to forgo invasive treatment, even if lifesaving, and that surrogate decision-makers could ask for withdrawal
of lifesaving therapies if they could show that the patient would not have wanted them. The right to forgo
lifesaving treatment was later extended in the cases of Claire Convoy and Nancy Cruzan to include any treatment
if patients refused or there was clear and convincing evidence that the therapy would have been refused if the
patients could speak for themselves. [31] These decisions were revisited and reconfirmed in the tragic case of
Theresa Schiavo in 2005. [42]
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Arguments that withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining therapy does not violate rules against killing patients
are based on ethical differences between killing and letting die and between acts of commission (e.g., lethal
injection) and acts of omission (e.g., withdrawal or withholding of ventilator therapy). [43] Because such
distinctions are confusing to physicians and patients alike, a principle of proportionality is often applied when
withholding or withdrawing treatment. [44] In this principle, treatment is indicated to the extent that it is likely
to present more benefits than burdens to the patient based on the patient's perception of such medical, social, and
psychological benefits and burdens. Of course, competent patients still always have the right to refuse therapy,
even if the treatment is lifesaving and otherwise indicated.
Two common scenarios in which anesthesiologists may be involved in withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining
interventions are in the ICU or operating room before organ donation after cardiac death. In both cases, the issues
and principles of withdrawing/withholding treatment are the same.
Withdrawal of life-sustaining interventions heralds the final phase of end-of-life care. Terminal care requires
special physician knowledge and experience. It requires expertise in medically supportive therapy, problematic
symptom management, knowledge about physiologic changes in dying patients, support and counseling of patients
and families, understanding and respect for patient autonomy and religious and cultural practices and beliefs,
ability to work within complex health care teams, ability to communicate well, and empathy. [45] Anyone
intimately involved in care of a dying patient should also be intimately familiar with the ethical and legal
standards.
Withdrawal of life-sustaining care begins with an assessment of the individual patient's physiology, level of
dependence on therapy, degree of consciousness, preferences regarding sedation and analgesia, and preferences
regarding privacy and level of involvement of family and other loved ones. All of the patient's treatment orders
should be reviewed to meet the new treatment goals. Treatments promoting patient comfort should generally be
continued, whereas those directed only at physiologic maintenance might all be withdrawn. Family members and
others attending the patient at the end of life should be educated about the physical and mental changes that they
can expect to see as treatments are scaled back, including the possibility that death will not occur imminently once
support is withdrawn. [46]
Several interventions have ethical implications and deserve special considerationfluid and nutritional
management, administration of sedatives and narcotics that have the potential to hasten death, and administration
of neuromuscular blocking agents.
Fluid and nutritional support is controversial. Burdens associated with continuation of fluid and nutritional
support include prolongation of the dying process and complications and suffering from placement and
maintenance of intravenous or enteral access (or both). However, feeding and hydration may have important
connotations for family and members of the health care team in that they allow a sense of nurturing and mitigate
feelings that they are abandoning the patient. [47] Pain, dyspnea, and depression are all common symptoms that
cause suffering in a dying patient. Alleviating the pain and dyspnea carries the risk of hastening death. Medical,
legal, and religious authorities have all clearly accepted the principle of double effect, in which an action
intended to produce a benefit for the patient produces not only the expected benefit but also the potential for
significant harm. It is entirely ethical and legal to administer high doses of pain medication and sedatives for the
intended effect of relieving suffering, even if the treatment has the side effect of hastening death. However, to
administer any medication with the explicit intention of hastening death is euthanasia and not medical therapy.
[47]
Neuromuscular blocking agents have no anesthetic, analgesic, or sedative properties and have no role in palliative
care. Such drugs should not be initiated if withdrawal of ventilatory support is anticipated. When withdrawal of
ventilator support is anticipated in a patient already receiving such agents, they should be withheld in all but
extraordinary cases. Paralyzing the patient to comfort the family so that they see no disturbing movements or
respirations as the patient dies is not justifiable. Even worse, it can mask symptoms and signs of distress and
prevent relief of suffering during the dying process. [46]
Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) involves the provision of medications or prescriptions to patients by specific
request for the purpose of ending their life. PAS requires a patient who is both competent and capable of
communicating the request. Euthanasia involves the administration of medication by someone other than the
patient for the express purpose of causing death in the belief that this would be best for the patient (but not
necessarily at a specific request of the patient). Both practices differ ethically from withdrawing or withholding
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life-supporting medical treatment. In the former, the primary intent is to cause death, which secondarily ends
suffering. In the latter, the primary intention is to discontinue treatments that are causing suffering with an
understanding that death may or probably will result.
Currently, euthanasia is legal only in the Netherlands. In the United States, euthanasia remains illegal regardless
of circumstance, and PAS is legal in the states of Washington and Oregon at the time of this writing.
Supporters of PAS argue that the right to privacy and respect for autonomy support patients rights to determine
the time, location, and circumstance of their own death. Adequate control of pain, anxiety, dyspnea, and other
symptoms at the end of life remains a challenge to the medical profession that has fueled the desire for a means to
end life when suffering cannot be controlled. Opponents argue that PAS medicalizes death, overly idealizes the
physician-patient relationship, and ignores any personal and professional conflicts of interest that might occur.
Although many ethicists acknowledge that individual circumstances may make assisted suicide an ethically
permissible action, most express concern about potential abuse. Vulnerable members of society, such as the poor,
elderly, and handicapped, might be pressed by financial and social factors into a suicide option in preference to
palliative care.
An additional argument against PAS or legalized euthanasia is that they might provide simpler and less expensive
solutions to the medical, social, and economic problems common to elderly and poor patients than seeking and
requiring more difficult, but definitive remedies.
Ethical Issues in Organ Transplantation: Brain Death and Donation after Cardiac Death
Two issues critical to vital organ transplantation that confront anesthesiologists are the concept of brain death and
linkage of withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies with organ retrieval and transplantation after cardiac death
(donation after cardiac death [DCD]).
Brain Death
Before the 1960s, death was defined as the moment when the heartbeat stopped and respirations ceased. Advances
in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and mechanical ventilation then made it possible to postpone death, seemingly
indefinitely. In 1968, the Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School proposed redefining death as the
point at which all cardiorespiratory function had irreversibly ceased or all function of the whole brain had
irreversibly stopped (brain death). [48] The committee gave two explicit reasons for redefining death. The first was
to allow patients to be declared dead and not maintained on machines, thereby limiting expense, reallocating
medical resources to other salvageable patients, and allowing the social rituals surrounding death to occur. The
second was to allow donation of vital organs before the circulation stopped.
The public has been slow to accept brain death, in part because it requires complete trust in physicians and
ignores indicators of death that the public already understands. For nonphysicians, brain-dead donors are
superficially indistinguishable in many ways from living persons, and they must therefore rely completely on the
physician for both accurate and honest information of a loved one's death.
Diagnosing brain death is relatively straightforward. In the United States it requires demonstration that in the
absence of drugs, paralytic agents, hypothermia, and other reversible conditions that mimic loss of brain function,
cortical and brainstem function is absent. The diagnosis is usually made either clinically by demonstrating that
cortical activity and brainstem reflexes are absent or by radiographic studies demonstrating complete absence of
cerebral blood flow.
The definition of brain death is social rather than biologic. Nevertheless, medical, ethical, theologic, and legal
experts generally agree that brain death adequately defines a condition in which a person with ethical and legal
rights and moral standing ceases to exist and should no longer be treated as an alive being. Expensive medical
interventions can be discontinued without legal ramifications, and vital organs can be donated for transplantation
if the patient or surrogate agrees.
Before assuming care of a brain-dead organ donor, the anesthesiologist is obliged to review the chart for
documentation of the declaration of brain death, as well as the criteria on which it was based. If there are any
questions about the diagnosis, organ donation should be postponed until the anesthesiologist is satisfied that these
concerns are addressed.
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Donation after Cardiac Death
DCD occurs when a patient desires to have life-sustaining medical therapies withdrawn and also wishes to proceed
with donation of vital organs after death. Controlling the time and place of death so that the timing of organ
donation can be optimized has obvious medical and ethical advantages. The decision to donate organs is made
before death so that discussion and informed consent can take place. Ischemia time can be minimized. The dual
decision to withdraw life-sustaining interventions and donate vital organs after death can create ethical conflicts,
however. When a dying patient becomes an imminent organ donor, there is a risk that patient interests will be
minimized or ignored in favor of the organ recipient.
The Institute of Medicine reviewed DCD in 1997 [49] and 2000 [50] and found that there were serious ethical
questions, such as determining how quickly after asystole organ donation can begin and whether medications can
ethically be administered to the donor before death that are solely for the purpose of organ preservation.
Ethical, theologic, and legal principles prohibit us from killing one person to benefit another, but the point at
which actual death has occurred in DCD patients is unclear. Although expedient donation is the very purpose of
DCD, doctors must never sacrifice any living patient in the process or even take significant risks of doing sothe
mistrust that this would engender in the public could place the entire concept of DCD at risk by reducing potential
donors and ultimately harming future potential organ recipients. [51] [52] [53] Loss of consciousness occurs quickly
after asystole, but brain function can continue for some time and irreversible brain injury may not occur for many
minutes. Yet many protocols call for organ retrieval to begin only 2 minutes after the circulation has stopped, and
in at least one institution, organ donation is allowed to begin within seconds of cardiac arrest. [54] There is both
scientific and philosophic uncertainty about when death is completethis could even lead to accusations of
physicians deliberately killing patients to obtain organs for transplantation. Mistakes have occurred in some cases
of brain-dead organ donors for which clear clinical criteria exist; DCD is potentially even more prone to error
because no such clinical guidelines are universally accepted. [55]
Donation of vital organs after brain death and DCD is both ethical and legal, but the interests of the dying patient
must be absolutely protected until death has occurred. Anesthesiologists can play a vital role in the organ donation
process by helping hospitals develop reasonable and ethical policies for the management of brain-dead and DCD
donors. Every anesthesiologist should be thoroughly familiar with brain death criteria and should review the
process of determining brain death before accepting care of a brain-dead donor. Anesthesiologists involved in
organ DCD should have appropriate training or expertise in the relevant ethical, legal, and medical issues
involved, including end-of-life care.
Research Ethics
Human Subjects Research
The premise that the physician always puts the best interests of the patient first can be jeopardized when research
objectives enter the doctor-patient relationship. Human subjects are asked to put aside their own interests to
benefit some future, hypothetical group of patients. In extreme cases, the patient becomes a research object who
will not benefit personally from the experiment at all. Two examples include experiments in healthy subjects and
phase I cancer trials in terminally ill patients in which the goal is to determine the toxicity of treatmentnot
remission, palliation, or cure.
Human subjects research must balance many conflicting interests, such as the needs and rights of the research
subject, the hypothetical interests of future patients, and the physician's financial, professional, and personal
goals. Academic or corporate advancement, personal prestige, and financial incentives may be disincentives to
researchers who are diligently protecting patient interests or remaining objective in designing protocols and
analyzing and reporting their findings. Thus, human subjects research is more closely regulated, supervised, and
controlled than any other medical endeavor.
Regulation of research began after World War II, with the Nuremburg Code and the Helsinki Declaration
outlining the ethical obligations of physicians engaged in human research. The United States was slow to awaken
to the parallels between the concentration camp experiments and the sometimes gruesome treatment to which they
subjected their own subjects in similar trials. [56] In the years that followed the Doctor's Trial at Nuremburg, Fox
[57] and Beecher [58] found that researchers were aware of the standards set at Nuremberg but regularly did not
comply with them. In 1974, the National Research Act established the National Commission for the Protection of
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Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, out of which the modern institutional review board was
born. [31]
Ethical conduct of human subjects research follows three principles: (1) respect for autonomy and the obligation
to protect subjects with limited autonomy; (2) beneficence, with obligations to minimize risks, maximize benefits,
and ensure that the research design is scientifically sound; and (3) justice, the obligation to treat each person with
regard to what is morally right and to ensure fair distribution of benefits and burdens.
In addition to comprehensive presentation to research subjects of the risks and benefits of procedures or
medications to which they will be subjected, disclosure must include the possibility of commercialization of the
results, financial interests of the researchers, and any other actual or perceived conflicts of interest on the part of
researchers and their institutions and sponsors. Subjects must be free to refuse or end participation at any time
without penalty. Situational coercion in which subjects believe that they are not truly free to refuse should be
avoided or mitigated. Examples of situational coercion include prisoners whose terms and experiences of
incarceration might be affected by their decision to participate or refuse and hospitalized patients who may
believe that their care could be compromised if they do not cooperate with researchers. [56]
Monetary or other inducements to participate in research are probably permissible if they do not undermine the
freedom of the subject to refuse under reasonable circumstances. Significant monetary awards may have adverse
effects on the autonomy of subjects and a negative impact on the scientific quality of the research. If remuneration
is high, for example, subjects might conceal factors that would otherwise disqualify them from participating,
thereby compromising the research results and exposing themselves to greater risk.
Researchers are obligated to maximize benefit and minimize potential harm, including physical, psychological,
social, legal, and financial harm. The research must address a question of sufficient value to justify the level of risk
and must follow the approved protocol. Findings must be promptly and accurately reported. The research must be
terminated immediately if it is suspected to be harmful to the participants.
Anesthesiology research often involves the treatment or prevention of unpleasant symptoms, such as pain and
nausea, for which effective treatments are well established. Such studies should be restricted to comparison of
treatments with known efficacy, not placebo-controlled trials, and escape analgesics or antiemetics must be
provided at the patient's request. [47]
No population group should be unfairly subjected to research without having equal access to its benefits. Finally,
in our modern Western research tradition, the interests of the individual subject always prevails over the interests
of society.
Children As Research Subjects
Children are particularly vulnerable as research subjects because they may lack the ability to make mature
decisions, are subject to the authority of others, may defer to their parents and others in ways that mask
underlying dissent, and may have conditions requiring immediate decisions not consistent with informed consent.
[59] Children's rights are frequently undervalued, whereas parental authority may be overvalued. Studies show
that even children with decision-making capacity are often excluded from the consent process by both parents and
physicians. [60]
If a minor child is able to assent, assent must usually be obtained in addition to the consent of any legal
surrogate decision-makers. In the United States, federal law requires assent of any minor 7 years and older to
participate in medical research. Particularly for research in which no substantive individual benefit is expected,
many ethicists believe that a child's dissent must always be honored. [60] [61]
Ethics of Animal Research
The animal rights movement in the United States has gained significant momentum in the last 25 years, following
in the wake of the U.S. civil rights movement and paralleling increasing awareness and concern about the human
impact on the environment and other animal species. Federal legislation protecting animal welfare began with the
Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966. In 1985, the Health Extension Act and amendments to the Animal
Welfare Act required the establishment of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees to oversee conditions of
laboratory animals; review and approve animal research protocols; educate and train investigators in ethical
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issues and aspects of animal handling such as anesthesia, analgesia, and euthanasia; and act as community
liaisons. [62]
Some researchers deny that animal experimentation could be subject to any moral reservations and assert that
medical advancements have been and continue to be completely dependent on continued animal research. Many
animal welfare activists insist on the moral equivalence of animal and human experimentation and accuse
researchers of being blind to or, even worse, of being actually unmoved by the suffering of animal subjects. The
simplicity of these polarized views does not do justice to the complexity of the issues.
Advancements in the understanding of animal cognition have led most biologists to now believe that many, if not
all animals are capable of feeling pleasure, pain, anticipation, and fear and thus experience both enjoyment and
suffering. Many bioethicists accept that the higher animals therefore have sufficient awareness to possess moral
standing, although how much moral standing is intensely debated. [63] [64] Allowing animal suffering as a result of
pain, fear, sickness, or poor standards of care is a moral harm that must be avoided, mitigated, and weighed
heavily against the benefits that it produces. Many argue that animals should be protected, not only because they
have moral standing but also because people who are cruel to animals are more likely to be cruel to other humans.
[65]
Researchers have obligations to provide clean and humane conditions and appropriate veterinary care for animal
subjects. Researchers should mind the 3 R'sreplacement, reduction, and refinementthat is, use animal
subjects only when necessary, minimize any suffering incurred in the study, and seek nonanimate replacements
for animal subjects. Mediocre or repetitive research using animal subjects should not be allowed. It is the
responsibility of the medical and scientific community to continue to aggressively seek and promote alternatives to
the use of animal subjects. [65]
Physician Participation in Executions
U.S. physician professional organizations have consistently stated that physician participation in executions is
unethical, yet many physicians admit that they would agree to be involved. The role of physicians in euthanasia
and executions is of particular concern to anesthesiologists, who have been identified as ideal candidates for duties
that involve killing because of their particular professional skills. Arguments in favor of physician involvement in
executions usually cite the principle of beneficence in allowing a humane death.
Historically, however, beneficence arguments have led to slippery slope justifications for physicians to be
involved in the killing of persons who have never faced an accuser or had a fair hearingsuch killings have
included persons with physical or mental handicaps and other social flaws for the benefit of the individual
and society as a whole. Once physicians accept a beneficence argument for participating in executions, it is
difficult to draw the ethical line at participation in other dubious state-sponsored activities, such as torture,
coercion, and medical incarceration, because these activities are also usually defended as being beneficial to
society. [66]
When physicians agree to participate in an execution, they act as agents of the state while appearing to act on
behalf of the patient. This can lead to eventual erosion of public trust and respect. It also at times undoubtedly
leads to physician participation in the killing of innocent persons. [67]
Studies clearly demonstrate that to avoid intolerable self-condemnation, virtually all executioners undergo moral
disengagement in which they dehumanize the convicts and devalue their lives, thereby deflecting moral
responsibility for the execution away from themselves by blaming juries, judges, governors, and the law, rather
than accept the responsibility that they share in ending the prisoner's life. [68] It is difficult to reconcile the medical
profession's overt ethical imperatives of valuing human life, respecting individuals, and accepting personal moral
responsibility with participation in a process that requires rejection of these very values.
Moral IntegrityCan the Physician Be a Conscientious Objector in Medicine?
Anesthesia care of patients can involve ethical controversy, legitimate disagreement, and moral ambiguity. When
a physician's personal values run counter to acceptable ethical standards of care, how should the physician resolve
such conflicts? Medical professional societies recognize the right to conscientious objection in medical practice.
The ASA, the British Medical Association, and the Hastings Center have all issued statements recognizing the
physician's right to withdraw from situations in which ethical standards of patient care are in serious conflict with
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their personal values. [69] The ASA specifically recognizes conscientious withdrawal from patient care in the case
of patients with DNAR orders or other directives that limit treatment. [11] However, these rights have limitations.
Acceptance of moral objections to certain hotly contentious issues such as abortion or physician-assisted suicide
may be reasonable, but objections to well-established standards, such as informed consent, are not. Moral
objections of physicians are also likely to carry more weight if they involve concepts that physicians believe
supports them as ethical doctorsand not just as ethical personsbecause these concepts are more likely to be
founded in professionally established standards rather than personal beliefs. [69]
Summary
Anesthesiologists face many ethical challenges, including promotion of patient autonomy, resolution of patientphysician conflicts in medical decision-making, ethical obligations in human subjects and animal research, and
ethical conflicts during end-of-life care in the ICU and during organ donation. Knowledge about ethical and
professional standards in patient care and research is essential in the specialty of anesthesiology, which is more
than just the mere provision of technical service on demand. Anesthesiologists may find that at times accepted
values in ethical practice conflict with personal values and goals. This is a common challenge to all physicians, but
ethical decisions cannot be left to the individual physician's values, and adherence to ethical principles of the
medical profession should prevail.
Suggested Reading
Beauchamp TL, Childress JF: Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 5th ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001.
References
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3.. Salgo v Trustees of Leland Stanford Hospital, 154 Col App 2d 560,317 P2d 170 Ct Appl, 1957.
4.. Mebane AH, Rauch HB: When do physicians request competency evaluations?. Psychosomatics 1990; 31:4046.
5.. Hamel MB, Teno JM, Goldman L, et al: Patient age and decisions to withhold life-sustaining treatments from
seriously ill, hospitalized adults. Ann Intern Med 1999; 130:116-125.
6.. Madorsky J: Is the slippery slope steeper for people with disabilities?. West J Med 1997; 166:410-411.
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8.. Caplan RA, Posner KL: Informed consent in anesthesia liability. ASA Newsl 1995; 59:9-12.
9.. Beckman HB, Markakis KM, Suchman AL, Frankel RM: The doctor-patient relationship and malpractice.
Lessons from plaintiff depositions. Arch Intern Med 1995; 154:1365-1370.
10.. Elder L: Coagulopathy after cardiopulmonary bypass in Jehovah's Witness patients: Management of and for
the individual rather than the religious institution. Anesth Analg 2007; 104:757-758.
11.. Ethical Guidelines for the Anesthesia Care of Patients with Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders or Other Directives That
Limit Treatment, Park Ridge, IL, American Society of Anesthesiologists, 2001.
12.. Lewis CE, Lewis MA, Ifekwunigue M: Informed consent by children and participation in an influenza vaccine
trial. Am J Public Health 1978; 68:1079-1082.
13.. Mutcherson KM: Whose body is it anyway? An updated model of healthcare decision-making rights for
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14.. Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice. Pediatrics 1995; 95:314317.Committee on Bioethics, American Academy of Pediatrics
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16.. Chapman K, Meadow J, Catalan J, Gassard B: Testing patients for HIV before surgery: The views of doctors
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17.. Lawrence VA, Gafni A, Kroenke K: Preoperative HIV testing: Is it less expensive than universal
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20.. Mazze RI, Kallen B: Reproductive outcomes after anesthesia and operation during pregnancy: A registry
study of 5405 cases. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1989; 161:1178-1185.
21.. Reedy MB, Klln B, Kuehl TJ: Laparoscopy during pregnancy: A study of five fetal outcome parameters
with use of the Swedish Health Registry. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997; 177:673-679.
22.. Malviya S, Derrico C, Reynolds P, et al: Should pregnancy testing be routine in adolescent patients prior to
surgery?. Anesth Analg 1996; 83:854-858.
23.. Kempen PM: Preoperative pregnancy testing: A survey of current practice. J Clin Anesth 1997; 9:546-550.
24.. Practice Advisory for Preanesthesia Evaluation. ASA Task Force on Preanesthesia Evaluation, Revised, Park
Ridge, IL, American Society of Anesthesiologists, 2003.
25.. Harris LH, Paltrow L: The status of pregnant women and fetuses in US criminal law. JAMA 2003; 289:16971699.
26.. Fetal therapyethical considerations. Pediatrics 1999; 103:1061-1063.American Academy of Pediatrics.
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27.. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Ethics in Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2nd ed.
Washington DC, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2004. pp 34-36
28.. Shuster E: Fifty years later: The significance of the Nuremberg Code. N Engl J Med 1997; 337:1436-1440.
29.. Clarke JR, Sorenson JH, Hare JE: The limits of paternalism in emergency care. Hastings Center
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30.. Krugman RD, Bays J, Chadwick DL, et al: Behavior management of pediatric dental patients [letter].
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31.. Jonsen A, Beatch R, Walters L: Source Book in Bioethics: A Documentary History. Washington,
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32.. Layde P, Beam C, Broste S, et al: Surrogates predictions of seriously ill patients resuscitation preferences.
Arch Family Med 1995; 4:518-523.
33.. Covinsky KE, Fuller JD, Yaffe K, et al: Communication and decision-making in seriously ill patients:
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34.. Hofmann JC, Wenger NS, Davis RB, et al: Patient preferences for communication with physicians about endof-life decisions. SUPPORT Investigators. Study to Understand Prognoses and Preference for Outcomes and Risks
of Treatment. Ann Intern Med 1997; 127:1-12.
35.. American College of Surgeons: Statement on advance directives by patients; do not resuscitate in the
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36.. AORN Position Statement: Perioperative Care of Patients with Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders. Denver,
CO, Association of Operating Room Nurses, 1995.
37.. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations: Patient rights. Manual of the Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, Chicago: JCAHO; 1994.
38.. Osgood v Genesys Regional Medical Center, Mich, No. 94-26731-NH, Circuit Ct for Genesee County.
39.. Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association: Good care of the dying patient.
JAMA 1996; 275:474-478.
40.. Karlawish J: Managing death and dying in the intensive care unit. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1997; 155:1-2.
41.. In the Matter of Karen Quinlan, an Alleged Incompetent, 355 A2d 647, NJ Super Ct Cir 1976.
42.. Schiavo v. Schiavo, No. 05-11628, 11th Cir, March 25, 2005.
43.. Childress J: Nonheart-beating donors of organs. Are the distinctions between direct and indirect effects and
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44.. Jonsen A, Siegler M, Winslade W: Clinical Ethics. 3rd ed. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1992.
45.. Blank L: Defining and evaluating physician competence in end-of-life patient care: A matter of awareness and
emphasis. West J Med 1995; 163:297-301.
46.. Cist A, Truog R, Brackett S, Hurford W: Practical guidelines on the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies.
Int Anesthesiol Clin 2001; 39:87-102.
47.. Lowenstein E: Medical ethics. Int Anesthesiol Clin 2001; 39(3):
48.. A definition of irreversible coma: A report of the ad hoc committee of the Harvard School of Medicine to
examine the definition of brain death. JAMA 1968; 205:337-340.
49.. Herdman R, Potts J: Non Heart Beating Organ Transplantation: Medical and Ethical Issues in Procurement, a
Report of the Institute of Medicine. Washington. DC, National Academy of Sciences, 1997.
50.. Cassel C, Allee M, Beasley C, et al: NonHeart Beating Organ Transplantation: Practice and Protocols, a Report
of the Committee on NonHeart-Beating Transplantation II, Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC, National
Academy of Sciences, 2000.
51.. Menikoff J: The importance of being dead: Nonheart beating organ donation. Issues Law Med 2002; 18:320.
52.. DuBois J: Nonheart-beating organ donation: A defense of the required determination of death. J Law Med
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53.. Youngner S, Arnold R, DeVita M: When is dead. Hastings Center Rep 1999; 29:14-21.
54.. Stein R: New trend in organ donation raises questions. The Washington Post, March 18, 2007.
55.. Van Norman G: A matter of life and death: What every anesthesiologist should know about the medical, legal,
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and ethical aspects of declaring brain death. Anesthesiology 1999; 91:275-287.

56.. Lerner BH: Subjects or objects? Prisoners and human experimentation. N Engl J Med 2007; 356:1806-1807.
57.. Final report of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. Washington, DC, Government
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58.. Beecher H: Ethics and clinical research. N Engl J Med 1966; 74:1354.
59.. Brody JL, Scherer DG, Annett RD, Pearson-Bish M: Voluntary assent in biomedical research with
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60.. Olechnowicz JQ, Eder M, Simon C, et al: Assent observed: Children's involvement in leukemia treatment and
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61.. Wendler DS: Assent in paediatric research: Theoretical and practical considerations. J Med
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62.. Shapiro H: Animal rights and biomedical research: No place for complacency. Anesthesiology 1986; 64:142146.
63.. Francione GL: The use of nonhuman animals in biomedical research: Necessity and justification. J Law Med
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64.. Pluhar EB: Experimentation on humans and nonhumans. Theor Med Bioeth 2006; 27:333-355.
65.. Martin J: The rights of man and animal experimentation. J Med Ethics 1990; 16:160-161.
66.. Krass ME: How coercive is the medical profession?. Can Med Assoc J 1978; 119:1340-1344.
67.. Harmon TR, Lofquist WS: Too late for luck: A comparison of post-Furman exonerations and executions of
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68.. Osofsky MJ, Bandura A, Zimbardo PG: The role of moral disengagement in the execution process. Law Hum
Behav 2005; 29:371-393.
69.. Wicclair M: Conscientious objection in medicine. Bioethics 2000; 14:205-227.
10 Legal Aspects of Anesthesia Care

David B. Waisel
Key Points
1.
The medical malpractice tort system is intended to improve patient care.
2.
Medical negligence occurs when a physician's failure to meet the standard of care directly leads to patient
injury.
3.
A fully informed attorney is the physician's best advocate.
4.
Physicians having their medical competence publicly questioned may feel guilt, failure, anger, shame,
isolation, depression, fatigue, denial, and physical symptoms.
5.
A detailed, legible anesthesia record strengthens the defense against a malpractice suit.
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6.
More than half the states have laws prohibiting the admission of apology or sympathy as evidence of
wrongdoing.
7.
The goal of informed consent is to maximize the ability of the patient to make substantially autonomous
informed decisions.
8.
Evidence of decision-making capacity (the ability to make a particular decision at a specific time) includes
the ability to understand medical problems, proposed treatments, alternatives, options to refuse
treatment, and the foreseeable consequences of accepting or refusing proposed treatments, as well as the
ability to express a preference based on rational, internally consistent reasoning.
9.
A reasonable person standard of disclosure requires that the extent of the disclosure be based on what a
reasonable person would consider material for choosing whether to undergo the proposed intervention.
10. Anesthesiologists may refuse to provide care when they ethically or morally disagree with the procedure
or if they believe that the patient's choice is too inappropriate or likely to result in harm.
11. Competent patients have a virtually unlimited right to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment.
12. Anesthesiologists are responsible for negligent acts made within the scope of defined duties by trainees
and certified registered nurse anesthetists.
13. Physicians have been held liable for inadequate pain control.
Statute law, case law, and regulations affect anesthesiologists ( Table 10-1 ). [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Statute law is
the body of prescriptive law created by a legislature to achieve a specific purpose. For example, the National
Organ Transplant Act is the law that establishes the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and
authorizes it to maintain a national registry for organ matching. State legislatures subsequently establish state
laws governing organ procurement.
When statute laws need interpretation or clash or when there is no definitive statute law, disagreements may be
adjudicated by the judicial system. The aggregate of reported cases, known as case law or common law, is used as
the basis for future court decisions. The results of these cases are rarely prescriptive and may lead to a collection
of confusing, ambiguous, and even contradictory cases that rest on diverse rulings in different jurisdictions. For
example, a widow donated the kidney of her deceased husband to a long-time friend. The transplant surgeon, on
receiving and examining the kidney, declared it unsuitable because of a renal artery aneurysm. The transplant
surgeon then asked for the donor's second kidney. By then, the donor's second kidney had been allocated to
another patient. The plaintiff sued, claiming that the organ procurement organization misappropriated the
donor's second kidney and alleging in part that under conversion tort, the organ procurement organization
interfered with the plaintiff's right of possession of personal property, in this case the kidney. On appeal, the court
ruled for the defendant, the organ procurement organization, because the plaintiff had no common law right to
the kidney inasmuch as a person cannot have property rights to a dead body. [9]
Regulations often come from administrative authorities such as executive branch agencies or state medical boards.
For example, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulation requires hospitals wishing to
participate in Medicare to have written polices that an organ procurement organization is notified of potential
donors. [10]
Table 10-1 -- Laws and Regulations That Affect Medical Practice
Law or Regulation
Comment
Health Insurance
Portability and
Accountability Act
(HIPAA) [1]
HIPAA's privacy rules protect individually identifiable health information held or

transmitted in any form, whether electronic, paper, or oral. This includes a patient's
past, present, or future health or condition, provision of health care, or payment for
the provision of health care and either identifies the individual or provides information
through which there is a basis to believe that individual may be identifiable. Privacy
rules apply to health plans, to health care clearinghouses, and to any health provider
who transmits health information. HIPAA is a complex law that includes many other
provisions, including making insurance portable from one employer to another.
EMTALA governs when a patient may be refused treatment and when an unstable
patient may be transferred from one hospital to another. More commonly stated, the
purpose of EMTALA is to prohibit dumping of emergency patients onto other
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Emergency in Medical
Treatment and Active
Labor Act
(EMTALA) [2] [3]
hospitals. Hospitals must perform a screening medical examination to determine

whether an emergency condition exists, must provide stabilizing treatment if an
emergency condition does exist, and may transfer the patient to another hospital only
under certain conditions, such as the patient requesting transfer, the patient being
stable and transfer will not worsen the patient's condition, and the receiving hospital
having treatment abilities unavailable at presenting hospital. The receiving hospital
must accept the transfer. Physicians have a central role in this process inasmuch as
they must certify that the patient can be safely transferred. EMTALA also requires
assigned on-call physicians to respond to emergency situations.
Controlled Substance
Act [4]
This act permits the federal government to regulate the manufacture, importation,
possession, and distribution of certain drugs to control the traffic of controlled
substances. This act permits the federal government to determine whether a drug
should be a controlled substance and into what drug schedule it should be placed. This
act does not control the medical use of these drugs.
Employment
Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA)
[5] (A number of
amendments to ERISA
are relevant to health
benefits, including
HIPAA)
ERISA established uniform federal standards to protect private employee benefit

plans. The U.S. Department of Labor administers and enforces ERISA and federal
courts interpret it. The relevance in medicine is that it regulates health benefit plans.
Case law interpretation of ERISA affects how, where, and for what indications
members may sue health maintenance organizations. [6] [7] [8]
Professional Liability
The medical malpractice tort system is intended to minimize patient injury, maximize patient safety and
compensate injured patients. Unfortunately, the malpractice system may not have the desired effects on
physician behavior. [11] Physicians are often uninformed about possible standards from malpractice cases. [11]
Jury trials of medical malpractice suits do not reliably inform physicians, in part because of inconsistencies in case
law and in part because juries tend to correlate liability with severity of harm and not with physician
negligence. [12] [13] Nonetheless, to improve patient care, anesthesiologists should vigilantly study the medical
malpractice tort system.
Medical Malpractice
The most common cause of medical malpractice is medical negligence ( Table 10-2 ). Negligence is breach of a duty
that is the proximate cause of a harm. [14] Expanding on that definition, medical negligence occurs when a
physician's failure (breach) to meet the standard of care (duty) directly leads (proximate cause) to patient injury
(harm). Proximate cause should be tightly coupled and requires proof of cause-in-fact and foreseeability. Causein-fact, often known as the but for test, means that the harm would not have occurred but for the previous
negligent act. Foreseeability suggests that injuries must be of the type that would be foreseen by a reasonable
practitioner. For example, but for the absence of an end-tidal carbon dioxide monitor, esophageal intubation
would have been recognized because a reasonable practitioner would foresee that this breach of the standard of
care may lead to unrecognized esophageal intubation. There must be a harm for which the individual needs to be
compensated. Awards may be conferred for noneconomic losses, for the economic costs of repairing the damage,
and for loss of income. The amount of time in which a plaintiff can bring an action is governed by state statutes
and typically begins on occurrence or discovery of the allegedly negligent act or the harm.
Table 10-2 -- Causes of Action Most Relevant to Anesthesiologists
Type
Description
Medical negligence
Breech of a duty of a standard of care causing harm
Wrongful death
One that occurs earlier that it would have otherwise. If negligence causes death,
survivors may sue for damages
Lack of informed consent
Obligation to provide information material to a reasonable person
Abandonment
Obligation to provide continuity of care once a physician assumes responsibility

for the patient
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Obligation for reasonable oversight of those working for the physician
Loss of chance of recovery or The patient must show that recovery was likely except for the action of the
survival
physician
Battery
Touching a person without express or implied consent. There is no need for the
plaintiff to prove harm in battery cases
Assault
The attempt to touch another person. There is no need to prove actual harm
From White C, Rosoff AJ, LeBlang TR: Informed consent to medical and surgical treatment. In Sanbar AA,
Firestone MH, Fiscina S, et al (eds): Legal Medicine, 7th ed. Philadelphia, Mosby Elsevier, 2007, pp 337-343.
Medical negligence may be adjudged as criminal medical negligence if it deviates greatly from the standard of
care, whether unknowingly (criminal negligence) or knowingly (criminal recklessness). [15] Criminal medical
negligence is rarely prosecuted, but characteristics of such cases include failure to modify care based on past
similar experiences, hiding errors, and practicing in a way that appears to favor financial and personal gains over
patient care. For example, an anesthesiologist was prosecuted (but eventually acquitted) for reckless manslaughter
when after more than five documented episodes of falling asleep during anesthesia, he fell asleep during a case in
which the child died. [16] The anesthesiologist was convicted for criminal medical negligence, although that
conviction was eventually overturned because the prosecutors had not brought the criminal medical negligence
charge within the legal time limits. [17]
The Process of Being Sued
Some lawsuits may begin informally by a request from a potential plaintiff's attorney to review records or to
discuss a case. An attorney should be consulted before engaging in these actions to ensure that proper procedure is
followed. Lawsuits officially begin with a document called a Summons and Complaint, which is a notification to
respond to allegations by the plaintiff.
After initiation of the suit, the process of discovery begins with exchange of documents and a deposition. The
purpose of the deposition is for the other side of a legal action to obtain information or clarification otherwise
unavailable, particularly about the reasoning underlying actions. [18] At the deposition, oral testimony is taken
under oath and transcribed and may be used as evidence at trial. Experts, consultants, clinicians, witnesses to the
event, or defendants may be deposed. Some conversations are privileged and may not be discovered by the
plaintiff, including discussions with attorneys, risk management personnel, insurance company representatives,
personal clinicians (including psychotherapists, clergy, and a spouse). Conversations with close friends are
discoverable.
Before the deposition, the physician should inform the attorney about his or her relationship with the plaintiffs
and any problems that may have occurred. The physician should educate the attorney about complex medical
components of the case and expected weaknesses. A fully informed attorney is the best advocate.
In addition to the defendant, the defendant's attorney, the plaintiff's attorney, and the court reporter, the plaintiff
may also be present at the deposition. After the court reporter administers the oath, the plaintiff's attorney will
ask standard questions, including education, licensing, and certification. The defendant's attorney will intercede as
appropriate. The same questions may be asked several times over. A goal of a plaintiff's attorney is to develop a
causal atmosphere to lower the guard of the defendant before asking more relevant questions. A defendant is best
served by not speculating about factual matters that may be found in the medical record and answering only the
questions asked and asking for clarification if unclear about the meaning of a question.
Malpractice Defense
Physicians having their medical competence publicly questioned may feel guilt, failure, anger, shame, isolation,
depression, fatigue, denial, and physical symptoms. [19] It is important to be forthright about these feelings and to
manage them, if for no other reason than to be able to participate fully and positively in the legal defense.
Defendants often rebut claims that the standard of care was not met and that the alleged failure to meet the
standard of care was a proximate cause of harm. To help support these arguments, expert witnesses, medical texts,
journal articles, practice guidelines, and anesthesia records are often used.
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Expert witnesses explain the relevant science and offer professional opinions about the standard of care and
causation. [20] Although courts commonly accept the expertise of most expert witnesses, courts and juries do use
qualifications to modulate the weight that they give the testimony. An expert witness can support the idea that a
different explanation or approach, especially one that other physicians would support, may meet a sufficient
standard of care. The obligations of expert witnesses include the following: expert testimony by anesthesiologists
should be readily available, objective and unbiased. To limit uninformed and possibly misleading testimony,
experts should be qualified for their role and should follow a clear and consistent set of ethical guidelines ( Box
10-1 ). [21]
Box 10-1
Guidelines for Expert Witness Qualifications and Testimony
The physician should be board certified in anesthesiology or hold an equivalent specialist qualification. The
physician should be familiar with the clinical practice of anesthesiology at the time of the occurrence and
should have been actively involved in clinical practice at the time of the event.
The physician's review of the medical facts should be truthful, thorough, and impartial and should not exclude
any relevant information to create a view favoring either the plaintiff or the defendant. The ultimate test of
accuracy and impartiality is willingness to prepare testimony that could be presented unchanged for use by
either the plaintiff or defendant.
The physician's testimony should reflect an evaluation of performance in light of generally accepted standards,
as reflected in the relevant literature, neither condemning performance that clearly falls within generally
accepted practice standards nor endorsing or condoning performance that clearly falls outside accepted
medical practice.
The physician should make a clear distinction between medical malpractice and adverse outcomes not
necessarily related to negligent practice.
The physician should make every effort to assess the relationship of the alleged substandard practice to the
patient's outcome. Deviation from a practice standard is not always causally related to a poor outcome.
Fees for expert testimony should relate to the time spent and in no circumstances should be contingent on
outcome of the claim.
The physician should be willing to submit such testimony for peer review.
From American Society of Anesthesiologists: Guidelines for expert witness qualifications and testimony. Available
at http://www.asahq.org/publicationsAndServices/standards/07.pdf
. Accessed November 1, 2007.
Practice guidelines are being used increasingly as evidence of a standard of care. [22] Although authors of practice
guidelines routinely state that the guidelines are not intended to set a standard of care, it is highly likely that juries
will be strongly influenced by them. [23] Some authors have even proposed that practice guidelines replace expert
opinion. [22]
A detailed, legible anesthesia record often strengthens the defense against a malpractice suit. A goal of
documentation should be that uninvolved anesthesiologists would be able to re-create the anesthesia care as if they
were in the operating room. Uninvolved anesthesiologists should be able to understand interventions, the reasons
for interventions, and the outcomes of interventions. Precise documentation and written explanations of thought
processes lead to better understanding. For example, when performing regional anesthesia, an anesthesiologist
may want to document the length and type of needle used, nerve stimulator type and settings, number of attempts,
strength and location of muscle contractions, whether a paresthesia occurred, and how the paresthesia was
managed. [24] Alternatively, consider the effect of documentation on the fairly routine event of decreased urine
output. Assume that a patient had no urine output over a certain period in a previously functioning bladder
catheter. The anesthesiologist treated the decreased urine output with a fluid bolus. The record would ideally
indicate a 0 under urine output and indicate a bolus of fluid under fluid administration. Assume, then, that 30
minutes after the fluid bolus there was still no urine output. At this point, it would be reasonable for the
anesthesiologist to write a note on the anesthesia record discussing the decreased urine output, the initial
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interpretation and treatment of the decreased urine output, the results of that treatment, and the current
interpretation (including differential diagnoses) and planned treatment of the decreased urine output. The
anesthesia record should contain certain information ( Box 10-2 ). [25] [26]
Box 10-2
Guidelines for Documentation
Preanesthesia Evaluation
Patient interview
Medical history (medication, allergies, family history of anesthesia problems, pertinent review of
systems)
Anesthetic history
Medication history
Appropriate physical examination (including pertinent negatives)
Review of objective diagnostic data (e.g., laboratory, electrocardiogram, radiographs)
Assignment of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status
Formulation of the anesthetic plan and discussion and documentation of the risks and benefits of the
plan with the patient
If appropriate, explanations of what may be considered atypical choices of the anesthesiologist or the
patient
Intraoperative/Procedural Anesthesia (Time-Based Record of Events)
Immediate review before initiation of anesthetic procedures
Patient re-evaluation
Check of equipment, drugs, and gas supply
Monitoring of the patient
Amounts of drugs and agents used and times of administration
Type and amounts of intravenous fluids used, including blood and blood products, and times of
administration
Estimated blood loss and urine output
Specifics about the technique or techniques used
Unusual events during the administration of anesthesia, including explanation of recognition of the
event, treatment of the event, and outcome of the event
Status of the patient at the conclusion of anesthesia
Postanesthesia Evaluation
Patient evaluation on admission and discharge from the postanesthesia care unit
Time-based record of vital signs and level of consciousness
Time-based record of drugs administered, their dosages, and routes of administration
Type and amounts of intravenous fluids administered, including blood and blood products
Any unusual events, including postanesthesia or postprocedural complications
Medical interventions
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Postanesthesia visits
Data from references 23-25 [23] [24] [25].
Countersuits such as abuse of process, malicious prosecution, and defamation have been consistently rejected by
the courts. [27] From a public policy perspective, the courts may be concerned that abuse of countersuits may limit
the ability of plaintiffs to seek redress.
Apology and Disclosure
Although often inappropriately conflated, an apology, an expression of regret or sorrow, is distinct from
disclosure, which is a revelation about what happened. Apologies and disclosures may occur at the same time.
More than half the states have laws prohibiting an admission of apology or sympathy as evidence of wrongdoing.
[19] Some recommendations suggest apologizing for the effect on the patient without admitting fault. Sometimes
this may make sense, for example, if a previously acceptable antibiotic caused a rash. However, not to take
responsibility may seem stilted, such as when an anesthesiologist errantly administers an antibiotic to a patient for
whom there is clear documentation of an allergy. In the name of good relationships with patients, apologies should
not be limited solely to events that may result in a suit. For example, consider a 6-year-old who on initiation of
mask induction starts to scream and cry uncontrollably. After a discussion with the father who is present, a
decision is made to, in essence, hold her down and apply the mask. A follow-up discussion with the family may
include an apology not only for the induction (I am sorry that was so unpleasant for Becky and you.) but also to
acknowledge that this was not the desired reaction (That is not our goal for induction. We would like it to be
smoother. and Going without sedation turned out to be a mistake.), as well as a recommendation for the future
(In the future, I would recommend giving oral sedation before going to the operating room.). Although this
technically seems to admit wrongdoing, it is simply acknowledging what happened and educating the family for
the future.
Although it is my belief that it is better to apologize, there are concerns about apologizing. The action for the
physician, particularly if the apology is not readily accepted, may be painful. An apology may also embolden an
otherwise unsure plaintiff, and it may be construed as admission of error in court.
It is more complicated whether one should admit fault for something that more likely may be medically negligent.
Consider, for example, repeated attempts to place an epidural in a patient who is anesthetized and has previously
undergone back surgery. The anesthesiologist tries repeatedly without success and without incorporating other
methodologies such as fluoroscopy. The patient awakes with a nerve injury consistent with wayward insertion of
an epidural needle. Some would suggest that although it is acceptable to express sympathy for the pain and
discomfort (I am sorry for your discomfort.), it would be legally harmful to acknowledge fault and a desire to do
it differently (I am sorry about your injury. In retrospect, although I am not sure what happened, I suspect that
it was due to the needle placement. I should have used direct imaging of the back, such as fluoroscopy.). Others
would suggest that the second apology with the disclosure is better because it explains what happened, why it
happened, and how it may be prevented in the future. Although this combination of disclosure and apology admits
culpability, it discloses only information that would eventually be discovered. I would suggest that the potential
advantages gained by a genuine apology outweigh the potential harm of admitting culpability.
Full disclosure is gaining favor. From a wholly practical point of view, the patient will eventually learn what was
withheld and will wonder, probably with animosity, why such information was not disclosed. Disclosure may have
three components. [28] On realization of the problem, the goal is to give as much information as known, but not to
speculate about what is not known, particularly about fault. Physicians should clarify the medical implications of
the event, any necessary treatment or follow-up, and who will function as a contact for the patient regarding the
event. The next step should be to conduct a thorough investigation with an eye toward minimizing problems in the
future. Finally, the patient should be informed about what the investigation found, including the cause of the event
and how it will be prevented in the future.
It is not unreasonable to consider responding to patient dissatisfaction by waiving part or all of a bill. This is not
generally considered an admission of liability, and it may help satisfy a patient.
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Until the 1950s, physicians routinely obtained assent, or general agreement of the patient to have a procedure. The
1957 legal case Salgo v Trustees of Leland Stanford Hospital codified the modern concept of informed consent. The
judge clarified the difference between informed consent and assent by declaring, A physician violates his duty to
his patient and subjects himself to liability if he withholds any facts which are necessary to form [the] basis of an
intelligent consent by the patient to a proposed treatment. [29]
The goal of informed consent is to maximize the ability of the patient to make substantially autonomous informed
decisions. The modifier substantial is used because it is unreasonable to expect a patient to be fully informed.
The more appropriate goal of substantial informed consent acknowledges that consent may be sufficiently
autonomous even if not completely informed. Modern informed consent has seven components.
Components of Informed Consent
Decision-Making Capacity
Decision-making capacity is defined as the ability to make a particular decision at a specific time. Evidence of
decision-making capacity includes the ability to understand medical problems, proposed treatments, alternatives,
options to refuse treatment, and the foreseeable consequences of accepting or refusing any proposed treatments, as
well as the ability to express a preference based on rational, internally consistent reasoning. Decision-making
capacity is distinct from the legal concept of competency. Courts determine competency and often make a global
determination of competency by declaring that a person is either competent or incompetent for all matters. Adults
are presumed to be legally competent unless declared otherwise by a court. On the other hand, anesthesiologists
are responsible for assessing decision-making capacity and can make this determination only for specific
situations.
Anesthesiologists should permit patients to make decisions to the extent of their ability. [30] For most patients,
there are no questions about decision-making capacity. However, anesthesiologists need to actively evaluate the
decision-making capacity of patients whose decision-making capacity has been temporarily altered, who do not
have legal decision-making authority, or who have preexisting limitations in decision-making capacity. Consider a
patient who has received pain medication before giving informed consent. The level of impairment varies
depending on the medication, the tolerance of the patient to the medication, and the decision to be made. Indeed,
some patients, such as parturients, may have improved decision-making capacity when the pain is decreased. To
determine whether a patient has decision-making capacity for a specific decision, anesthesiologists need to balance
the medication given and its expected effects with the ability of the patient to show evidence of rational reasoning
and understanding. When a patient has temporarily lost decision-making capacity, such as when anesthetized,
anesthesiologists should not implement nonemergency care until after the patient regains decision-making
capacity and gives consent. However, in emergencies, anesthesiologists should proceed without obtaining informed
consent, based on the presumption that patients want life-sustaining treatment unless they have declared
otherwise. [31]
Voluntariness
Physicians should perform procedures only on competent patients who participate willingly. Anesthesiologists
compromise voluntariness through manipulation and coercion. Manipulation involves the deliberate distortion or
omission of information in an attempt to induce the patient to accept a treatment, such as downplaying or omitting
information to influence a patient to make a specific decision. Coercion involves the use of a credible threat to
ensure complicity.
Anesthesiologists also hinder voluntariness when they physically restrain or sedate patients who have sufficient
decision-making capacity. Competent patients have the legal and moral right to refuse treatment, even in lifethreatening emergency situations. It is often hard for physicians to accept that a patient wishes to make what the
physician perceives to be a foolish decision. Shine v Vega illustrates the complexity of these situations. [32] In 1990,
Shine, a competent adult, went to the hospital and received oxygen and an unspecified medication for an asthma
attack. Vega, the emergency department attending physician, thought that she was very ill and recommended
endotracheal intubation. Shine stated her long-standing refusal of endotracheal intubation (confirmed
contemporaneously by her sister and father) and continued to receive oxygen by mask. Later, Shine's sister came
into her room in the emergency department and noted that Shine was breathing more easily but was arguing with
staff. Shortly thereafter, Shine and her sister attempted to leave but were forcibly detained by a physician and
security. Shine was placed in four-point restraints and Vega, choosing to disregard Shine's objection, intubated
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her trachea. On appeal, the Massachusetts Supreme Court stated that a competent patient has a right to refuse
potentially life-sustaining treatment, even if her decision is considered unwise.
Another issue of voluntariness occurs when the interests of a woman and her fetus differ. When a woman refuses a
recommended diagnostic or therapeutic procedure, such as cesarean delivery for fetal indications, physicians may
choose to respect the patient's autonomy and not proceed, encourage the woman to seek health care elsewhere, or
seek judicial involvement. Before seeking judicial involvement, physicians should consider the social, physical, and
psychological harm of violating individual liberty and the fallibility and limitations of medical knowledge.
Physicians may want to seek judicial involvement only when they are highly confident that the recommended
treatment will substantially reduce harm to the fetus, that the risks to the woman are relatively small, and that no
comparably effective, less-intrusive option exists. [33] Particularly relevant to anesthesiologists is the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists position on forced cesarean section. Even in the presence of a court
order authorizing intervention, the use of physical force against a resistant competent woman is not justified. The
use of force will substantially increase the risk to the mother, thereby diminishing the ethical justification of such
therapy. [33]
Disclosure
The goal of disclosure is to provide information relevant to the decision-maker and the decision to be made.
Skilled disclosure builds trust, helps patients make good decisions, and is a fundamental component of the
obligation to respect a patient's autonomy.
Established in 1972, the reasonable person standard requires that the extent of the disclosure be based on what a
reasonable person would consider material for choosing whether to undergo the proposed intervention. [34] [35]
Informed consent discussions should routinely include the specific risks and benefits of reasonable anesthetic
options and monitoring techniques, as well as the presence and use of a fallback plan. [31] Anesthesiologists may
want to inform patients of common, but less severe risks, such as postoperative nausea and vomiting, and
uncommon risks of more long-term significance, such as brain injury and death. If appropriate, the patient should
be informed of the quality of the data, such as whether the information has questionable certainty.
Anesthesiologists should also inform the patient whether an individual or an anesthesia care team will be
providing anesthesia services and, if the latter, the names and specific roles of the team members. It may be
appropriate to inform patients if the anesthesiologist is inexperienced in a particular situation. [36] To maintain
good relationships with patients, they should be told about other practical matters, such as the probable sequence
of events on arrival at the surgical unit, who will be with them at the various stages, what to expect for
postoperative pain management, and realistic time estimates.
Exceptions to the obligation to disclose material information include patients who choose not to be informed,
emergencies in which a valid informed consent cannot be obtained, and situations of therapeutic privilege.
Physicians use therapeutic privilege when they choose to withhold information because they believe that disclosure
would cause the patient to become so ill or emotionally distraught on disclosure as to foreclose a rational
decision, or complicate or hinder treatment, or perhaps even pose psychological damage to the patient. [34]
Therapeutic privilege has a narrow scope and should be used prudently. Simply because information is
undesirable or upsetting to the patient does not mean that such information should be withheld. For example, it
may be reasonable to invoke therapeutic privilege when discussing the risk of death with a patient who is having
an acute infarction of his myocardium; it would not be reasonable to do the same when discussing the risk of death
with the parents of an infant.
Recommendation
Anesthesiologists should offer an opinion about which options are preferable and the advantages and
disadvantages of each option. By explaining the value judgments and the quality of data supporting their opinions,
anesthesiologists allow the patient not only to receive the benefit of their expertise but also to understand the
reasons for the recommendations. Patients can then decide for themselves which choices best fit their priorities.
Understanding
Patients need to understand the risks and benefits of the proposed procedures, the recommendations made, and
why those recommendations were made. It is difficult to determine whether a patient fully understands the
informed consent discussion, and indeed, many patients may not. [37] [38] Pain and distress do not seem to
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compromise the ability to recall risks, particularly among parturients, and do not preclude obtaining a legally
sufficient informed consent. [39] [40] [41]
Decision
After considering the information and the anesthesiologist's recommendation, the patient chooses an anesthetic
technique. Patients vary in their preferences for participation in decision-making, and anesthesiologists should be
sensitive to these preferences. The desire to participate in the decision-making process may be a function of the
individual, extent of illness, gender, age, and level of education. Anesthesiologists should attempt to tailor the
extent of patient and physician decision-making to the patient and the situation.
When a patient refuses an anesthesiologist's recommendation or requests a technique that the anesthesiologist
believes is inappropriate, the focus of conversation moves from informed consent to informed refusal. Informed
refusal requirements are similar to informed consent requirements in that the patient should be substantially well
versed about the risks, benefits, and alternatives before declining. However, although it may be reasonable to
permit a patient agreeing with a recommended or acceptable procedure to refuse extensive information (especially
if the likelihood of harm is low), it is more difficult to honor a patient's preference to receive limited information
when the patient desires a suboptimal approach. [42] The anesthesiologist may wish to provide additional
information about the choice to be sure that the patient has all possible information. If in fact the patient chooses
without sufficient information, the anesthesiologist has not fulfilled the obligation of informed refusal. Of course, a
patient may still refuse to hear information. In either case, when a patient chooses a technique that the
anesthesiologist believes is inappropriate, anesthesiologists are not obligated to provide care in nonemergency
situations.
Autonomous Authorization
The informed consent process concludes with the patient intentionally authorizing the anesthesiologist to perform
a specific procedure. This authorization is the expression of the patient's self-determination and is the basis of
informed consent.
Documentation of Informed Consent
In practice, informed consent for anesthesia may be documented on the surgical consent form, by a handwritten
note, or by a separate anesthesia consent form. Use of a surgical consent form is suboptimal because surgeons
cannot capably discuss the risks associated with anesthesia and therefore it is unclear what is being documented.
Both handwritten notes and anesthesia consent forms may be acceptable. Handwritten notes detail specific
discussions with patients. Writing a note for each patient, however, may be impractical and time consuming and
may miss key aspects of informed consent. Anesthesia consent forms may act as a prompt for anesthesiologists to
discuss key aspects of informed consent. Space for handwritten notes on the consent form will permit additional
details to be documented. Having the patient sign the handwritten consent or the consent form gives an indication
that some form of communication took place. However, because consent forms by themselves do not fulfill the
legal requirement of informed consent, an informed consent discussion must still occur.
Theories of Suit in Informed Consent
Negligence related to the informed consent process may occur if the anesthesiologist provides a disclosure that is
insufficient to allow a patient to make an informed decision and an injury subsequently occurs, even if the injury
was foreseeable and occured in the absence of a treatment error. [31] To determine whether sufficient information
was given, the courts look for materiality and causation. Materiality assesses whether the information given met
the standard of care. If the disclosure did not meet the standard of care, it may be considered a breach of duty.
Causation then assesses whether sharing the omitted information would have caused the patient to choose a
different option. [31] Most jurisdictions use the objective standard, which bases causation on whether a
hypothetical reasonable person would have used the additional information to make a different decision. Some
jurisdictions use the subjective standard, which is contingent on whether the specific patient involved would have
made a different decision. A few jurisdictions combine the two standards by heeding the objective standard while
considering factors specific to the patient and situation. Courts also consider how the information was given. The
informed consent discussion should occur in a setting conducive to decision-making so that the patient has a
chance to ask questions and consider answers.
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The disclosure process is not intended to be armor against medical malpractice liability if an adverse event takes
place. Informing a patient about a risk does not eliminate liability for its occurrence. Liability is based on
negligence theory and depends mainly on whether the standard of care was met and whether failure to meet the
standard of care was a proximate cause of the injury.
Refusing to Provide Care
Anesthesiologists may refuse to provide care when they ethically or morally disagree with the procedure or
situation, such as elective termination of pregnancy. [43] Although physicians have an obligation to altruistically
provide care, this requisite does not always oblige physicians to subjugate their morals. Furthermore, society and
medicine have a fundamental interest in preserving the moral fabric of individual physicians. Anesthesiologists
should provide care that violates their conscience and possibly weakens their moral constitution only in critical,
presumably life-or-death, circumstances. More practically, an anesthesiologist who ethically or morally disagrees
with a patient's choice will have difficulty providing the care requested. In a nonemergency situation, such an
anesthesiologist should withdraw from or refuse patient care. The anesthesiologist may then be obligated to make
a reasonable effort to find a competent and willing replacement.
Physicians may also ethically refuse to provide care if they believe that the patient's choice is too inappropriate or
likely to result in harm. Determining that a choice of anesthesia is inappropriate is difficult and should not be
invoked lightly or out of convenience. The patient's choice and the resultant risks must be sufficiently extreme that
they, say, elicit a similar response from at least several other anesthesiologists. In addition, anesthesiologists may
refuse to provide care if they do not feel qualified to provide the needed care.
Legal Aspects of End-of-Life Care
Acknowledgement of patients' rights to refuse life-sustaining treatment began in the mid-20th century with the
rise of civil liberties, individual rights, and respect for the importance of self-determination (see Chapters 91 and
98 [Chapter 91] [Chapter 98] ). In 1974, the American Medical Association asserted that the purpose of
cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the prevention of sudden unexpected death. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is
not indicated in cases of terminal irreversible illness where death is not unexpected. [44] Policies acknowledging
the need to permit patients to limit resuscitation during terminal illness were prominently published several years
later. [45]
Progression of the rights of the individual to refuse potentially life-sustaining care may be seen through case law.
The 1976 case of Karen Ann Quinlan first established the right to refuse potentially life-sustaining care. In
Quinlan, the courts upheld the legality of disconnecting the ventilator from a patient thought to be ventilator
dependent and in a permanent vegetative state. [46] The court based this decision on the general constitutional
right to privacy. In addition, the court determined that a surrogate had the right to decline medical treatment for
an incompetent patient if the surrogate concluded that the patient would have preferred limited care. Quinlan's
father thus discontinued his daughter's mechanical ventilation. Quinlan lived for nearly a decade sustained by
nasogastric feeding.
The right of a competent person to refuse potentially life-sustaining care was established in the 1984 case of
Bartling v Superior Court. [47] Bartling was a competent adult patient with an incurable disease who for 6 months
received medical therapy against his clear wishes. After pneumothorax from a needle biopsy, Bartling became
ventilator dependent. He subsequently received a tracheotomy to facilitate weaning attempts. During this ordeal,
Bartling made clear his desire not to receive continued therapy and declared at one point, While I have no wish
to die, I find intolerable the living conditions forced upon me. [47] Although Bartling died before his case could
be adjudicated, the appellate court issued an opinion based on the constitutional right of privacy that supported
the right of a competent patient to refuse medical treatment.
The 1990 case of Cruzan v Director, Missouri Department of Health, concerned a young woman involved in an
automobile accident that left her incapable of expressing a preference. [48] Several years before the accident,
Cruzan had expressed to a friend in a somewhat serious conversation a desire not to live in a state of diminished
capacity. The Supreme Court of Missouri held that Cruzan's informal statements did not meet Missouri's
evidentiary standard of clear and convincing evidence of a patient's wish to terminate potentially life-sustaining
care and thus mandated continuation of treatment. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. [49] Unlike
Quinlan and Bartling, the Supreme Court grounded the right of a competent patient to refuse treatment on the
liberty interest of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states, No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
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abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
liberty or property. The decision also upheld the rights of states to determine standards for the level of
certainty required, thereby permitting Missouri to use the clear and convincing evidence standard. [48] [50]
Competent patients have a virtually unlimited right to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment. [51] For an
incompetent patient, three hierarchic levels of judgment direct the decision-making process for end-of-life care. A
once-competent patient's previously expressed preferences for end-of-life care should be followed as best as
possible. When the patient's declared preferences are not known, substituted judgment, or use of a surrogate's
intimate knowledge of the patient's attitudes and beliefs to determine what the patient would have chosen, may be
used to direct care. Despite being two distinct categories, both levels require the surrogate to know the patient
sufficiently to appropriately choose or interpret the patient's preferences. These standards put significant burdens
on decision-makers, who may have legitimate doubts about the appropriateness of their decisions. When a
surrogate has to make decisions for a patient who has never been competent, such as a young child or a mentally
disabled adult, substituted judgment is impossible, and the surrogate must rely on the best interests standard. The
best interests standard requires the surrogate to make decisions based on the surrogate's view of what is best for
the patient.
Advanced Care Planning
Advanced care planning permits patients to declare preferences for medical treatment if they become
incapacitated. Advance directives are designed to minimize the likelihood of undesired overtreatment and
undertreatment. Partially as a result of Cruzan, the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) was introduced in
1990 to increase the use of advance directives. [52] The PSDA requires health care institutions, such as hospitals,
nursing homes, and hospice programs, to notify individuals about their rights regarding advance directives. Two
types of advance directives are living wills and health care proxies (also known as durable power of attorney for
health care decisions). Living wills allow patients to declare the extent of desirable interventions, but they may not
be able to directly address the subtle differences that characterize clinical situations. The difficulty of applying
living wills to clinical situations has led some to prefer the greater flexibility provided by the health care proxy, in
which the surrogate decision-maker can consider the specific details when making clinical decisions. Health care
proxies permit patients to designate surrogate decision-makers (including nonfamily members) to make decisions
for them should they become unable to make such decisions for themselves. If the patient does not assign
surrogacy, most jurisdictions have a hierarchy for assigning surrogacy. Surrogacy is not always effective,
particularly for patients who do not make their preferences clearly known to the surrogate before losing their
decision-making capacity. [53] Given the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, a combination of the two (a
designated proxy with some written form of preferences) may be the best option.
Clinically, advanced care planning should be considered an ongoing process, with the advance directive being used
in conjunction with family and friends to help guide the decision-making of patients and surrogates. [54] [55]
Competent patients may obviously modify their previously declared preferences. Demented patients who
previously made an informed choice to limit certain therapy may express an interest in receiving that therapy. [56]
If patients have evidence of decision-making capacity, such as being able to provide internally coherent reasoning,
their wishes to receive therapy should be honored. However, the process of resolving this situation in a patient
without decision-making capacity and with almost no likelihood of regaining decision-making capacity is more
complex. In this situation it is better to base judgment on therapy from multiple sources, including significant
others, the type of documentation, and the best interests standard.
Refusal of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
The right of a patient to reject unwanted therapy in the operating room is now well accepted. Before proceeding to
the operating room, preoperative do-not-resuscitate orders should be re-evaluated in light of the surgical
procedures, the anesthetic options, and the patient's overall goals. Anesthesiologists are then prepared to clarify
and document the desired resuscitation status in the operating room by using either the goal-directed approach or
the procedure-directed approach. [57] The process of obtaining and documenting perioperative refusal of
resuscitation should comply with hospital policy and jurisdictional law. Written documentation may include the
patient's diagnosis and prognosis, the characteristics of perioperative resuscitation, probable outcomes, and the
patient's reasoning. If the decision is being made by a surrogate, the record should note the surrogate's
relationship to the patient and the basis of the surrogate's decision. It should be signed by the responsible
physician.
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Refusal of resuscitation in an emergency situation without time to clarify a patient's wishes is inherently different.
The traditional bias of providing treatment in the absence of a clear decision not to treat still holds for the
anesthesiologist in an emergency situation. The situation can always be clarified later and the patient withdrawn
from the ventilator if it is determined that the patient would have preferred not to receive the interventions. In
short, the inconvenience of a short period of mechanical ventilation is worth the opportunity to correctly
ascertain the patient's desires.
The Demand for Life-Sustaining Therapies
Patients or families may demand therapies that clinicians believe are inadvisable because of burden to the patient,
cost, or uncertain benefit. When such situations become irreconcilable, the cases may go to court, often not to
determine what therapy should be given but to determine who should be the decision-maker for a noncompetent
person. For example, an archetypic case involves Helga Wanglie, an 86-year-old patient in a persistent vegetative
state who was receiving mechanical ventilation. The medical center believed that further therapy would be futile
for Mrs. Wanglie and wanted to withdraw mechanical ventilation. When Mr. Wanglie refused the medical center's
request to stop mechanical ventilation, the medical center sought appointment of an independent guardian to
supplant Mr. Wanglie as her guardian. The Court declared that Mr. Wanglie was best able to be Mrs. Wanglie's
surrogate. [58] [59]
In the 1995 case of Gilgunn, a jury supported a unilateral refusal of life-sustaining care. Catherine Gilgunn had
multiple medical problems, including severe brain damage, and was in a coma. [60] Her daughter Joan,
representing the family, requested that everything be done. The Optimum Care Committee of the hospital agreed
with the physicians that providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation would be futile in the sense that it was not a
genuine therapeutic option. The legal division approved the do-not-resuscitate order because they believed that
the physicians were acting in the patient's best interest. Gilgunn was disconnected from ventilator support and
died a few days later. The jury supported the actions of the physician and hospital to impose a unilateral do-notresuscitate order. There was no appeal.
Despite Gilgunn, unilateral physician declarations are insufficiently respectful of patient autonomy and may be
legally risky. Evidence indicates that negotiation nearly always resolves these problems without the need to resort
to unilateral action. However, being able to resolve differences of opinion about applying treatments with a low
likelihood of success is important. Policies for resolution based on a procedural approach in which the process for
resolving conflict is described are more practical. Good policies are public, reflect the moral values of the
community, and include processes for identifying stakeholders, for initiating and conducting the policy, for
commencing appellate mechanisms, and for determining relevant information. [61] In a different approach, the
Texas Advance Directives Act permits physicians to unilaterally withhold or withdraw treatments that they
regard as futile, provided that they follow guidelines, including obtaining agreement of the hospital ethics
committee. [62]
Physician-Assisted Suicide
Physician-assisted suicide is the act of a physician prescribing lethal quantities of medication for selfadministration by the patient. In the United states in the cases of Washington v Glucksberg [63] and Vacco v Quill,
[64] the courts held that there was no constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide. It is important to recognize
that the courts followed common ethical opinion in drawing a distinction between the positive right to demand an
action, such as physician-assisted suicide, and the more powerful negative right to be free of bodily invasion.
Although there was no constitutional right to assisted suicide, individual states may choose to legalize or prohibit
it. [65] In 1997, Oregon legalized the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, which permitted terminally ill patients to
receive prescriptions in lethal quantities for the purpose of self-administration. It does not permit any other forms
of physician aid-in-dying, such as another person administering the medication. From 1998 through 2006, 292
patients used 456 prescriptions authorized by this law. The most common diseases in patients choosing to ingest a
lethal dose of medication were malignant neoplasms (81% of patients), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (8% of
patients), and chronic lower respiratory tract diseases (4% of patients). [66] In 2006, 40 physicians wrote 65 such
prescriptions. Of these 65 patients, 35 used the prescriptions, 19 died of their underlying disease, and 11 lived
throughout the year. [66] The financial and educational status of patients did not seem to play a role in the request
for physician-assisted suicide.
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Care of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses interpret biblical scripture to prohibit taking in blood because it holds the life force, and
anyone who partakes of it shall be cut off from eternal life after death (see Chapter 55 ). [67] Jehovah's
Witnesses have different interpretations about the prohibition of blood transfusions, and anesthesiologists must
actively clarify what the patient considers acceptable.
Wholly acceptable anesthetic techniques to reduce blood loss include deliberate hypotension, deliberate
hypothermia, and hemodilution. Most Jehovah's Witnesses accept synthetic colloid solutions, dextran,
erythropoietin, and preoperative iron. Some Jehovah's Witnesses accept autologous banked blood or cell saver
blood, and some accept blood removed at the beginning of surgery and returned in a closed loop. Jehovah's
Witnesses will colloquially refer to options that are a matter of individual choice as matters of conscience.
Although blood components, autologous blood, and banked blood are generally unacceptable, these specifics must
be discussed with the patient. Documenting acceptable interventions crystallizes the patient's desires and provides
legal documentation for the anesthesiologist. Anesthesiologists must be certain that they are capable of fulfilling
the patient's requests; otherwise, they should not agree to provide anesthesia. Indeed, the anesthesiologist and
surgeon should provide nonemergency care to the patient only if all parties can agree on the approach to blood
management.
Case law strongly supports the right of an adult patient to refuse blood products. Case law is in flux for pregnant
patients, and in such cases the courts are more likely to intervene and mandate transfusion. The ambiguity in legal
rulings results from the fact that issues relating to transfusions in Jehovah's Witnesses are based on case law.
Law Regarding Pediatric Patients
For the most part, parents or other surrogate decision-makers of children make health care decisions for minors
(in general, children younger than 18 years) (see Chapters 82 and 84 [Chapter 82] [Chapter 84] ). However, the
participation of children should increase as they grow older and depends on both the patient's maturity and the
consequences involved in the decision. Informed assent acknowledges that although most pediatric patients cannot
legally consent to medical care, they should share in decision-making to the extent that their development permits.
Some minors are permitted to consent for themselves. [68] Emancipated minors are patients younger than 18 who
have been given the global right to make their own health care decisions. This status varies by state but is
generally awarded to patients who are married, parents, in the military, and economically independent and may
include patients who are pregnant. The mature minor doctrine holds that minors who have decision-making
capacity are legally and ethically capable of giving informed consent in specific situations as determined by a
court. Although particulars vary, the mature minor doctrine in general requires patients to be at least 14 years old
and tends to permit decisions of lesser risk. The nearer the child is to the age of majority, the more likely the court
is to grant the child the ability to consent. The courts will balance the maturity and decision-making capacity of
the minor and the risks associated with honoring the minor's wish. As minors near the age of majority, the
likelihood increases that the court will support the right of minors to determine therapy. For example, in a case in
2007 that seemed to be on the margin, a judge ruled that a 14-year-old practicing Jehovah's witness would be
permitted to refuse transfusion therapy during treatment for a cancer that had a 70% 5-year survival rate. The
patient subsequently died. [69]
Even though pediatric patients who are pregnant may be considered emancipated, many states require some form
of parental involvement, such as parental consent or notification, before an elective abortion in an adolescent. If a
state requires parental involvement, the ability of the minor to circumvent this regulation by seeking relief from a
judge, known as judicial bypass, must be available. Requirements and enforcement of statutes vary from state to
state. The need for parental involvement in minors having abortions is not always legally straightforward, and it
may be best to consult with hospital counsel when determining such issues. [70] [71]
Parents and medical personnel may disagree about what is in the best interests of the child. Based on the legal
doctrine of parens patriae, or the government's obligation to protect the interests of incompetent patients, parents
are not permitted to make decisions that are grossly inappropriate overtreatment or undertreatment. [72] [73] One
way to decide what is in the best interests of the child is to define which choices fall outside the range of acceptable
decision-making. The extent to which one intervenes between a patient and the surrogate's decision depends
primarily on how harmful the decision is to the patient. Criteria to make this determination include the amount of
harm to the child by the intervention or its absence, the likelihood of success, and the overall risk-to-benefit ratio.
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[74] Charging a parent of not acting in the child's best interests has significant social, fiscal, and familial
ramifications. If, however, after exhausting other options the anesthesiologist believes that the parent has chosen
unacceptable treatment, the anesthesiologist should report the situation to the proper child welfare authorities for
possible legal action.
For anesthesiologists, this is most frequently seen when courts overrule parental wishes and permit transfusion
therapy in the children of Jehovah's Witnesses. [75] [76] Anesthesiologists caring for a child of a Jehovah's Witness
should inform the patient and family that attempts will be made to limit the need for transfusion therapy and
abide by their transfusion preferences but that in a life-threatening situation, the anesthesiologist will seek a court
order authorizing the administration of life-sustaining blood. In instances in which the likelihood of requiring
blood is high or the local judiciary is not that familiar with case law for Jehovah's Witnesses, the anesthesiologist
may choose to obtain the court order before the operation. In crisis situations in which no court order exists,
anesthesiologists should initiate emergency transfusion therapy before obtaining a court order. As a child becomes
older, the courts become less likely to intervene and often grant the emerging adolescent more decision-making
latitude. In elective procedures that may be safely delayed, the patient and family may also consider postponing
the procedure until the child is of sufficient age and maturity to decide about transfusion therapy.
Supervision and Professional Associations
Attending physicians may be sued because of resident actions. The question of what is considered acceptable
resident supervision is affected by local policies and national guidelines, but again, in any individual case, the
standard of care is often determined by a jury. Specific guidelines about what trainees are permitted and not
permitted to do may provide some protection for the attending physician if the trainee deviates from these
guidelines. In addition, residents are being named in lawsuits with increasing frequency. As a general rule, a
resident is held to the same standard of care as a practicing attending physician in that specialty. [77]
Under the doctrine of respondeat superior and the theory of vicarious liability, anesthesiologists are responsible for
negligent acts made within the scope of defined duties by certified registered nurse anesthetists. [78] The
fundamental issue of vicarious liability is whether the anesthesiologist is controlling the activities of the certified
registered nurse anesthetist. Although the question of vicarious liability may depend on who remunerates the
certified registered nurse anesthetist, this is likely to be an ineffective defense because anesthesiologists tend to
have full authority to medically direct certified registered nurse anesthetists. The scope of defined duties and
whether adequate supervision took place may be affected by societal expectations, medical customs, history,
practice, manuals, agreements, actions, expert analysis, and written documentation, but it is ultimately
determined by a jury in any individual case. For example, in one case, a certified registered nurse anesthetist did
not promptly summon the anesthesiologist for help in managing fatal postoperative laryngospasm and
bronchospasm. [78] The anesthesiologist was found vicariously liable for negligence, in part because there was a
lack of clear understanding between the professional group and certified registered nurse anesthetist about when
the anesthesiologist should be called. [79] [80]
Many controlling authorities (e.g., state statutes or hospital bylaws) require physicians to participate in certain
aspects of anesthesia care when supervising certified registered nurse anesthetists. It is also the responsibility of
the professional association to set forth the expectations in a manner that is consistent with law and regulations.
Accepting a standard below medically communicated published standards (such as American Society of
Anesthesiologists guidelines) risks liability.
Federal regulations for accreditation of hospital and ambulatory surgery facilities require that a certified
registered nurse anesthetist be supervised by the physician performing the procedure or an immediately available
anesthesiologist. [81] [82] State governors may opt out of this supervision requirement if they deem doing so to
be in the best interests of their citizens. For the opt-out to have practical consequences, however, state laws must
also not require supervision. Health care facilities within states that have opted out may still require supervision.
To bill for medically directing certified registered nurse anesthetists, anesthesiologists must participate in specific
parts of the case. [83]
Anesthesiology professional associations may be held liable if they do not ensure that members are competent and
that appropriate policies are followed. [84] Many agreements between professional associations and hospitals
require service that complies with governmental and professional standards. [84] Obligations of professional
associations may extend to letters of reference. For instance, an anesthesiologist was terminated with cause
secondary to abuse of Demerol. [85] When the anesthesiologist went to a locum tenens company, letters of
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reference from shareholders of the previous professional association did not mention the abuse or that the
anesthesiologist was fired with cause. Subsequent negligent care by this anesthesiologist caused severe brain
damage to a patient. The court held that the previous professional association was liable for part of the financial
award.
Professional associations are responsible for addressing physician impairment. An impaired physician is one who
is unable to perform professional or personal responsibilities. Physicians impaired through alcohol and other
addictive disorders are considered to have chronic medical illnesses. The Americans with Disabilities Act forbids
discrimination against individuals who are in recovery [86] and government agencies from receiving funding if
they engage in discrimination. The treatment records of the physician are confidential.
Legal Issues in Pain Management
Inadequate pain management is a health problem, and part of the problem may be due to the tension inherent in
unclear regulations, regulatory scrutiny, and criminal investigation and prosecution by state medical boards and
drug enforcement agencies (see Chapters 58 and 87 [Chapter 58] [Chapter 87] ). [87] [88] For example, the Drug
Enforcement Administration's ability to electronically monitor prescriptions for controlled substances gives them
access to physicians' prescription histories. Physicians are concerned that knowledge of prescribing practices,
divorced from patient-specific context, will lead to misunderstandings and unwarranted investigations. Physicians'
concern about being investigated may affect the doses, quantities, number of refills, or even the type of drug used
in the care of chronic pain patients. [88] The Drug Enforcement Administration suggests that there should be no
effect and has emphasized that only 0.06% of all physicians had investigations initiated, 0.05% of all physicians
had actions taken against them, and 0.01% of all physicians were arrested. [89] However, the 0.06% may be
fallaciously low because that percentage is out of all practicing physicians. A more relevant percentage would be
based on a population of only physicians who prescribe narcotics for pain control and thus are at risk for
investigation. A large percentage of the physicians investigated did have actions taken against them.
The Gonzales v Oregon decision should comfort physicians because it limits the effects of the Drug Enforcement
Administration on physicians. [90] Gonzales v Oregon prohibited the U.S. Attorney General from prohibiting
physicians in Oregon from prescribing schedule 2 drugs for terminally ill patients to commit suicide. [90] The point
of the case is that Congress can set national drug-prescribing rules through the Controlled Substances Act but
cannot affect the ability of states to set medical practice standards. [4] The case turns on the Controlled Substances
Act. Although there were a number of reasons, the primary reason was that the Controlled Substances Act does
not regulate the practice of medicine and, in fact, that the practice of medicine is to be regulated by the state.
Physicians have been held liable for inadequate pain control. [91] [92] For example, an 85-year-old man was
admitted to a medical center for 5 days in 1998 before his subsequent death several days later. [91] He received
inadequate pain control during his admission. Although a medical malpractice suit was dismissed and the state
medical board did not pursue any action against the physician, the family won a civil suit against the physician
under the California's Elder Abuse and Adult Civil Protection Act.
Data Banks
Federal databases are designed to improve health care by tracking performance and flagging suspect health care
practitioners and entities ( Table 10-3 ). [93] [94] [95] By way of context, from 1991 to 2004, the National
Practitioner Data Bank recorded 276,274 medical malpractice payments, 8297 of which were related to anesthesia.
Over this time, the number of cases with payments has decreased, whereas the median payment has increased. [96]
Table 10-3 -- Data Banks
Data Bank
Purpose
National
Practitioner Data
Bank (NDPB) [93]
To restrict the ability of incompetent

physicians to move from State to State
without disclosure or discovery of the
physician's previous damaging or
incompetent performance. [93]
Information
Who Can Query
Hospitals
Health care
Medical malpractice payments entities with a
Adverse actions: licensing,
review process
clinical privileges, professional Professional
society, Medicare and
societies
Medicaid exclusions, and U.S. State licensing
Drug Enforcement
boards
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Healthcare
Integrity and
To stop fraud and abuse in health
Protection Data
insurance and health care delivery and to
Bank (HIPDB) [94]
promote quality care
Established by
federal statute
Federation of
State Medical
Boards (FSMB)
[95]
Administration actions
Plaintiff
attorneys or
plaintiffs
Self-query
Licensing and certification

Civil judgments
Criminal convictions
Exclusions from federal or
state health programs
Government
agencies
Health plans
Self-query
Researchers
Continual improvement in the quality,

safety and integrity of health care
Records actions by state
through the development and promotion medical boards against
of high standards for physician licensure physicians
and practice. [95]
Medical boards
Individuals
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Volume I

No single individual can be said to have discovered anesthesia.

age without recognition.

Park Ridge, IL.)

exactly by administering nitrogen with only 0.5% oxygen. [99]

replaced the caudal approach.

Introduction into Clinical Medicine

Anesthesia Center, San Francisco, CA.)

all unwanted pain from human experience has been attained.

Science 1969; 164:444-445.

165.. Wulf H: The centennial of spinal anesthesia. Anesthesiology 1998; 89:500-506.

major neurological sequelae. JAMA 1954; 156:1486-1491.

on 131 cases. Surgery 1943; 14:261-266.

Email to Colleague Print Version

2 Scope of Modern Anesthetic Practice

Forces That Will Change Anesthetic Practice

3 The International Scope and Practice of Anesthesia

The Early History of International Anesthesia

THE USE OF SPONGIA SOMNIFERA.

Figure 3-3 The Ombrdanne anesthesia delivery device.

development of modern anesthesiology in Taiwan.

RECOVERY ROOM AND POSTOPERATIVE INTENSIVE CARE UNITS.

different experts in managing a particular case is encouraged to achieve better outcomes.

South America (Guillermo Lema)

Southeast Asia (Florian R. Nuevo)

Patterned after the

Philippine Board Singapore

Roles outside the

Limited group practice

Yes (physician has a

Yes (physician has a

* Includes anesthesia services for inpatient, ambulatory/office-based, and diagnostic procedures.

Professional and Research Activity

An electronic health record is a computerized record of patient care.

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Figure 4-5 Several operating system configurations.

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All patient-provider e-mail should be encrypted.

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Electronic Health Record

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Figure 4-12 Various barriers to adoption of electronic health records.

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potentially cause errors.

Figure 4-13 Various benefits of a computerized order entry (CPOE).

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Decision Support Systems/Artificial Intelligence

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information. Int J Med Inform 2007; 76:471-479.

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