Many outpatient opioid prescriptions have no documented medical indication, according to a research letter published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Tisamarie B. Sherry, M.D., Ph.D., from the RAND Corporation in Boston, and colleagues examined the percentage of opioid prescriptions with a documented medical indication between 2006 and 2015 using data from the National Ambulatory […]
Read MoreThe use of morphine and ziconotide is consistently recommended as first-line intrathecal (IT) therapy in the management of cancer- and non-cancer chronic pain, respectively, according to a literature review and analysis of evidence-based guidelines from the 2016 Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference (PACC) published in Pain Medicine. For morphine, the studies examined were mainly non-controlled and prospective or retrospective in […]
Read MoreAuthors: Gong Y et al Department of Anesthesiology, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Beijing, China. BACKGROUND: Flexible reinforced laryngeal mask airway (FLMA®) has gained popularity in thyroid surgery, but air leak and displacement are still concerns. METHODS: In this randomized, single-blinded, noninferiority, controlled trial, we randomized patients scheduled for elective radical thyroidectomy to an endotracheal tube (ETT) group or a FLMA group. The primary outcomes were ventilation leak volume, […]
Read MoreAuthors: Kyoung-Woon Joung et al BMC Anesthesiology201818:135 Background The analgesic effects of dexamethasone have been reported previously, and the present study determined the effects of preoperative dexamethasone on postoperative pain in patients who received thoracotomy. Methods Forty patients participated in this randomized, double-blind study. All patients received either dexamethasone via a 0.1 mg/kg intravenous bolus before anesthetic […]
Read MoreAnesthesiology News Evolving as a Small- to Medium-Sized Practice Butch Parker, MD Anesthesiologist President, Columbia Anesthesia Group Vancouver, Washington As a representative of a small anesthesia practice, you find yourself in a hospital executive’s office discussing the anesthesia needs of your community hospital. Catching you by surprise, she asks, “Why don’t you bring in CRNAs? […]
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