Author: Dr Clemens

Uncategorized Published - 28 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
The Feasibility and Utility of Continuous Sleep Monitoring in Critically Ill Patients Using a Portable Electroencephalography Monitor

Anesthesia & Analgesia: July 2016 – Volume 123 – Issue 1 – p 206–212 AUTHORS: Vacas, Susana MD, PhD et al BACKGROUND: Sleep disruption in critically ill adults can result in acute decrements in cognitive function, including delirium, but it is underdiagnosed in the setting of the intensive care unit (ICU). Although sleep stages can […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
Neuraxial Anesthesia in Parturients with Low Platelet Counts

Anesthesia & Analgesia: July 2016 – Volume 123 – Issue 1 – p 165–167 Authors: Bernstein, Jeffrey MD et al The obstetric anesthesiologist must consider the risk of spinal–epidural hematoma in patients with thrombocytopenia when choosing to provide neuraxial anesthesia. There are little data exploring this complication in the parturient. In this single-center retrospective study […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
Social Security, Medicare Face Insolvency Over 20 Years, Trustees Report

I thought this was interesting so I wanted to share with our readers. New projections show that the programs will begin to spend more than they earn by the end of this decade. Medicare and Social Security will begin to spend more than they earn by the end of this decade, new projections showed Wednesday, […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
FDA Panel: Physician Opioid Training Should Be Mandatory

Physician training on the risks of prescription opioids should be mandatory and include information on immediate-release (IR) as well as extended-release (ER) and long-acting (LA) formulations, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel concludes. At a 2-day joint meeting, the FDA’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and its Anesthetic and Analgesic […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
In the United States, “Opt-Out” States Show No Increase in Access to Anesthesia Services for Medicare Beneficiaries Compared with Non–“Opt-Out” States

A&A Case Reports: 1 May 2016 – Volume 6 – Issue 9 – p 283–285 AUTHORS:  C. MD, PhD et al In the United States, anesthesia care can be provided by anesthesiologists or nurse anesthetists. Since 2001, 17 states have exercised their right to “opt-out” of the federal requirement that a physician supervise the administration […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
Nearly 1 in 3 on Medicare got commonly abused opioids

Nearly 12 million Medicare beneficiaries received at least one prescription for an opioid painkiller last year at a cost of $4.1 billion, according to a federal report that shows how common the addictive drugs are in many older Americans’ medicine cabinets. With an overdose epidemic worsening, nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries received at least one […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
To Improve Survival Rates, Think of Trauma Care as a System

Researchers call for combining the efforts of military and civilian trauma systems to “achieve zero preventable deaths” after traumatic injury and mass casualty events. Hospitals need to consider emergency medical teams as care providers, not just ambulance drivers, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences on the lessons for civilians from […]

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Uncategorized Published - 24 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
Obesity is associated with more disability at presentation and after treatment in low back pain but not in neck pain: findings from the OIOC registry

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 17 (1), 140 (2016) AUTHORS: Wertli M et al BACKGROUND The influence on the treatment response in patients with low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP) is unknown. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of body weight in patients with low back pain (LBP) and neck pain […]

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Uncategorized Published - 24 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
The Influence of Arm Positioning on Ultrasonic Visualization of the Subclavian Vein: An Anatomical Ultrasound Study in Healthy Volunteers

Anesthesia & Analgesia: July 2016 – Volume 123 – Issue 1 – p 129–132 AUTHORS: Sadek, Meriem MD et al We hypothesized that placing the arm in 90° abduction, through 90° flexion and 90° external rotation, could improve ultrasound visualization of the subclavian vein. In 49 healthy volunteers, a single operator performed a view of […]

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Uncategorized Published - 24 June, 2016    By - Dr Clemens
Low-Dose Ketamine Infusion Appears Safe Even Without Continuous Hemodynamic Monitoring

Are low-dose ketamine infusions for analgesia safe for patients who are not in a setting with continuous monitoring? The answer is yes, according to a small retrospective study. Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey M. Carness, MD, and his colleagues at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, in Virginia, have long recognized the efficacy of ketamine in subanesthetic doses […]

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