Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Inducing anesthesia on YouTube: How many ways is this wrong?

Karen S. Sibert, MD
Physician
August 24, 2012
Share
Tweet
Share

Really, sir.  What were you thinking?

I’m talking to you—the anesthesia provider (I hate to think that you might be an anesthesiologist) who allowed himself to be videotaped while a patient injected his own induction dose of propofol.  Most people know something about propofol even if they aren’t in the anesthesia business–that’s the medication that Dr. Conrad Murray gave Michael Jackson to everyone’s sorrow.

I would insert the link here, but the video has been removed from YouTube.

Apparently the patient, a young man in his late teens or early twenties, needed anesthesia and decided it would be great fun if he could give his own drugs and film the adventure.  “Jackass” comes to the operating room.

The video shows the young man lying on an operating table with an anesthesia machine and monitors in view.  A tall, middle-aged man in blue scrubs, with a mask dangling around his neck, puts a pulse oximeter on the patient’s finger and hands him a 20-cc syringe of what appears to be propofol.  The young man starts to inject it and pushes the first 10 cc into the IV tubing, then laughs and says he feels dizzy.  He’s told to finish the injection, which he does, barely.  Then his eyes roll back.

Up to that point I assumed that the whole episode was staged and the propofol was dripping onto the floor out of view of the camera.  Imagine my surprise when the man at the head of the table, wearing no gloves, picked up an  laryngeal mask airway and inserted it into the unresponsive patient’s mouth.  Since there had been no oxygen given up to that point, it was no surprise to hear the pitch of the pulse oximeter begin that ominous stepwise drop we’ve all heard before.

Luckily for the patient, an anesthesia circuit was available to connect to the LMA.  Then the man in blue picked up the EKG leads, apparently intending to attach them to the patient, and announced the end of “another successful induction”.

Fade to black.

Where shall we start the critique of this cinematic masterpiece?  I’d love to see the look on the face of the top administrator in the facility where this event took place.  How many violations of protocol can you fit into less than five minutes?  Let us count the ways:  no mask, no gloves, no oxygen, no EKG.  I wanted to watch again and see if a blood pressure was even taken prior to induction.

There are a number of online comments on various sites about this travesty of anesthesia care.  Nurse anesthetists maintain that only an anesthesiologist could be so cavalier.  Anesthesiologists hope otherwise.  If and when the perpetrator is identified, the other side will make hay of his poor practice and careless attitude.

Inducing coma is a serious business.  I don’t mind so much about letting the patient push his own propofol. That’s not very different from letting a small child hold his own facemask and pretend he’s an astronaut so that he can have a calm and happy induction.  But filming an anesthesia induction for teaching purposes is legitimate; filming it frivolously is not.  Some heedless young YouTube watcher could decide that it would be cool to score some propofol and try this at home.

And back to you, sir—you in the blue scrubs at the head of the table.  What did you think the patient was going to do with this video?  Just take it home to show his mom? Save it as a Christmas surprise to view with the other family home movies? Did you not realize he would immediately post it on the Internet for the world to see, hoping perhaps for a featured spot on Tosh 2.0?  Are you that clueless about social media and the relentless spread of videos that go viral?

If you were that clueless, I bet you’ve learned your lesson by now.  Unless you own the facility where this event took place, I’d be surprised if you still have privileges.  However this adventure ends for you, you’ve certainly lost the respect of your peers and colleagues.  I hope that few minutes on center stage was worth it.

Karen S. Sibert is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.  She blogs at A Penned Point.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

How do I tell my son that I have cancer?

August 24, 2012 Kevin 3
…
Next

How social media can energize physician advocacy

August 25, 2012 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Malpractice, Specialist, Surgery

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How do I tell my son that I have cancer?
Next Post >
How social media can energize physician advocacy

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Karen S. Sibert, MD

  • You’re a doctor when you’re not giving anesthesia?

    Karen S. Sibert, MD
  • Why it may be time for doctors to unionize

    Karen S. Sibert, MD
  • How the board certification exams infantilize resident training

    Karen S. Sibert, MD

More in Physician

  • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

    Howard Smith, MD
  • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

    Kara Pepper, MD
  • How doctors took back control from hospital executives

    Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD
  • How art and science fueled one woman’s path to medicine

    Amy Avakian, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • What the research really says about infrared saunas

      Khushali Jhaveri, MD | Conditions
    • How the cycle of rage is affecting physicians—and how to break free

      Alexandra M.P. Brito, MD and Jennifer L. Hartwell, MD | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • What the research really says about infrared saunas

      Khushali Jhaveri, MD | Conditions
    • How the cycle of rage is affecting physicians—and how to break free

      Alexandra M.P. Brito, MD and Jennifer L. Hartwell, MD | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...