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Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a catastrophic, sudden-onset event that must be recognized immediately. Despite the rarity of this condition, both maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality are significant with AFE, even in cases ideally managed. In this article, we present five key statements covering the risk factors, clinical presentation, and management of AFE in a clinical setting. The purpose of these tips is to provide clinicians with information that may improve their ability to make a timely diagnosis and establish appropriate supportive treatment to patients suffering from AFE. RésuméL’embolie amniotique est un événement catastrophique d’apparition soudaine qui doit être détecté immédiatement. Malgré la rareté de cette affection, la morbidité et la mortalité maternelles et périnatales sont importantes, même dans les cas où le traitement est idéal. Dans cet article, nous présentons cinq énoncés clés qui portent sur les facteurs de risque, le tableau clinique et la prise en charge de l’embolie amniotique dans un contexte clinique. Ces astuces visent à fournir aux cliniciens de l’information qui pourrait améliorer leur capacité à poser un diagnostic en temps opportun et à assurer un traitement de soutien approprié aux patientes atteintes d’une embolie amniotique.

Maternal mortality is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy. Late maternal deaths are from 42 to 365 days thereafter. Maternal mortality is an important surrogate indicator of a woman's overall health, social and economic status, and the provision of antenatal and emergency obstetric care at regional and national levels. Canada does not have a national system to report on maternal mortality; rather, maternal death investigations fall under the legal purview of coroners and medical examiners within each individual province or territory. Furthermore, the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System is limited by its access to a comprehensive dataset. Hence, there is no accurate national picture of mortality prevalence or trends. The implementation of a national confidential enquiry system is a crucial step toward detailing pregnancy and post-pregnancy maternal mortality in Canada and should be organized in accordance with existing successful international systems.

Objectives Tracheotomy complications can be life‐threatening. Many of these complications may be avoided with proper education of health care providers. Unfortunately, access to high‐quality tracheotomy care curricula is limited. We developed a program to address this gap in tracheotomy care education for inpatient providers. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of this training program in improving trainee knowledge and comfort with tracheotomy care. Methods The curriculum includes asynchronous online modules coupled with a self‐directed hands‐on simulation activity using a low‐cost tracheotomy care task trainer. The program was offered to inpatient providers including medical students, residents, medical assistants, nurses, and respiratory therapists. Efficacy of the training was assessed using pre‐training and post‐training surveys of learner comfort, knowledge, and qualitative feedback. Results Data was collected on 41 participants. After completing the program, participants exhibited significantly improved comfort in performing tracheotomy care activities and 15% improvement in knowledge scores, with large effect sizes respectively and greater gains among those with little prior tracheotomy care experience. Conclusion This study has demonstrated that completion of this integrated online and hands‐on tracheotomy simulation curriculum training increases comfort and knowledge, especially for less‐experienced learners. This training addresses an important gap in tracheotomy care education among health care professionals with low levels of tracheotomy care experience and ultimately aims to improve patient safety and quality of care. This curriculum is easily transferrable as it requires only access to the online modules and low‐cost simulation materials and could be used in other hospitals, long‐term care facilities, outpatient clinics, and home settings. Level of evidence 4.

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