Publications by authors named "Mitch Giffin"
Article Synopsis
- The article explores the development of the anesthesia assistant (AA) profession in Canada, highlighting its growth over the last 50 years since its formal recognition in Quebec and 15 years in other provinces.
- Data was collected from 19 institutions across 8 provinces regarding factors such as recruitment, training, credentialing, and roles, revealing significant variations in AA responsibilities influenced by provincial health care governance.
- The findings indicate that while AAs play a crucial role in anesthesia care, including equipment maintenance and supporting anesthesiologists, there is a lack of standardized metrics for assessing patient safety and operational efficiency in their practices across Canada.
There is an urgent need for both the scientific development and clinical validation of novel therapies for acute spinal cord injury (SCI). The scientific development of novel therapies would be facilitated by a better understanding of the acute pathophysiology of human SCI. Clinical validation of such therapies would be facilitated by the availability of biomarkers with which to stratify injury severity and predict neurological recovery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObject: Ischemia is an important factor in the pathophysiology of secondary damage after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and, in the setting of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair, can be the primary cause of paralysis. Lowering the intrathecal pressure (ITP) by draining CSF is routinely done in thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm surgery but has not been evaluated in the setting of acute traumatic SCI. Additionally, while much attention is directed toward maintaining an adequate mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) in the acute postinjury phase, little is known about what is happening to the ITP during this period when spinal cord perfusion pressure (MABP - ITP) is important.
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