Anesthesia & Analgesia: August 2015 – Volume 121 – Issue 2 – p 404–409 Authors: Ladha, Karim S. MD et al BACKGROUND: Anesthesia-related medication shortages have become increasingly common in the United States. We tested whether a local shortage of pharmacy-prepared ephedrine syringes, replaced by provider-prepared ephedrine, was associated with provider-level changes in ephedrine and […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: August 2015 – Volume 121 – Issue 2 – p 383–391 Authors: Thonnerieux, Magalie MD et al BACKGROUND: Alveolar recruitment maneuvers (ARMs) are known to improve perioperative morbidity but can transiently impact cardiac output (CO). This reproducible hemodynamic perturbation creates a clinical opportunity to test multiple devices during acute changes in CO. […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: August 2015 – Volume 121 – Issue 2 – p 366–372 Authors: Fortier, Louis-Philippe MSc, MD, FRCPC et al BACKGROUND: Postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade (NMB), defined as a train-of-four (TOF) ratio of <0.9, is an established risk factor for critical postoperative respiratory events and increased morbidity. At present, little is known about […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: August 2015 – Volume 121 – Issue 2 – p 357–365 Authors: Short, Timothy G. MBChB, MD, FANZCA et al BACKGROUND: An association between relatively deep anesthesia, as guided by the bispectral index (BIS), and increased postoperative mortality has been demonstrated in 6 of 8 published observational studies, but association does not […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: August 2015 – Volume 121 – Issue 2 – p 373–380 Authors: Tassonyi, Edömér MD, PhD, DSc et al BACKGROUND: Pipecuronium is a steroidal neuromuscular blocking agent. Sugammadex, a relaxant binding γ-cyclodextrin derivative, reverses the effect of rocuronium, vecuronium, and pancuronium. We investigated whether sugammadex reverses moderate pipecuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade (NMB) and […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: August 2015-Volume 121-Issue 2-page 302-318 Authors: Lohser, Jens MD et al Lung injury is the leading cause of death after thoracic surgery. Initially recognized after pneumonectomy, it has since been described after any period of 1-lung ventilation (OLV), even in the absence of lung resection. Overhydration and high tidal volumes were thought […]
Read MoreA study published in PLoS ONE has found that women with fibromyalgia were able to drastically reduce, or even eliminate, their use of pain medication following hyperbaric oxygen treatment. The study authors believe they have also identified the primary factor causing fibromyalgia: the disruption of the brain mechanism for processing pain. “As a physician, the […]
Read MoreA Review of Practice Improvement Initiative Authors: Toby N Weingarten et BMC Anesthesiol. 2015;15(54) Background Our anesthetic practice was hindered by inadequate postanesthesia care unit space resulting in operating room inefficiencies. In response, an anesthetic protocol designed to reduce the duration of postanesthesia stay by decreasing residual anesthetic sedation and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was introduced. […]
Read MoreWhy Is This Not Part of Our Daily Practice? Author: D. Benhamou Br J Anaesth. 2015;114(4):545-548. In 1946, Mendelson[1] showed that pulmonary complications and death could arise in pregnant women because of aspiration of gastric contents. Since then, prevention of aspiration of gastric contents has contributed significantly to a decrease in maternal deaths. Aspiration of gastric contents […]
Read MoreRestricting residents’ work hours as required by the 2011 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) duty hour reform does not reduce morbidity or mortality of patients across diverse surgical specialties, a new longitudinal study concludes. The results add to reports showing lack of benefit for general surgery patients. “These findings suggest that recent changes […]
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