Author: Dr Clemens

Comparison of efficacy and safety of lateral-to-medial continuous transversus abdominis plane block with thoracic epidural analgesia in patients undergoing abdominal surgery: A randomised, open-label feasibility study

Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2015 Nov;32(11):797-804 Authors: Ganapathy S et al BACKGROUND: We recently described a lateral-to-medial approach for transversus abdominis plane (LM-TAP) block, which may permit preoperative initiation of the block. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility of continuous LM-TAP blocks in clinical practice in comparison with thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA). DESIGN: A randomised, […]

Point-of-Care Viscoelastic Testing Reduces Transfusions, Improves Outcomes in Severe Postpartum Hemorrhage

Point-of-care viscoelastic testing with rotational thromboelastography (ROTEM) is associated with significant reductions in transfusion requirements and better outcomes in patients with severe postpartum hemorrhage. “Contrary to our success in other areas in medicine, maternal mortality in the U.S. continues to grow, slowly but steadily,” said Denis Snegovskikh, MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology and associate chief […]

Clonidine versus sufentanil as an adjuvant to ropivacaine in patient-controlled epidural labour analgesia: A randomised double-blind trial

Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2015 Nov;32(11):805-11. Roelants F et al BACKGROUND: Adjuvants to local anaesthetics for epidural labour analgesia are useful if they reduce side-effects or personnel requirements. Epidural clonidine improves analgesia and provides a significant local anaesthetic-sparing effect. OBJECTIVE: To compare the number of rescue doses administered by the anaesthesiologist when clonidine or sufentanil is added […]

Medical Malpractice Claims Against Anesthesiologists Decrease and Shift to Outpatient Anesthesia Services

Cumulative spending on malpractice payments against anesthesiologists has fallen dramatically in recent years, from $174.4 million in 2005 to $91.1 million in 2013, a new study shows. With data obtained from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), the research also demonstrated an increase in the proportion of claims occurring in the outpatient setting, consistent with […]

The Effectiveness of Midazolam for Preventing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Anesthesia & Analgesia: Oct 2015 Authors: Ahn, Eun Jin MD et al BACKGROUND: Previous randomized controlled trials regarding the effectiveness of perioperative midazolam in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) have produced conflicting results. Consequently, the present systematic review was performed to assess the effect of perioperative administration of midazolam on PONV. METHODS: The MEDLINE(R), […]

Ultrasound-Guided Single-Injection Infraclavicular Block Versus Ultrasound-Guided Double-Injection Axillary Block: A Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial

Anesthesia & Analgesia: Jan 2016 Vol 122 Issue 1 p 273-278 Authors: Boivin, Ariane MD et al BACKGROUND: Single-injection ultrasound-guided infraclavicular block is a simple, reliable, and effective technique. A simplified double-injection ultrasound-guided axillary block technique with a high success rate recently has been described. It has the advantage of being performed in a superficial […]

The Optimal Nerve Block for Knee Replacement Surgery

Authors: Machi AT, Sztain JF, Kormylo NJ, et al Anesthesiology. 2015;123:444-456 Discharge Readiness After Tricompartment Knee Arthroplasty: Adductor Canal Versus Femoral Continuous Nerve Blocks—A Dual-Center, Randomized Trial Study Summary This prospective randomized trial studied patients undergoing primary, unilateral knee arthroplasty to determine whether using a catheter to deliver a continuous adductor canal block reduced the […]

Fungal Infections From Contaminated Steroids May Recur

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an update on outcomes from 2012 to 2014 of the unprecedented multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections associated with contaminated methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) injection solution. The Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium is conducting a long-term follow-up study and warns clinicians that […]

Neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years of age after general anaesthesia and awake-regional anaesthesia in infancy (GAS): an international multicentre, randomised controlled trial

Lancet. 2015 Oct 23. pii: S0140-6736(15)00608 Authors: Davidson AJ et al BACKGROUND: Preclinical data suggest that general anaesthetics affect brain development. There is mixed evidence from cohort studies that young children exposed to anaesthesia can have an increased risk of poor neurodevelopmental outcome. We aimed to establish whether general anaesthesia in infancy has any effect on […]

Avoid Sedatives and Opioids for Treating Low Back