Author: Dr Clemens

Uncategorized Published - 22 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
CDC Report on Fatal Drug Overdoses in the US

Drug overdose deaths have risen among whites. Drug overdose deaths have nearly tripled in the United States since 1999, with the largest increases seen for whites and middle-aged Americans, according to a February data brief published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.1 Holly Hedegaard, MD, of the […]

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Uncategorized Published - 21 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
Key (and Possible Cure) to Cancer-Related Bone Pain Found

By targeting S1P1 pathway, researchers at Saint Louis University were able to show that the MS drug Gilenya mitigated bone pain and neuroinflammation in a mouse model. A key molecular pathway that drives cancer-related bone pain has been identified by researchers at Saint Louis University (SLU). The researchers observed that increases in sphingosine 1-phosphate are […]

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Uncategorized Published - 21 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
Improvement Activities Under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System

Authors: Richard P. Dutton, M.D., M.B.A.; Teodora Orhideea Nicolescu, M.D., M.B.A.-H.C.M. ASA Monitor 06 2017, Vol.81, 12-15. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) was passed in April 2015 with the bipartisan support of Congress.MACRA replaces the unpopular Sustainable Growth Rate formula for adjustment of Medicare payments to physicians. MACRA is intended to accelerate the transition […]

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Uncategorized Published - 21 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
MACRA Reporting: How to Succeed

Authors: Karen B. Domino, M.D., M.P.H. et al ASA Monitor 06 2017, Vol.81, 8-10. Karen B. Domino, M.D., M.P.H., is Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Research, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle. Michael B. Simon, M.D., M.B.A., is Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, Osceola Regional Medical Center, Kissimmee, Florida and […]

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Uncategorized Published - 21 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
Pain Catastrophizing Moderates Relationships between Pain Intensity and Opioid Prescription: Nonlinear Sex Differences Revealed Using a Learning Health System

Authors: Yasamin Sharifzadeh, B.S. et al Anesthesiology 7 2017, Vol.127, 136-146. Background: Pain catastrophizing is a maladaptive response to pain that amplifies chronic pain intensity and distress. Few studies have examined how pain catastrophizing relates to opioid prescription in outpatients with chronic pain. Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective observational study of the relationships between opioid prescription, pain […]

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Uncategorized Published - 21 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
A Case Report From the Anesthesia Incident Reporting System

ASA Monitor 06 2017, Vol.81, 44-45. Review of unusual patient care experiences is a cornerstone of medical education. Each month, the AQI-AIRS Steering Committee abstracts a patient history submitted to the Anesthesia Incident Reporting System (AIRS) and authors a discussion of the safety and human factors challenges involved. Real-life case histories often include multiple clinical decisions, […]

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Uncategorized Published - 20 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
Blind Intubation through Self-pressurized, Disposable Supraglottic Airway Laryngeal Intubation Masks: An International, Multicenter, Prospective Cohort Study

Authors: Kurt Ruetzler, M.D. et al Anesthesiology published on June 8, 2017. Introduction: Supraglottic airway devices commonly are used for securing the airway during general anesthesia. Occasionally, intubation with an endotracheal tube through a supraglottic airway is indicated. Reported success rates for blind intubation range from 15 to 97%. The authors thus investigated as their primary outcome […]

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Uncategorized Published - 20 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
Perioperative Management of the New Anticoagulants: Novel Drugs and Concepts

Authors: Jerrold H. Levy, MD, FAHA, FCCM et al The increasing use of the direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) has provided clinicians and patients with alternatives to warfarin for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE), the prevention of cerebrovascular embolic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, and thromboprophylaxis in patients undergoing surgery. Four DOACs are currently […]

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Uncategorized Published - 20 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
Raising the Alarm on Brain Attacks in Surgical Patients: Are We Doing Enough to Prevent and Treat Postoperative Strokes?

Authors: Laurent G. Glance, M.D. et al Anesthesiology 7 2017, Vol.127, 3-5. “The time is right…[to update] existing clinical practice guidelines…[on the] management of patients at high risk for perioperative acute ischemic stroke.” THE incidence of postoperative strokes in patients undergoing noncardiac, nonneurologic surgery is between 0.1 and 0.7%.1,2 Previous studies reported that patients with a history […]

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Uncategorized Published - 20 June, 2017    By - Dr Clemens
To Stop or Not, That Is the Question: Acute Pain Management for the Patient on Chronic Buprenorphine

Authors: T. Anthony Anderson, Ph.D., M.D. et al Anesthesiology 6 2017, Vol.126, 1180-1186. The management of acute perioperative pain in patients on chronic buprenorphine as opioid maintenance therapy is a complex process. We describe pain management approaches for patients on buprenorphine who present for elective and urgent/emergent surgery. Background Opioid use disorder, a chronic neurobehavioral disease, […]

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