CVC General Information
Welcome to the Cardiovascular Center at the University of Colorado. We are located
on the third floor straddling the new and old towers. The Department of Anesthesia
currently supplies four anesthesia teams a day to this area, staffed by one or two
attendings. We primarily provide services for interventional radiology (IR), neuro
interventional radiology (N-IR), interventional cardiology (IC) and
electrophysiology (EP). On occasion we will provide anesthesia for vascular surgery,
pulmonology (bronchoscopies), MSK (kyphoplasties), and the echo cardiology
service ( sedation for transesophageal echoes). A CVC team will sometimes move
down to the CT scanner in order to provide anesthesia for CT guided ablations with
interventional radiology. In contrast to other parts of the hospital, the CVC nurses
bring the patients to the procedure room. Accordingly, please communicate to the in
room nurses if you are not ready for the patient to be brought back.
The Layout
The EP rooms are 11, 12 and 13. EP 13 is technically an MRI room. This is a very low
Tesla MRI, and the magnet is always on. See the Sterotaxis document for more
information.
IC cases are generally done in 6 or 15.
N-IR cases are generally done in 7 or 9.
Rooms 7 and 14 are set up with an anesthesia machine and cart from 5 pm-6 am
Monday through Thursday, and from 5 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday to allow for
efficient starts to emergency cases.
First cast start times are 830 on Monday and 730 on Tuesday through Friday.
Equipment & Support
There is a pyxis and airway box in the medication room of the CVC pre-post. The
room number is 3.424-A. Your badge will get you in to this room. For other
medications needed in CVC pre/post you can use their tube station, number 687.
Room #3365 is our equipment room. Code is room number. It is located next to
procedure room 1. This room should contain a CMAC. There is a shelf in the back left
corner with random anesthesia goodies like circuits, tubes, etc..
EP 13 has an MRI compatible anesthesia machine. This machine does not have an
equipment drawer associated with it. Things normally found in these drawers may
be found in cabinets along the back wall.
There is an anesthesia technician assigned to the CVC every day, however this
person may be spread thin and not able to service your needs efficiently. Plan
ahead!
Currently the CVC does not have equipment for prone positioning. Some providers
make due with blanket rolls if the case is going to be short. Some providers borrow
gel roles from the main OR. The CVC is in the process of finding radiolucent gel rolls
to purchase. We DO have yellow foam! Some IR beds are equipped with a pull out at
the head that allows some neutralization of the C-spine when the patient is in a
prone view, as well as a place to rest the arms in a superman position.
If an ABG is to be drawn a runner needs to take it down to the OR stat lab. The Stat
lab personnel cannot come up to the CVC.
The CVC work area tube station is 645. Use this for intra-procedure medications
from the pharmacy, and products from the blood bank. See document: “How to Get
Blood Products From Blood Bank When In the Cardiovascular Center”
The culture in the CVC is quite different than the operating room. If you open a
dialogue with folks generally you will find that they are very willing to help, but
don’t know what to do. Please engage the procedure room nurses when you are
inducing and emerging. This will help them both learn what you need and allow
them to be helpful in the case of emergency.
Please place your phone number and your attending’s phone number on the white
board in the room. The nurses in the CVC usually do not have an up to date phone
list. It will take time for them to find your attending’s phone number and your hands
will be busy!