Author: Colleen E. O’Leary, MD ASA Monitor 12 2015, Vol.79, 44-45. The ASA Committee on Professional Liability reports annually on trends in malpractice insurance costs for physician anesthesiologists. The Closed Claims Project conducted a survey of malpractice insurers from May-July 2015 on behalf of the committee. Twenty-three medical liability insurance companies providing professional liability insurance to […]
Read MoreASA Monitor 12 2015, Vol.79, 10-11. Thomas R. Miller, Ph.D., M.B.A.,is ASA Director of Health Policy Research. The 20-year period between 1994 and 2014 saw increases in both the number of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries and in the volume of the health services they received that required anesthesia. We estimate that the number of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries increased […]
Read MorePost operative cognitive decline (POCD) is a real condition and probably as many as 15% of patients 60 and older will experience some memory or problem-solving declines within 3 months of surgery. Or maybe not. Anesthesiologist and dementia researcher Kirk Hogan MD, director of the Hogan Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin, is convinced that POCD […]
Read MoreAuthors: Farraj W. Abdallah, MD, et al Anesthesiology published 12 2015 Background: Perineural and IV dexmedetomidine have each been suggested to prolong the duration of analgesia when administered in conjunction with peripheral nerve blocks. In the first randomized, triple-masked, placebo-controlled trial to date, the authors aimed to define and compare the efficacy of perineural and IV dexmedetomidine in […]
Read MoreAuthors: Gregory Nuttall, MD, et al Anesthesiology published 12 2015. Background: Prior research has provided inconsistent data regarding the risk factors associated with complications from arterial cannulation. The goal of this study was to clearly define the incidence and risks factors associated with arterial cannulation complications. Methods: After obtaining institutional review board approval, all patients requiring arterial line placement […]
Read MorePatients will be able to get a 360-degree preview before a medical procedure Patients often suffer a great deal of anxiety in the moments leading up to a procedure. But what if an individual could scope out the ER, meet her surgeon, and feel out her surroundings months before an appointment? That scenario is becoming a virtual reality […]
Read MoreA report by the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons last May noted that “the past few decades have seen an alarming rise in opioid use in the United States,” that “a significant number of orthopaedic patients are at risk for the repercussions from both therapeutic and nontherapeutic opioid use,” and that “orthopaedic surgeons are […]
Read MorePublished in Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2015 Sep 20;9:CD006106. Authors: Hindocha A et al BACKGROUND: Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is a method of testing for tubal patency. However, women struggle to tolerate the procedure, as it is associated with some discomfort. Various pharmacological strategies are available that may reduce pain during the procedure, though there is no consensus as […]
Read MoreJ Neurosurg Anesthesiol, 2015 Sep Authors: Venkatraghavan L,et al BACKGROUND: Cerebral ischemia plays a major role in pathophysiology of the injured brain. Most of the currently available methods of cerebral blood flow (CBF) monitors are either indirect measure of CBF or needing radioactive agents for data acquisition. Arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (ASL-MRI) is a […]
Read MoreJ Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2015 Sep Authors: Peng Y et al BACKGROUND: Perioperative lidocaine infusion has been reported to reduce postoperative pain in patients after abdominal surgery; however, no study has examined lidocaine’s effect on acute postoperative pain after supratentorial tumor surgery. METHODS: A total of 94 patients scheduled for supratentorial craniotomy were enrolled. Patients received either lidocaine […]
Read More