Author: Dr Clemens

Uncategorized Published - 6 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Effect of Minocycline on Lumbar Radicular Neuropathic Pain: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Clinical Trial with Amitriptyline as a Comparator

Published in The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2 2015, Vol.122, 399-406. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000508 Authors: Pascal Vanelderen, M.D. et al Background: Less than 50% of patients experience sufficient pain relief with current drug therapy for neuropathic pain. Minocycline shows promising results in rodent models of neuropathic pain but was not studied in humans with regard to […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 6 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Reversal of Dabigatran Effects in Models of Thrombin Generation and Hemostasis by Factor VIIa and Prothrombin Complex Concentrate

Published in The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2 2015, Vol.122, 353-362. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000540 Authors: Maureane Hoffman, M.D. et al Background: The oral thrombin inhibitor dabigatran has the drawbacks that it does not have a validated antidote. Data from animal studies and plasma coagulation assays suggest that prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) or recombinant factor VIIa (FVIIa) […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 6 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Effect of Lateral Tilt Angle on the Volume of the Abdominal Aorta and Inferior Vena Cava in Pregnant and Nonpregnant Women Determined by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Published in The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2 2015, Vol.122, 286-293. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000553 Authors: Hideyuki Higuchi, M.D. Background: Left-lateral tilt position is used to reduce assumed aortocaval compression by the pregnant uterus. Methods: Magnetic resonance images of 10 singleton parturients at full term and 10 healthy nonpregnant women were obtained for measurement of the abdominal aorta […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 5 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Goals Set for Medicare to Pay Providers Based on Quality Rather Than Volume

By the end of 2016, 30% of the payments that Medicare makes to physicians and hospitals should be based on the value, rather than the quantity, of the services provided, and by the end of 2018, the proportion should increase to 50%, the Department of Health and Human Services announced. Currently, value-based payments — made […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 5 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Possible Pathogenic Mechanism of Propofol Infusion Syndrome Involves Coenzyme Q

Authors: Arnaud Vincent Vanlander, M.D. et al Published in The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2 2015, Vol.122, 343-352. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000484 Background: Propofol is a short-acting intravenous anesthetic agent. In rare conditions, a life-threatening complication known as propofol infusion syndrome can occur. The pathophysiologic mechanism is still unknown. Some studies suggested that propofol acts as uncoupling […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 5 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Factors Associated with Improved Survival after Resection of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Multivariable Model

Published in The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2 2015, Vol.122, 317-324. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000489 Authors: Tyler R. Call, M.D et al Background: Several retrospective studies suggest that perioperative care and anesthetic management for cancer resection may influence cancer recurrence or patient survival. Various intraoperative techniques such as paravertebral blocks, decreased opioid use, immunomodulation, and perioperative antiinflammatory […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 5 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Neurophysiological Correlates of Sevoflurane-induced Unconsciousness

Published in The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2 2015, Vol.122, 307-316. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000482 Authors: Stefanie Blain-Moraes, Ph.D. et al Background: Recent studies of anesthetic-induced unconsciousness in humans have focused predominantly on the intravenous drug propofol and have identified anterior dominance of alpha rhythms and frontal phase–amplitude coupling patterns as neurophysiological markers. However, it is unclear […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 5 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Sodium Bicarbonate and Renal Function after Cardiac Surgery: A Prospectively Planned Individual Patient Meta-analysis

Published in The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2 2015, Vol.122, 294-306. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000547 Authors: Michael Bailey, Ph.D. et al Background: The effect of urinary alkalinization in cardiac surgery patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) is controversial and trial findings conflicting. Accordingly, the authors performed a prospectively planned individual patient data meta-analysis of the […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 4 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Obama Budget Gets Mixed Reviews from Providers, Advocates

The budget proposal calls for a permanent repeal of Medicare’s widely reviled sustainable growth rate funding formula for physicians, but also calls for about $400 billion in cuts, mostly to Medicare and Medicaid, over the next decade. The reaction from healthcare providers to the Obama Administration’s $4 trillion 2016 budget proposal has been mixed, but […]

Read More
Uncategorized Published - 4 February, 2015    By - Dr Clemens
Intraoperative Core Temperature Patterns, Transfusion Requirement, and Hospital Duration in Patients Warmed with Forced Air

Authors: Zhuo Sun, M.D et al Published in The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2 2015, Vol.122, 276-285. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000000551 Background: Core temperature patterns in patients warmed with forced air remain poorly characterized. Also unknown is the extent to which transient and mild intraoperative hypothermia contributes to adverse outcomes in broad populations. Methods: We evaluated esophageal (core) […]

Read More