vary by patient," says a surgical coordinator in Washington State.
"Some are so relaxed that they have trouble staying awake for most of
the day. Others don't notice any effect."
That may be one reason that anesthesia satisfaction is only "fair" or
"poor," say half of all facilities that have tried the drug. "Our director
of anesthesia wasn't taken with the idea because there is no way to
gauge how much drug would be absorbed and how fast," says Mary
Curtin, BSN, RN, director of nursing at Tenaya Surgical Center in Las
Vegas, Nev. "Given the demographic, he also thought it was prudent to
have an IV, in case of emergency."
Nearly one-third of the facilities (30%) say the drug costs too much.
One tablet costs about $15, and "most patients are getting 2 tabs,"
says a director of a surgery center in Rhode Island, "and I am still
keeping the IV in. Patients are spending up to an hour in recovery. So
the total cost is higher."
A few facilities say they love the idea of "IV-free" anesthesia, but
they're doing it their own way. Amy Thiele, ASN, OR manager at The
Eye Surgical Center of Fort Wayne (Ind.), says her facility uses oral
Valium and sublingual Versed. "It works very well and our patients are
very happy." A couple of facilities offer Versed syrup for patients who
don't wish to have an IV.
Of the facilities that haven't tried the MKO Melt, 9% say they will
give sublingual sedation a try within the next 2 years. Another 38% are
unsure. A piece of good news: Imprimis Pharmaceuticals achieved
503B status for the MKO Melt, so you can obtain supplies of it without
individual prescriptions.
Less energy to remove the cataract
What about new technology to fragment the lens without phaco?
A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 9 3
