The use of peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) is associated with better medical and economic outcomes in patients receiving hip and knee replacement, according to a study being presented later this month at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. The use of PNBs is on the rise, but […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: March 2016 AUTHORS: Subramanian, Balachundhar MD et al BACKGROUND: The purpose of this multicenter pilot study was to: (1) determine the frequency of regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2) desaturations during cardiac surgery involving cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB); (2) evaluate the accuracy of clinician-identified rScO2 desaturations compared with those recorded continuously during surgery by […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: March 2016 AUTHORS: Sawhney, Monakshi PhD, NP(Adult) et al BACKGROUND: Total knee arthroplasty is a painful surgery that requires early mobilization for successful joint function. Multimodal analgesia, including spinal analgesia, nerve blocks, periarticular infiltration (PI), opioids, and coanalgesics, has been shown to effectively manage postoperative pain. Both adductor canal (AC) and PI […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: May 2016 – Volume 122 – Issue 5 – p 1395–1403 AUTHORS: Loeb, Robert G. MD et al BACKGROUND: The pulse oximeter has been a standard of care medical monitor for >25 years. Most manufacturers include a variable-pitch pulse tone in their pulse oximeters. Research has shown that the acoustic properties of […]
Read MoreUtah’s governor on Monday signed a bill requiring doctors to administer anesthesia to women receiving an abortion at the 20th week of gestation, his office said. The bill, the first of its kind in the nation according to the Salt Lake Tribune, states that an anesthetic or analgesic will “eliminate or alleviate organic pain to […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: March 2016 AUTHORS: Frölich, Michael A. MD, MS et al BACKGROUND: Hormonal action has been implicated as a possible mechanism for pregnancy-induced analgesia. Previous investigators have reported an increase in heat pain tolerance during labor compared with nonpregnant controls and postulated it was because of the hormonal changes during pregnancy. However, these […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: March 2016 AUTHORS: Nowakowski, Michal MD et al BACKGROUND: Endotracheal intubation is commonly performed via direct laryngoscopy (DL). However, in certain patients, DL may be difficult or impossible. The Bonfils Rigid Fiberscope(R) (BRF) is an alternative intubation device, the design of which raises the question of whether factors that predict difficult DL […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: March 2016 AUTHORS: Culley, Deborah J. MD et al BACKGROUND: Preexisting cognitive impairment is emerging as a predictor of poor postoperative outcomes in seniors. We hypothesized that preoperative cognitive screening can be performed in a busy preadmission evaluation center and that cognitive impairment is prevalent in elective geriatric surgical patients. METHODS: We […]
Read MoreHsiu Ying “Lisa” Tseng, DO, made dubious medical history in October 2015 when she became the first US physician to be convicted of murder for overprescribing drugs that resulted in the overdose death of a patient. Last week, the 46-year-old Dr Tseng was sentenced to from 30 years to life in prison by Los Angeles […]
Read MoreIncreasing use of video recording in the operating room highlights the need for ethical recommendations to protect patients, according to surgeons and anesthesiologists. In their February 4 paper in Annals of Surgery, Dr. Celia M. Divino and colleagues from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, propose five recommendations that aim to ensure […]
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