Document Detail


Economic considerations in the use of inhaled anesthetic agents.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20360573     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
PURPOSE: To describe the components of and factors contributing to the costs of inhaled anesthesia, basis for quantifying and comparing these costs, and practical strategies for performing pharmacoeconomic analyses and reducing the costs of inhaled anesthetic agents. SUMMARY: Inhaled anesthesia can be costly, and some of the variable costs, including fresh gas flow rates and vaporizer settings, are potential targets for cost savings. The use of a low fresh gas flow rate maximizes rebreathing of exhaled anesthetic gas and is less costly than a high flow rate, but it provides less control of the level of anesthesia. The minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) hour is a measure that can be used to compare the cost of inhaled anesthetic agents at various fresh gas flow rates. Anesthesia records provide a sense of patterns of inhaled anesthetic agent use, but the amount of detail can be limited. Cost savings have resulted from efforts to reduce the direct costs of inhaled anesthetic agents, but reductions in indirect costs through shortened times to patient recovery and discharge following the judicious use of these agents are more difficult to demonstrate. The patient case mix, fresh gas flow rates typically used during inhaled anesthesia, availability and location of vaporizers, and anesthesia care provider preferences and practices should be taken into consideration in pharmacoeconomic evaluations and recommendations for controlling the costs of inhaled anesthesia. CONCLUSION: Understanding factors that contribute to the costs of inhaled anesthesia and considering those factors in pharmacoeconomic analyses and recommendations for use of these agents can result in cost savings.
Authors:
Julie Golembiewski
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists     Volume:  67     ISSN:  1535-2900     ISO Abbreviation:  Am J Health Syst Pharm     Publication Date:  2010 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-04-02     Completed Date:  2010-07-09     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9503023     Medline TA:  Am J Health Syst Pharm     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  S9-12     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. jgolemb@uic.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Anesthesia Recovery Period
Anesthetics, Inhalation / administration & dosage*,  economics*
Costs and Cost Analysis
Humans
Isoflurane / analogs & derivatives,  economics
Methyl Ethers / economics
Operating Rooms / economics*
Pharmacy Service, Hospital / economics*,  organization & administration
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Anesthetics, Inhalation; 0/Methyl Ethers; 26675-46-7/Isoflurane; 28523-86-6/sevoflurane; 57041-67-5/desflurane

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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