The podcast is the first out of two podcasts on this topic issued by the Anesthesia Safety Patient Foundation. Due to the importance of monitoring, having access to a reliable monitor is crucial. The first episode covers three different technologies, Peripheral Nerve Stimulator (PNS), Mechanomyography (MMG) and acceleromyography (AMG). The second podcast will include Electromyography (EMG), TetraGraphs technology base.

The clinician in the podcast concluded that PNS technology is unable to provide accurate train of four monitoring. The use of the peripheral nerve stimulator to monitor neuromuscular blockade may lead to about 35% of patients with residual weakness. MMG on the other hand is the historic gold standard but clinically unpractical, more used as a comparison for newer technologies.

The widely used AMG devices suffer from certain issues, like the inability to use it when the arm is tucked during surgical procedures and the need to normalize values before administering blocking agents to avoid overestimating return of intact neuromuscular function. Patient movement when wakening up from anesthesia can also lead to unreliable measurements.

According to the podcast barriers to routine use of quantitative neuromuscular monitoring may include lack of knowledge, overconfidence, inconsistent training, and lack of easy access to and easy to use reliable quantitative neuromuscular monitors.

Pia Renaudin, CEO of Senzime, says: “All initiatives to spread awareness around these preventable complications are a great leap towards making quantitative monitoring clinical practice in all hospitals.”

About the podcast

The Anesthesia Safety Patient Foundations mission is to improve the safety of patients during anesthesia care
Link to the podcast