Anaesthesia

NHS England publishes guidance on withdrawing desflurane from general use, following NICE evidence review

Desflurane can be safely withdrawn from clinical use, the guidance says, but may be warranted in “some specific clinical exceptions”.…

Management of post-operative nausea and vomiting in adults

The evidence base supporting pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for nausea and vomiting after surgery.…

Gas and air: are hospital staff safe?

Concerns are rising about the danger that outdated manifolds pose to hospital staff, particularly in maternity departments, with new figures showing a lack of routine testing for nitrous oxide exposure in many hospital trusts.…

Scotland becomes first country to stop use of environmentally harmful desflurane

NHS Scotland said the gas would only be used in “exceptional circumstances” going forward.…

Nitrous oxide could be harming people as much as the planet

Why healthcare workers have a duty to act now to prevent nitrous oxide waste.…

Desflurane to be decommissioned by NHS England by ‘early 2024’

NHS England said that desflurane, which has the highest global warming potential of all anaesthetic gases, will only be used in "exceptional circumstances".…

NHS trusts advised to conserve propofol because of high demand from COVID-19 patients

A supply disruption alert for three presentations of the sedative propofol has been issued, with NHS trusts asked to “preserve propofol stocks for critical care sedation, induction of anaesthesia and target-controlled sedation”.…

Supplies of some COVID-19 medicines to run out within days, government warns

Supplies of certain drugs used when intubating patients with COVID-19 will run out “over the coming days”, the government has warned.…

Anti-dopaminergic drug could help ease postoperative nausea and vomiting in high-risk patents

Researchers found that 57.7% of patients given amisulpride at induction of inhaled general anaesthetic did not require postoperative rescue medication compared with 46.6% of those assigned to placebo…

Big increase in opioid prescriptions and related hospital admissions since 2000

The proportion of patients prescribed opioids and Z-drugs doubled between 2000 and 2012, according to the results of a study into prescribing patterns in dependence-forming medicines, by the Public Health Research Consortium.…