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Published on: October 16, 2013
Local anaesthetics risks perception: A web-based survey.
Tal Sarah Beckmann1, Caroline Flora Samer2, Hannah Wozniak3,4
1Division of Anaesthesiology, Department of Anaesthesiology, Clinical Pharmacology, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
Practitioner awareness of local anaesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) is limited, despite its serious risks. Developing educational tools to calculate safe local anaesthetic doses is crucial for patient safety.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Pharmacology
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Local anaesthetics (LAs) carry a risk of local anaesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST), which can be fatal.
- Practitioner awareness of LAST risks is not well understood.
- Limited awareness of LAST poses a significant patient safety concern.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate awareness of LAST among medical practitioners.
- To assess the usage of local anaesthetics (LAs).
- To determine the need for a tool to compute maximum safe LA doses.
Main Methods:
- A closed, web-based study was conducted at two Swiss university hospitals.
- A fully automated questionnaire was used to collect data.
- Participation rate was 40.2%, with higher engagement from anaesthesiologists.
Main Results:
- Anaesthesiologists demonstrated significantly higher awareness of LAST risks compared to non-anaesthesiologists.
- Awareness was associated with being an anaesthesiologist and clinical position.
- Over 80% of respondents supported developing a tool for calculating maximum safe LA doses, with a preference for a mobile app.
Conclusions:
- Limited LAST awareness exists among regular LA users.
- Educational interventions and dose calculation tools are recommended.
- Further research into the frequency of unsafe LA dose administration is warranted.
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