News
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Promising new collaboration between the Department of Anaesthesiology and APC on the role of the gut micobiome and pain perception
11 Feb 2019
The human gut microbiota, consisting of trillions of bacteria which have co-evolved with humans to live symbiotically in the gastrointestinal tract. In recent times the influence of the gut microbiome (collective genome of all mircoorganisms) on the body in health and disease has come to the fore. Studies have revealed how alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota influence normal physiology and contribute to a variety of diseases. Accumulating data, including that from Dr. O’Mahony’s lab, now indicates that central nervous system function and behaviour can be influenced by the gut microbiota.
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Proficiency based progression training for epidural catheter placement for labour analgesia
13 Nov 2018
Medical errors account for as many as 250,000 deaths in the US every year. A significant proportion of such errors (44% by one estimate) are related to procedural skills. Although simulation based training methods have been developed to address the deficiencies in training, there is limited evidence to show it reduces procedural errors or that it improves patient outcomes. By employing a tool known as “Proficiency-based progression (PBP)” we were able to show improved patient outcomes. Previous investigations of medical training using this tool have focused on the performance of the doctor rather than a meaningful patient outcome.
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Cork Academy of Regional Anaesthesia
26 Oct 2018
The Cork Academy of Regional Anaesthesia (CARA) was incorporated in 2015 to provide high quality, contemporary postgraduate training to anaesthetists and allied health professionals in Ireland and across Europe. Since 1999 the regional anaesthesia specialists in Cork University Hospital have held an annual cadaveric peripheral nerve block course in University College Cork. Our aim has always been to produce state-of-the-art educational experiences drawing on the combined resources of an exceptionally well-trained and experienced faculty and world class facilities. Key priorities of CARA are: (1) the translation of novel and contemporaneous training curriculae and assessment tools into deliverable units of education; and (2) the support of ongoing research.
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"Machine learning will enhance training of anaesthetists"
19 Oct 2018
“In anaesthesia and critical care, as in medicine in general, use of machine learning makes it possible for every new patient to take direct advantage of the data and experience accumulated by the treatment of a large number of previous patients with a similar condition.” This is the claim made in an editorial in the British Journal of Anaesthesia by Dr Karthik Srinivasan (Tallaght Hospital, Dublin), Dr Ingerid Reinertsen (SINTEF, Norway) and Prof George Shorten (UCC).
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Facing Africa
12 Oct 2018
Facing Africa is a British charity which twice a year funds a volunteer team of 3 Anaesthetists, 4 Surgeons and a number of Nurses to go to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia where they perform reconstructive surgery. The disease Noma is an acute, rapidly progressive, necrotising infection of the mouth. It begins as a small, gingival ulcer and results in gangrenous necrosis of the surrounding facial tissues. Survivors of acute Noma usually have severe disfigurement and functional impairment including trismus, oral incontinence, difficulties eating and speech problems. The Facing Africa charity seeks out these patients in very remote, rural areas of Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia and brings them to Addis Ababa for nutritional and medical care prior to performing complex and frequently multi-stage operations (often over several trips and years) before helping to integrate them back into their homes.
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