Author: Dr Clemens

Anesthesiology Published - 23 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
When Imperfection Becomes Ideal: Rethinking Academic Culture Around Faculty Advancement

Author: Jones JH Anesthesia & Analgesia. 2025. doi:10.1213/ANE.0000000000007728 This letter to the editor challenges academic medicine’s pursuit of “perfection” in faculty advancement. The author reflects on clinical training—where complications, rejected manuscripts, or declined grants are seen as part of growth—and argues that advancement systems should embrace imperfection as a marker of engagement rather than risk-aversion. […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 23 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
Retrospective Analysis of Factors Associated With Increased Anesthesia Ready Time in Patients With Odontogenic Infections

Authors: Govind A, et al. Anesthesia & Analgesia. September 05, 2025. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000007740 This retrospective cohort study reviewed 137 intubations for incision and drainage of odontogenic infections under general anesthesia between 2012 and 2019. Researchers examined factors affecting anesthesia ready time (ART) and first-attempt intubation failure (FAIF). The mean ART was 19.2 minutes. The strongest […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 23 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
Anesthesiology Resident Demographics and the BASIC Examination Pass Rates

Authors: Sun H, Harman AE, Mitchell JD, Gaiser RR, Deiner SG Anesthesia & Analgesia. March 27, 2025. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000007490 This large retrospective study analyzed over 17,000 BASIC Examination attempts by nearly 16,000 anesthesiology residents between 2014 and 2022. The first-time pass rate differed by gender, race, and ethnicity: men (92.7%) outperformed women (88.1%), and White […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 22 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
Movements During Intended General Anesthesia and Psychologically Traumatic Accidental Awareness: Explanatory Role of the “Efference Copy Network”

Authors: Pandit JJ Anesthesia & Analgesia. September 05, 2025. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000007722 This perspective connects findings from NAP5 and decades of isolated forearm technique (IFT) research to a unifying neurophysiology: the efference copy / reafference network. NAP5 showed AAGA is concentrated in cases using neuromuscular blockade (NMB) and that paralysis—not pain—is the dominant driver of psychological […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 22 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
The Influence of Vasopressor-Induced Arterial Blood Pressure Elevation on Muscle-Recorded Motor Evoked Potentials

Authors: Dulfer SE, et al. Anesthesia & Analgesia. September 05, 2025. doi:10.1213/ANE.0000000000007701 This prospective observational study investigated how blood pressure elevation with norepinephrine and ephedrine affects transcranial electrical stimulation muscle-recorded motor evoked potentials (Tc-mMEPs) in patients undergoing spinal surgery. False positive Tc-mMEP warnings are common during intraoperative monitoring, often attributed to low blood pressure, leading […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 22 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
Balancing Reimbursement and Safety: The Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Policy Shift and Its Impact on Anesthesia Care

Authors: Marchbanks J, et al. Anesthesia & Analgesia 141(3): e39–e40, September 2025. doi:10.1213/ANE.0000000000007559 This correspondence examines Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s (BCBS) controversial 2024 policy proposal to limit anesthesia reimbursement to the scheduled duration of surgery, excluding induction and emergence. Although maternity cases and patients under 22 were exempt, the policy threatened to underfund essential […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 22 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
Acute Pain After Total Knee Arthroplasty: 2-Arachidonoylglycerol Tone and Endocannabinoid/Eicosanoid Crosstalk

Authors: Schutz L et al Anesthesia & Analgesia. September 09, 2025. doi:10.1213/ANE.0000000000007741 This prospective study investigated whether intraoperative levels of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are associated with acute postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Ninety patients were enrolled, and 2-AG levels were measured in synovial fluid (SF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Higher SF 2-AG […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 22 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
ASCs’ new CRNA playbook

Author: Patsy Newitt Becker’s ASC Review ASCs are rewriting the anesthesia playbook, leaning more heavily on certified registered nurse anesthetists amid economic pressures and staffing shortages. The rise of CRNA-only ASCs Across the U.S., many ASCs are transitioning away from physician-supervised anesthesia to CRNA-only care. A white paper from Medicus Healthcare Solutions found that 75% of CRNAs reported practicing […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 19 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
Opioid-Restricting Protocol Reduces Chronic Opioid Use

Authors: Woodmass J, et al. Canadian Journal of Surgery. Published June 18, 2025. This large pre-post intervention study evaluated the effect of an opioid-sparing protocol combining structured patient education with scheduled nonopioid analgesia (acetaminophen and ibuprofen), supplemented by tramadol for breakthrough pain, in outpatient orthopedic surgery patients. The analysis included over 10,000 opioid-naive patients undergoing […]

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Anesthesiology Published - 19 September, 2025    By - Dr Clemens
Low-Dose Epidural Dexmedetomidine as an Adjuvant to Bupivacaine Versus Conventional Bupivacaine for Postoperative Analgesia

Authors: Sabu N, Meshram S, Chavan G Cureus 17(9): e92018. doi:10.7759/cureus.92018 This randomized controlled trial compared low-dose epidural dexmedetomidine combined with 0.0625% bupivacaine (Group BD) against conventional 0.125% bupivacaine alone (Group BB) in 120 ASA I–II adults undergoing abdominal and lower limb surgeries. Patients in the dexmedetomidine group required fewer rescue analgesics and demonstrated significantly […]

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