In this podcast, I chat with Chuck Biddle, PhD, CRNA about his and other research on at-home cardiorespiratory events following ambulatory surgery.  We discuss risk factors, screening tools and patient education that is designed to enhance patient safety and decrease postoperative negative outcomes following ambulatory surgery.
Dr Biddle is a professor of Nurse Anesthesia at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and provides anesthesia services as a CRNA at VCU Medical Center.  He oversees the research efforts of the Department of Nurse Anesthesia at VCU and has served continuously as the Editor-in-Chief of the AANA Journal for over 25 years.  Dr Biddle’s anesthesia education and Master’s degree were earned at Old Dominion University and his PhD in epidemiology is from the University of Missouri.
“The first step in fixing a problem is identifying the problem.”  Jonathan Benumof, MD
“We are only now… illuminating terrain that previously has been quite darkened… this idea [of] what happens to patients in their homes after anesthesia.  We’re beginning to look systematically at this and I think it’s long overdue.”  Chuck Biddle, PhD, CRNA
Resources:
Benumof, J. L. (2016). Mismanagement of obstructive sleep apnea may result in finding these patients dead in bed. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d’anesthésie, 63(1), 3-7.
Biddle, C., Elam, C., Lahaye, L., Kerr, G., Chubb, L., & Verhulst, B. (2017). Predictors of At-Home Arterial Oxygen Desaturation Events in Ambulatory Surgical Patients. Journal of Patient Safety.
Hill, M. V., Stucke, R. S., McMahon, M. L., Beeman, J. L., & Barth Jr, R. J. (2017). An Educational Intervention Decreases Opioid Prescribing After General Surgical Operations. Annals of Surgery.
 
STOP-BANG Obstructive Sleep Apnea Questionnaire
Washington Post article on Barth’s study
AANA Journal homepage
Virginia Commonwealth University Nurse Anesthesia
Biddle, C. (2013). Evidence trumps belief: Nurse anesthetists and evidence-based decision making.