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Systematizing Safety in the Low-Resource Operating Theater

  • Global Health Anesthesia (MJ Harris, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief review of the literature supporting safe anesthesia practice in low-resource operating theaters in low- and middle-income countries.

Recent Findings

Given the environment is a low-resource setting, there is a paucity of supporting evidence for interventions to improve safety. However, there is some support for improvement to reliable infrastructure which includes access to clean running water, electricity, and oxygen, as well as backup sources of electricity and water. Intraoperative implementation of a surgical safety checklist is a low-cost intervention which has demonstrated its effectiveness at reducing complications in the operating room. Other simple measures like hand hygiene and the provision of appropriate antibiotics are also inexpensive interventions with evidence to support their use.

Summary

In low- and middle-income countries, barriers to adopting safety practices are unique and call for an individualized approach for each situation. Some of these barriers and solutions will be presented.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance, •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada

    Jennifer Vergel de Dios & Daniel Bainbridge

Authors
  1. Jennifer Vergel de Dios
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  2. Daniel Bainbridge
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Bainbridge.

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Conflict of Interest

Jennifer Vergel De Dios and Daniel Bainbridge declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Global Health Anesthesia

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de Dios, J.V., Bainbridge, D. Systematizing Safety in the Low-Resource Operating Theater. Curr Anesthesiol Rep 7, 37–41 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-017-0195-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-017-0195-8

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