Using critical care physicians to deliver anesthesia and boost surgical caseload in austere environments: the Critical Care General Anesthesia Syllabus (CC GAS).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite an often severe lack of surgeons and surgical equipment, the rate-limiting step in surgical care for the nearly five billion people living in resource-limited areas is frequently the absence of safe anesthesia. During disaster relief and surgical missions, critical care physicians (CCPs), who are already competent in complex airway and ventilator management, can help address the need for skilled anesthetists in these settings.

Methods

We provided a descriptive analysis that CCPs were trained to provide safe general anesthesia, monitored anesthesia care (MAC), and spinal anesthesia using a specifically designed and simple syllabus.

Results

Six CCPs provided anesthesia under the supervision of a board-certified anesthesiologist for 58 (32%) cases of a

SUBMITTER: Tran QK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7305384 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature