damage, internal bleeding or
failure of other body systems,
according to the Malignant
Hyperthermia Association of the
United States (MHAUS). MH
occurs in about one in 100,000
surgeries in adults and in one in
30,000 surgeries in children,
according to MHAUS.
Most OR teams will never
experience an MH crisis, so
when it does happen, it can be
hard to recognize and cause
panic. Given the life-or-death
nature of MH, we needed to bet-
ter prepare staff for the real deal
and decided to transition to sim-
ulation training. Practicing
response protocols and teamwork in a tense, realistic situation gives
staff the practice needed to feel confident they'll react appropriately and
promptly during a real crisis, when every second counts.
1. Find the time
Simulation training is most effective when the drill is unexpected.
Your staff won't be surprised if you conduct an MH in-service one day
and simulation training the next. Space out the learning. Conducting
an unannounced simulation 60 days after didactic learning will let you
determine how much knowledge your staff has retained and gauge
how they'd genuinely respond to an MH crisis. You can get a mock
drill kit on the MHAUS website (mhaus.org) or use AORN's simula-
3 0 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 2 0
HOLD THE PHONE! During the simulation, one OR staffer stayed
outside the operating room and acted as an MH hotline operator.
VA
Southern
Nevada
Healthcare
System
