Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 10) National study confirms nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists provide equally safe obstetrical anesthesia Obstetrical (OB) anesthesia is equally safe whether provided by a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) or physician anesthesiologist, according to results of a national research study published in a recent online issue of Health Services Research. The study confirmed the results of previous research conducted in the state of Washington that revealed no differences in OB anesthesia safety based on provider type. The study, titled “Anesthesia Provider Model, Hospital Resources, and Maternal Outcomes,” examined anesthesia provider models and hospital resources to explain maternal outcome variations. The authors are Jack Needleman, PhD, MS, associate professor, Director PhD and MS Programs, UCLA School of Public Health, Department of Health Services, and Ann Minnick, PhD, RN, FAAN, Senior Associate Dean-Research, Chenault Professor of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, School of Nursing. Needleman and Minnick set out to identify any systematic differences in anesthesia outcomes between hospitals using CRNA-only, anesthesiologist-only and CRNA/anesthesiologist models. Anesthesia complication rates in CRNA-only hospitals were 0.23 percent compared with 0.27 percent in anesthesiologist-only hospitals. Anesthesia complications are unexpected occurrences related to anesthesia that take place during surgery. Complication rates among other provider models varied from 0.24 to 0.37 percent with none statistically different from the anesthesiologist-only hospitals. The study involved more than 1.4 million OB patients from 369 hospitals in seven states, including California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. “This research clearly reveals that OB anesthesia complications neither increase nor decrease based upon anesthesia provider regardless of the staffing model studied,” Minnick said. “The outcomes of this study may also serve as a guide to policy makers who use the results of studies such as this when allocating resources and developing regulations.” In this geographically broad sample study, the hospitals surveyed accounted for 10 percent of the births in the United States during 1999-2001. Furthermore, the rate of death was low. The research revealed that anesthesia complications occurred in less than 1 percent of the sample study. Three-quarters of the patients giving birth in the sample were between 20 and 34 years of age, a distinction consistent with national statistics. “The results of this study are very reassuring to expectant mothers and hospital administrators everywhere given that a large number of births currently take place in hospitals in which CRNAs are the sole obstetrical anesthesia providers or have broad privileges,” said Minnick. “The study’s approach could be used in the study of other outcomes.” The research by Needleman and Minnick confirms the results of a study titled “Anesthesia Staffing and Anesthetic Complications During Cesarean Delivery” by Daniel Simonson, CRNA, MHPA, et al, that was published in the January/February 2007 issue of Nursing Research. The results of that Washington state-based study revealed no difference in OB anesthesia complication or mortality rates between hospitals that employed only CRNAs to perform OB anesthesia and hospitals that employed only anesthesiologists to perform OB anesthesia. ���� �� ����� ��� �������� ���� ����� �������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� �� �� ������ �������������������� � ���� ������������ � ������������� � ��������������������������� ������������������������ ������ �������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������ ���������������������������������� �������������������� �������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������� ������ �������������������������������������� ����������������������������� � ������������������������ ��������� �������� ������������ ���������� ���� ����������������������� ���������������������� ��� ������ �������������������������������������������������� ������������ ��������� ������ ��� www.brothersofmercy.org eoe ������������������ ���������������������� ������������ ������������������ ���������������� ������������������������������� ������������������ ������������������������ 10 Pulse / Fall 2009 http://www.brothersofmercy.org http://w.brothersofmercy.org http://www.bjones@wcchs Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pulse - Fall 2009 Pulse - Fall 2009 Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 1) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 2) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 3) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 4) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 5) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 6) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 7) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 8) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 9) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 10) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 11) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 12) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 13) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 14) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 15) Pulse - Fall 2009 - (Page 16) http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.