AUTHORS: Fletcher, Calvin M. MD et al  Anesthesia & Analgesia July 21,023. BACKGROUND: Platelet transfusion is common in cardiac surgery, but some studies have suggested an association with harm. Accordingly, we investigated the association of perioperative platelet transfusion with morbidity and mortality. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from the Australian […]

AUTHORS: Zhou, Dan MD et al  Anesthesia & Analgesia July 21, 2023. BACKGROUND: Emergence agitation (EA) is an adverse complication during early recovery from sevoflurane anesthesia. Continuous intravenous infusion of dexmedetomidine (DEX) is commonly used for EA prevention. However, a wide dose range is used for preventing EA, and the optimal dose remains unknown. This […]

Authors: Khoa Tran, MD; Ashraf Sedra, MD; Joseph Szokol, MD, JD, MBA Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Vol 38 Issue 1  INTRODUCTION It has now been over 20 years since the Institute of Medicine published the paradigm-changing report “To Err is Human,” which concluded that as many as 98,000 deaths occurred in hospitals each year due […]

Author: Paul A. Lefebvre, JD Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Vol 38 Issue 1 INTRODUCTION With advancements in minimally invasive procedures and a desire to meet the needs of an ever-changing patient population, anesthesia professionals are increasingly asked to provide services outside the traditional operating room environment.1,2 Our medical professional liability company is actively monitoring claim frequency […]

Author: L. JOSEPH PARKER, MD KevinMD.com The call came in during a busy workday. My comprehensive primary care clinic had been built over a decade of hard work and had a general practice clinic staffed by a very capable former surgeon and several nurse practitioners, as well as a pain management program and an addiction […]

AUTHORS: Tooba, Rubabin MD et al  Anesthesia & Analgesia 137(4):p 906-916, October 2023. BACKGROUND: Advance directives documentation can increase the likelihood that patient’s wishes are respected if they become incapacitated. Unfortunately, completion rates are suboptimal overall, and disparities may exist, especially for vulnerable groups. We assessed whether implementing an initiative to standardize advance directives discussions during […]

AUTHORS: Zanolli, Nicole C. BA et al  Anesthesia & Analgesia 137(2):p 256-266, August 2023. BACKGROUND: Optimizing analgesia after cesarean delivery is essential to quality of patient recovery. The American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology recommend multimodal analgesia (MMA). However, little is known about clinical implementation of these guidelines after cesarean […]

Authors: Holly B. Ende, MD; Jonathan P. Wanderer, MD, MPhil Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Vol 37 Issue 1 The delivery of safe and effective anesthesia care is grounded in the science of quality improvement, which relies on accurate and timely reporting of patient outcomes. In the era of the electronic health record (EHR) and growing […]

AUTHORS: Vandenberg, Megan T. BA et al  Anesthesia & Analgesia 137(2):p 268-276, August 2023. BACKGROUND: A racial compensation disparity among physicians across numerous specialties is well documented and persists after adjustment for age, sex, experience, work hours, productivity, academic rank, and practice structure. This study examined national survey data to determine whether there are racial differences […]

Authors: Harrison Charwat, MD; Meghan Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP, FCCM Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Vol 38 Issue 1 Language barriers in health care are not benign, and they contribute to disparities in care and outcomes for patients who do not speak English well as compared to English-speaking patients. Individuals with “limited English proficiency” (LEP) are defined […]