If a picture paints a thousand words, a hashtag #PaintstheWholePicture!
#eliminateRNB2025 embodies our mission to eliminate residual neuromuscular block in patients around the world by 2025. This is an important goal, as residual neuromuscular block can cause increased oxygen desaturation, postoperative pneumonia, airway obstruction, and reintubation, as well as increase healthcare costs associated with these complications. Therefore, it is extremely important to eliminate residual neuromuscular block to improve patient safety and achieve better patient outcomes.
How do we eliminate RNB?
The way that we can achieve this goal is by using objective neuromuscular monitors in the operating rooms, PACU’s and ICU’s. These monitors are designed to help identify and monitor any potential residual neuromuscular block, significantly increasing patient safety and reducing associated healthcare costs. By having these monitors throughout the peri-operative period, we can ensure that the use of a muscle relaxant do not result in residual neuromuscular block. The monitors also provide real-time feedback on drug dosing and responses, allowing clinicians to optimise the efficacy of muscle relaxants and reversal agents.
Additionally, proper education and training needs to be provided for all staff involved in the operation room. Physicians need to understand how neuromuscular blockers work and how they should be used appropriately. Anesthesiologists should have a good understanding of pharmacology so that they know how much of each drug needs to be given at what time intervals for maximum effect. Nurses also need to understand when monitoring begins and ends as well as which data points are considered normal values or not. Finally, technicians must understand how the equipment works and what settings are required in order for it to function properly.
Why 2025?
It is important to recognise the fact that eliminating residual neuromuscular block in a healthcare setting does not happen overnight. It takes a collective effort to ensure that every anaesthesia location has access to an objective monitor, proper education is provided to all anaesthesia providers, and continuous follow ups are performed to ensure high compliance rates with the new protocols.
Anesthesia providers are solely responsible for properly rescuing patients from the states of paralyses they initiate. This should occur for all patients as verified by quantitative measurement and documentation of train-of-four ratios greater than or equal to 0.9.
- 7% reduction in PACU time
- 14% reduction in the per usage dose of Sugammadex,
- and a 7% increase in patients that needed no reversal at all.
Can we accomplish this goal alone?
Residual Neuromuscular Block is a worldwide phenomenon, and with over 300 million surgical procedures performed each year, this is no simple task. It will take the collective efforts of healthcare professionals, distributors, manufacturers and educators, supported by national guidelines, to achieve this mission of eliminating residual neuromuscular block worldwide by 2025! It doesn’t matter if you use our STIMPOD NMS450X+ or any other Objective NMT Monitor (did we really just say that? Yes!); simply use an objective monitor appropriately whenever you’re working in a setting where any (both depolarising and non-depolarising) muscle relaxants are used and share your experience to help create awareness.
Show your support by joining us now – you can make a huge difference! You can be part of the solution.
