Updated guidelines released for safe anesthesia use in MR units
The Association of Anaesthetists released updated 2019 guidelines on safely administering anesthesia in MR units. The new guidelines were published in the U.K journal Anaesthesia and include 11 recommendations.
The consensus document was created by a working party established by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, and is an update to the original guidelines published in 2001 and the latest recommendations published in 2010.
It includes several updates on revised terminology, changes to the number and type of implants and device that can be scanned, various layouts of interventional scanning units and the kinds of surgery or intervention that can be performed in the MR suite.
“There is an increase in the number of units providing anesthesia for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and in the type of intervention performed within the MR environment,” wrote Sally Wilson, co-chair of the Neuro Anaestheisa and Critical Care Society of Great Britian and Ireland, and colleagues. “These guidelines are intended to inform and advise anesthetists, as well as the multidisciplinary team, about safety aspects and best practice relating to anaesthesia within the MR environment.”
The document was approved by a number of organizations, including the Society of British Neurosurgical Surgeons, the Royal College of Radiologists and the Society of Anaesthetists in Radiology.
Read the entire list of recommendations here.