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Safety in Anesthesia: Latin American Perspective

  • Patient Safety in Anesthesia (A Barbeito, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review intends to broadly illustrate the current anesthesia safety issues in Latin America, discussing the residency training schemes, anesthesia workforce shortages, equipment shortages, and safety initiatives in Latin America that include minimum standards and adverse event reporting systems.

Recent Findings

Latin America’s distinction is that of a continent of major contrasts which poses major difficulties as quality of anesthesia care ranges between that of high-income countries to that of very low income nations. A major effort to attenuate these is the creation and adoption of mandatory national standards that aim to guarantee that even in the worst conditions, minimal safety strategies are met to safeguard patients. Colombia’s and Brazil’s anesthesia societies have been at the forefront in Latin America in developing strategies to promote anesthesia safety.

Summary

The creation, promotion, and adoption of Minimal Standards has been key to improve anesthesia safety in the continent.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the comments and data provided by colleagues from LA: Dr. Juan Carlos Duarte (Venezuela), Dr. Enis Donizetti (Brazil), Dr. Ignacio Varela (Mexico), and Dr. Daniel Elinger (Argentina).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinica Reina Sofia, COLSANITAS, Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, UNISANITAS, Avenida Calle 127 #21-60 C218, Bogota, Colombia, CP110121

    Pedro Ibarra

  2. World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), London, UK

    Pedro Ibarra

  3. Confederacion Latinoamericana de Anestesiologia (CLASA), Teaching and Training Center of SANE, Surgical Center of Ernesto Dornelles Hospital, Avenida Princesa Isabel 729/404, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90620001, Brazil

    Airton Bagatini

  4. Faculty of the Anesthesia Residency Program of AAARBA-UBA, Hospital Municipal de Oncologia Maria Curie, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Carlos Salgueiro

  5. Consejo Federal de Evaluación y Certificación en Anestesiología de la FAAAAR, Joaquín V. González 2583, CP 1417, Caba, Argentina

    Carlos Salgueiro

  6. Confederacion Latinoamericana de Anestesiologia (CLASA), Fundación Clínica Médica Sur, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Areli Osorio

  7. Hospital Médica Sur, Tlalpan Puente de Piedra 150. Col. Toriello Guerra Tlalpan. Consultorio 103 CD, CP 14050, Mexico, Mexico

    Areli Osorio

Authors
  1. Pedro Ibarra
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  2. Airton Bagatini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pedro Ibarra.

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Conflict of Interest

Pedro Ibarra is an officer of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), chair of the Safety Committee of the Confederacion Latinoamericana de Anestesiologia (CLASA), and member of the Safety Committee of the Sociedad Colombiana de Anestesiologia y Reanimacion (SCARE).

Airton Bagatini is a member of the Safety Committee of CLASA.

Carlos Salgueiro is an officer of the Federación Argentina de Asociaciones, Anestesia, Analgesia y Reanimación (FAAAAR).

Areli Osorio is a member of the Safety Committee of CLASA.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Patient Safety in Anesthesia

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Ibarra, P., Bagatini, A., Salgueiro, C. et al. Safety in Anesthesia: Latin American Perspective. Curr Anesthesiol Rep 8, 448–455 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-018-0288-z

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